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Oscar always loved Christmas. There was just something about the cold, snowy landscapes, cozy fireplaces, and colorful decorations and lights that made him unbelievably happy. Even though he often got heavily overwhelmed by the brightness and loudness, especially when he came to the center of the city, he still enjoyed the vibes. Another thing was that Christmas preparations involved a routine - something he loved ever since he was a child. Because of his family's traditions, he could have been sure that everything would happen in the same order every year. It made everything even more enjoyable and exciting. He loved baking, cleaning, and decorating, and it was even better if he could do it all on his own. Those were the activities that calmed him down and brought him joy.
Those were the first Christmas he was meant to spend with Buckshot at their shared house. Placed in the suburbs and surrounded by fields and trees, it used to belong to Oscar's grandma before she moved into their family house. By the time Oscar was 18, she was old and needed a lot of help so his parents just made an ‘exchange’ - took the old lady in and got rid of their kid. When it turned out to be possible for Buck to live with him, Oscar couldn’t believe his luck. They have been friends since kindergarten, going through all the years of their Christian high school together. Their connection was like no one else's. They loved and cared for each other dearly, as both of them felt like the other one was the only person they could really feel safe and comfortable around. It was like a dream come true for both of them.
It was a Sunday afternoon when Buckshot kicked the door open and hauled a pine tree into the house. Oscar watched him from the kitchen table, his eyes widened by the unexpected situation. Just a minute ago he was busy making a shopping list so they wouldn’t forget anything - something that happened all the time if they hadn’t everything listed - and now if he had to go back to his task, he wouldn’t remember a single thing he was meant to add.
“What… what the fuck, Colm?” he frowned, but his voice stayed soft. He now stood up from the seat and slowly approached his friend. He didn’t seem to have any trouble with bringing the tree inside, but Oscar still felt obligated to ask. “Wanna some help…?”
“I got us a Christmas tree,” the shorter one smiled and pointed at his unusual prey with a slight movement from his head. He completely ignored the question, holding the tree upright. Its roots were hanging down with a pretty big clump of ground. “Isn't she pretty? I saw her and remembered we don't have one yet, so I managed to dig her out… I mean, I prepared her back in like, October but…”
“Her?” Oscar asked with a chuckle. He always loved Buck's tendency to humanize things and he found it really adorable. It sometimes led to some problems, like trouble with throwing stuff away, but he didn’t care at all. For him, it was just a manifestation of Colm’s sensitive side. “She's gorgeous, man. Thank you, I… I actually meant to talk with you about getting a tree so that… that's good. We have her now…”
“Yeah, we do! Can you… Would you try and find me a big ass like, pot or something for her? I… I didn’t think about it. I didn't wanna like, chop her down though. It woulda been a waste..” Buckshot started looking around, trying to spot something to put the poor tree in. Unfortunately, the only thing he saw was the plastic wash basin they used for putting wet shoes in. It wasn’t deep enough to make a good pot, though.
Oscar sighed, trying to remember if they had anything like that. He was pretty sure there must be a real pot that his grandma used for her own Christmas tree somewhere in the house. “Okay, okay, hold on, just… just wait,” he said and rushed to the basement in search of the golden-painted container he recalled from his childhood memories. It took a while but finally, he managed to find it. The golden paint started to peel off, revealing dark brown underneath. It was still better than nothing so he brought it upstairs with a sense of pride.
“Here ya go,” he said the moment he was sure that Colm could see him. He shook the pot a little to bring attention to it and then put it down. “Go get some soil for her, I’ll hold her in place,” he offered and reached out for the tree. Buck carefully handed him the pine, grabbed the container, and rushed outside once again. He came back no longer than 2 minutes later with the pot ready to be a new home for their Christmas tree. Oscar helped him a little with putting ‘her’ in, but they soon finished. The tree stood proudly in the living room, waiting for someone to bring decorations and doll ‘her’ up.
“Fuck it, I need a shower,” Buckshot sighed as he looked down on his dirty hands and clothes. He hoped he wouldn’t get sick, considering that he spent a good hour outside in the cold wind in just two hoodies, one on another. He had always had a problem with dressing appropriately for the weather. Unfortunately, Oscar seemed to read his mind.
“Yeah, a hot freakin’ shower, man. I’m a saint if you haven't caught a cold already… And it’s not like I have energy for your sick ass,” his teasing words were still filled with concern and it made Buck’s insides warm. He nodded and headed to the bathroom. His mind was in a completely different place, though. He knew that he was a pain in the ass for everyone and anyone who had to put up with him when he was ill, but at the same time, he was sure that Oscar would take care of him no matter how annoying he would be. Of course not without complaining, but after all it was all just some joking.
The bathroom was a little cluttered, but spacious enough to not be claustrophobic. A bathtub, toilet, and a sink with a mirror cabinet hung above. There was a washing machine in the corner as well and a clothesline right under the ceiling. Colm had an impression that it screamed grandma, but he didn’t mind at all. In fact, it was exactly the thing he liked about the room. About the whole house, in fact.
