Chapter Text
Henry loved Christmas. It has always been his favourite time of year–the happiness and the smell of cookies lingering around the air everywhere. When he was young, he and his sister Bea, used to spend everyday of December, until Christmas, crafting a personalised gift for each other. Their brother Philip, found it infantile, of course he did, but Henry adored the tradition.
Each gift was a labor of love, full of time and heart, he still keeps them stored in a box. Even as teenagers, they’d kept it alive, though crafting eventually gave way to baking cookies, shopping for gifts or watching each other’s favourite Christmas movies. Bea had her own family now and carried on the tradition with her kids, which warmed Henry’s heart.
This year, though, he had Alex. It was their first Christmas together. Henry was determined to make sure Alex would love every second of it.
On the 1st of December, Henry found himself in the birthday decoration aisle,scanning the shelves for supplies. Today was Christmas decoration day, the perfect kickoff to what he’d planned as Alex’s very own personalised Advent Calendar. His list of activities for the next 24 days was long and ambitious, but if anyone could pull it off, it was Henry.
After cheching the time–barely 2 hours left before Alex returned from work– Henry rushed to his favourite holiday shop, his cart quickly filling with tinsel, lights, ornaments and balloons. As he stuffed everything into his car trunk, he realised he’d probably overestimated his ability to carry it all upstairs. But that didn’t matter.
Back at their shared apartment, Henry thanked the heavens for the lift. Without it, he probably would have died right in the middle of the stairs. Okay maybe he was exaggerating, but it was no small feet.
Entering the apartment with a huff, he got to work. Letter balloons spelling out ‘ Welcome to December, baby’ were inflated and strung across the living room. Glitter-covered balloons were scattered around the floor. The Christmas tree stood proudly in the corner. He changed into his favourite Christmas pyjamas, and set Alex’s machine pair on the bed.
Jazz Christmas music was playing softly in the background, he put on a Santa hat for the final look. Henry surveyed the room, everything was perfect. Just in time, too–he heard the sound of the door unlocking.
“Surprise !” Henry called out, his grin wide.
Alex froze in the doorway, startled for a moment before his face broke into a warm, delighted smile. “Wh– Oh baby !” He dropped his bag and rushed into Henry’s arms, squeezing him tightly. “Did you do all this for me ?”
Henry’s cheeks turned pink as he nodded. “It’s the start of your very own personalised Advent Calendar.” Taking Alex’s hand, he led him toward the bedroom. “Everyday, I’ll have an activity ready for you.”
Alex followed, his expression soft as he watched Henry’s excitement. “And what is today’s activity Santa ?” he asked, leaning in to peck Henry on the lips.
“You’ll find out as soon as you put your pyjamas on and meet me in the living room.” Henry handed Alex the folded clothed.
As Alex changed, Henry glanced around the apartment, feeling a rudh of happiness. This tradition, so close to his heart, now had a new chapter with Alex. He’d document every movement–not just to share with Bea, but to hold on forever. Maybe one day, he and Alex would watch the memories with grandkids of their own.
Henry went to drag the Christmas tree in the middle of the room and put on of the remaining bag next to it. Alex got out of the bedroom, looking cosy with his Santa hat on. His eyes sparkled at the sight of the Christmas tree.
“Oh my god, I love decorating the tree.” It was now his turn to be excited.
The two started working together, laughter filling the room as they placed ornament and tinsels across the tree. Each one had his side, Alex’s decorating was kind of chaotic, as Henry had predicted–he had placed three baubles on one branch that the lights hangs unevenly.
“Alex,” Henry said, holding back as laugh as he adjusted one of the ornaments, “this isn’t a free-for-all. There’s an art to this, you know.”
“Art is subjective,” Alex shot back, sticking his tongue out. “Besides, I’m going for organised chaos–it’s my signature style.”
Henry raised an eyebrow, plucking a candy cane from the middle of the tree, “It’s more chaos than organised.”
As they bickered playfully, Alex suddenly grabbed a handful of tinsel and tossed it over Henry’s head. “There ! Perfect.”
Henry rolled his eyes, pulling on the tinsel. “Let’s set up lights on the curtains.” He ruffled through a bag, pulling out LED lights.
A few minutes later, he was balancing himself on Alex’s shoulders as he tried to set up the lights.
“Stop moving, I can’t get it right.” Henry laughed. In response Alex tickled his thighs, making him squirm. Alex almost lost balance, threatening to make them both fall on the Christmas tree, but he managed to stay on his two feet.
The two spend the whole evening setting up Christmas decorations. A little Christmas village had found its place on the coffee table, snowflakes were hanging on the kitchen ceiling, snowglobes on the bedstands.
By the time they finished decorating, Alex’s hair were sprayed in glitter, and Henry was covered in tinsels. They plopped on the couch, laughing their heart out.
Henry took a look around the apartment. “I think we absolutely nailed it.”
Alex wrapped his arm around Alex’s waist, making him scooch closer, “We absolutely did.”