As Buckshot was taking a bath, Oscar decided to make the both of them some tea. He put the kettle filled with water on the burner and prepared two cups and some black tea. He then left to get decorations from the basement but managed to bring them all upstairs before the loud whistle filled the whole house. He waited patiently, his mind wandering. He was a little nervous about the lack of a consistent Christmas routine but tried to convince himself that it was just because it was their first time. It will be better next year, he thought with a bit of anxiety playing with his poor guts. It must be.
“Hey, Oscar!” a loud yell snapped him out of his overthinking. He sighed, wondering whether Buck forgot to bring some clean clothes with him or if it was something else.
“Coming!” he shouted back. The kettle started its loud screaming at the same moment which made Oscar even more annoyed. He filled the cups with water and rushed to the bathroom as soon as he finished. “Whatcha need?” he asked through the closed door.
“Can you wash my back? Pleeeasee!”
Oscar sighed but entered the room. It wasn't the first time Colm asked him to do this for him - actually, it happened pretty often. Not that he minded seeing his best friend's sculptured body… Trying not to look at him weirdly, the taller one focused just on the back, and without a single word he began scrubbing the skin with his soft, warm hands.
“Thanks, man,” Buck smiled and closed his eyes as he felt the tension in his whole body leave under the touch of his best friend. He felt at home, cared and loved. Oscar finished after some time and washed his hands in the water from the bathtub.
“No problem Col. Get out soon though, I made us some tea,” he informed with a beam and walked out of the bathroom, his cheeks flushed. This whole situation, even despite being so familiar, made him feel flustered as hell.
He sat at the table and looked out of the window. It was already completely dark outside, but he could see something falling from the sky in the light coming from the window. His smile widened - it was most definitely snow, judging by its slow pace. He could hear Buckshot come into the kitchen and sit down with a chuckle.
“What's up Oscie?” he was grinning widely and genuinely as he brought the cup up to his lips. Their knees almost touched under the small table as their eyes met. Oscar's gaze sparkled with excitement as he stretched his fingers and cracked his knuckles with a smile. “It's snowing, huh?”
He nodded enthusiastically which was answered by a sweet laugh from his best friend. “Yeah, I… It’s so pretty! Isn't it…? Maybe… maybe it will even stay for a bit longer…?” he stared at Colm with his eyes wide.
“Yeah, yeah, I… it's really nice. It’ll be even better, y’know?” Buck reached over the table and grabbed Oscar's hand. A slight blush creeped over his cheeks and nose but he didn't mind the touch at all. “We'll have white Christmas, I tell ya.”
They drank the rest of the tea in comfortable silence with their fingers entwined. After they finished, Colm stood up from his seat and pulled Oscar with him. The taller one didn't speak at first, surprised by the sudden spurt.
“What… whatcha doin’?” he asked as he was brought into the living room. Buckshot stopped right in front of the earlier prepared boxes full of ornaments. Oscar's face lit up with joy as soon as the realization hit him. “Oh, alright, alright, I got it…” he mumbled as Buck turned their old radio on. The room was instantly filled with the screechy noise of Christmas songs. He absolutely hated both them and carols, but seeing such an angelic beam on the taller one's face was worth every second of it.
“Should the lights go first?” Buckshot asked, pulling a long string of LEDs out of one of the boxes. Oscar nodded and immediately began to help him with untangling the wires. A low, unintentional humming escaped Buck's lips.
“Didn't you despise Last Christmas?” The simple question made his cheeks basically burn. He rolled his eyes and poked Oscar in the ribs, which was answered with a chuckle. “Oh, come on. You know I don't mind this at all…”
“I just can't help this,” he shrugged, picking up an old, red glass garland. He began hanging it on the branches carefully, stopped by a gentle touch of Oscar's hand. “What…?”
“Wait a minute, just… let's just see if the lights are alright, okay?” His humble but firm request was answered by Colm’s nod. The tree was soon lit up with the colorful lights - it was most definitely perfect, and Oscar didn't hide his pride, clapping his hands together. “Perfect! You can… sorry for that, you can continue,” he said with a dose of nervousness. A reassuring smile formed on Buck's face before he went back to putting the garland on.
“It's aight, man. You're like, the king of decorating after all, it's just my brain working too fast,” he tittered. Buckshot knew damn well how much Oscar loved when everything went according to a plan, even if it was just made inside his head. He wasn't going to complain or argue - he just wanted for them to spend some time together, he didn't mind being ordered around. Oscar felt like he was being a bit too bossy with all of this though, so the words of reassurance were really helpful.
“Okay then, I… let's just hang the garlands and then ornaments and… and then we can do whatever you want, actually…” he gave Colm a warm smile and helped him with the garland. Next, he opened the box full of vintage ornaments made from colored glass. He picked up one of the silver ones and showed it off to Buck. “See? This one is actually Kugel... y’know, it's like… it was made with mercury, right?” he chuckled.
“Damn, I hope you won't start glowing in the dark from this shit,” Buckshot responded with a laugh and carefully took the ornament from his taller friend's hands. He hung it on one of the branches and reached out for another one immediately. “Is this okay? You can fix whatever I do wrong.”
“Yeah, that's alright,” Oscar rolled his eyes after being winked at. He also began picking the ornaments and hanging them on their tree. His low voice sang along to the songs on the radio - he wasn't as much of a singer as Buck was, but he enjoyed it, and Colm also seemed to be happy to hear the muffled sounds.
As they kept on decorating the tree, Buckshot couldn't help but admire his friend's beauty. He wanted nothing more but to wrap his arms around the taller one's waist, to brush his hair out of his face and kiss his lips and hand and cheeks… he quickly shook the thoughts away, feeling his cheeks flush bright red. He sighed and approached Oscar from behind. Just a hug can't hurt anyone, right…?
“Oh, what…” he felt strong arms lock him in a tight embrace. A kiss of soft lips was pressed against his shoulder and he couldn't help but blush. “Yeah, I-I love you too Cal…”
A quiet laugh could have been heard from Buck as he let go of Oscar's body. They both blushed but acted like all of this hadn't affected them at all.
“Your eyes look really pretty when you're so excited,” Buckshot remarked, taking one more glance at his friend's face. It felt weird to tell him a compliment like that, but he really needed to do this. There was something in the air, something that made him confident enough to finally say it. He watched Oscar's face grow even redder which made him chuckle.
“Thanks… a-and stop laughing! It's your fault…” he responded, knowing damn well why Colm was laughing. He always found embarrassing him like that to be absolutely hilarious. They were basically done with the tree - the only thing left to do was to put the star on the top. Oscar was the one to do it - not just because he was taller, but it was also a tradition for him. In contrast, Buckshot never really cared for that - his younger sister was the one who always wanted to put the star on.
“Okay, so… what do we think?” he asked and turned the lights off so they could see the tree in her full glory. She glowed colorfully, all the ornaments seemed to be in their perfect places - not in an organized way, but a more homely one. “I think that we did a good job…”
“We definitely did, Oscie. Just… just look at her. She's beautiful, absolutely beautiful…” Buck grinned, his arm finding its way to Oscar's waist. They stood there for a while, just looking at the tree with pride and happiness. “It feels weird, doesn't it? Last year we still lived at our homes… with our parents, and now…”
“Now we are making this place into our own home,” Oscar finished his thought. Colm glanced at his face that depicted pure awe. Their eyes soon met and it felt just right. “Thanks for… for everything, Col. You're the best,” his voice was quiet as he spoke those words. In the darkness of the room, he let himself relax and pulled Buck into a tight hug that warmed both of them. Just then he realized that they forgot to burn the furnace.
“We got coal up in there or do I have to go downstairs?” Oscar asked as they pulled away. He usually wasn't the one to do this, but right now he didn't want to bother Colm with doing anything else.
“Well, I'm pretty sure we got some in ‘ere. If you wanna, I can…”
“Nah, you ain't going anywhere, just… just go, lay down already. I'll take care of it, I need to take a shower anyways…” his quick protest is answered with an eye roll and a pat on the shoulder.
“Whatever you want man, I'll be waiting,” Buckshot mumbled, knowing that arguing over that was pointless. He just accepted Oscar's decision and strolled to the kitchen to wash his teeth in the kitchen sink, and then to his room. He knew damn well that his friend would eventually end up there with him anyway.
It took around half an hour for Oscar to get to Buck's room. He wanted to talk with him for a brief moment before going back to his own room… or maybe just going to sleep next to him. He was greeted by the view of Buckshot laying on his back in something similar to the starfish position. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers, his mouth slightly agape as he snored.
“Tough day, huh?” Oscar whispered, sitting down next to him. He had more… civilized pajamas. A pair of grey plaid flannel pants and a black Led Zeppelin tee that remembered his freshman year of high school. He managed to pull the covers from under Colm without waking him up, but putting him into a position that was more comfortable for the both of them was a failure. His eyes fluttered open as some mumbles escaped his lips.
“Ugh, what… whatcha doing Ossie?” he asked with a quiet, sleepy voice. His hands quickly pulled Oscar closer, the movement being so abrupt that they almost hit their forehead together. He didn't have much to say now, having to curl up beside Buckshot. He thankfully managed to pull the duvet over them before being completely locked in Buck's embrace.
“Nothing much, Col,” he muttered with a quiet giggle. He laid on his side, his head resting against Colm’s chest. They quickly turned into a knot of limbs and warm breaths, stroking each other's backs. It was a default position for them by now. “Nighty night…”
“We should sell your bed at this point,” Buck muttered into his hair with a similar giggle, holding him tightly. His speech was a little incoherent, but he just felt like he must have said that. “But yeah, night, Oscie…”