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The party was fun, so far. Sure, Neil didn’t go to many Christmas Eve Eve parties, but he was smiling more than he wasn’t. He was surrounded by friends, they had good food, drinks, and there had been games. Everyone was smiling - except for Aaron, who was upset that Katelyn had gone to a show with her friend. She would turn up later, but he was still acting as if someone had taken her away to the other side of the world.
There was only one thing that Neil didn’t like about the party. Nicky had gone a bit overboard with the mistletoe. Clusters of them were attached to the ceiling in strategic places. The most obvious of the places was the doorways, which Neil avoided going through with anyone else. Sure, he could go through with Andrew, but he didn’t want to make a show of their relationship. So, Neil had found himself dodging around them. In fact, two and a half hours in, he had memorised the routes he needed to take.
Which was why, when he attempted to go to the bathroom, it was all the more galling when he bumped into Aaron as he came back from grabbing a drink from the kitchen.
Both of them froze. Neither of them needed to look up to see the mistletoe they were under. Neil had heard Nicky say that it was bad luck to leave without kissing whoever you were caught with. There had been a whole discussion about it at the start of the night and it had been agreed that there had to be consent and it didn’t need to be on the lips. Which was a relief, in this situation.
Unfortunately, neither of them acted for a second too long. “Ooh!” came Nicky’s voice from behind Neil. “Look! It’s the wrong twin!”
Turning, Neil saw that the whole room had heard Nicky and were now staring at them. All of them looked amused, as if they expected them to kiss. Why they would think that was beyond Neil. He turned back to Aaron who took one more look at Neil and scowled.
“Move, will you?” he snapped.
Raising his eyebrows, Neil stepped to the side. “What? Don’t want to give me a kiss?” Neil teased him.
Aaron narrowed his eyes at Neil, before trying to step around him. He had barely moved before Nicky was bustling over. “Wait, wait, wait! You can’t just leave, Aaron!”
“I’m not kissing him,” Aaron told Nicky, sternly. “I’m not cheating on Katelyn. Get out of the way.”
“But it’s bad luck!” Nicky whined. “What if Katelyn decides to break up with you because you didn’t give Neil a kiss?”
That seemed to give Aaron pause. He glowered at Nicky, then at Neil, as if it was somehow Neil’s fault. Neil raised his hands. “Hey. I don’t mind not kissing you. I’m pretty sure I’ve used up most of my bad luck.” Movement behind Aaron caught Neil’s attention and he looked beyond him to see Andrew in the hallway. He was holding a whisky glass and he’d propped his elbow up with the hand he’d crossed over his chest. There was an amused glint in his eye, and Neil knew he wouldn’t mind if Neil and Aaron kissed.
Andrew was the more attractive twin, after all.
“Come on, Aaron! It’s just a bit of fun!” Nicky whined.
“But we don’t need to, right?” Neil said, pointedly.
“Ah. Yeah.” Nicky nodded. “Totally. Of course.”
“Besides,” Neil added, “he’s probably not as good as Andrew, anyway.”
Behind Aaron, Andrew cut him an unimpressed look at being dragged into the situation. As Neil smiled at him, though, Aaron puffed up with indignation. “Fuck you! I’m an excellent kisser! I’ve probably got more experience than Andrew.”
“Did Katelyn tell you that?” Neil asked, sweetly. “Because she was probably just stroking your ego.”
“I-! You-” Aaron actually growled and Neil snickered. “You know what? Put your mouth where your mouth is, Josten. I’m gonna prove I’m better than Andrew.”
Neil scoffed. “Sure.”
“I will.” Aaron grabbed Neil’s shirt and yanked him closer. He glared up at Neil. “Right now.”
Raising his eyebrows, Neil said, “Well, fine. But you’re not gonna do it.”
Goading Aaron was always easy. Usually it ended with Aaron storming out or sulking in the corner until someone distracted him and the conversation moved on. Neil expected Aaron to let go of him and stalk off in a huff. Instead, Aaron only yanked Neil down further. For a moment, Neil registered the neck of the bottle-green Christmas jumper, the hazel-coloured glare, the slide of Aaron’s nose against his, and then Aaron’s lips were on him.
As Neil’s eyes widened in surprise, Aaron pressed up against him. His mouth coaxed Neil’s into following his lead and Neil found himself kissing back. He tried to get his brain to kick into gear, to make him move back now that the kiss was done, but Aaron seemed to have taken the slight to his skills to heart. Suddenly, his tongue was in play, and Neil made a noise as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
After a few seconds of kissing Aaron, almost making out in front of everyone, Neil realised that Aaron actually was a pretty good kisser. The only problem was that he lacked the passion of Andrew. There was none of the desire or care in Aaron’s movements; Aaron’s kiss was almost clinical. When Andrew kissed him, Neil could always feel it all the way down to his toes. Now, though, he had enough presence of mind to pull away as the kiss slowed, something he never really did with Andrew.
“Well?” Aaron demanded. He sounded a little breathless and his eyes were slightly glazed. His cheeks had turned an alarming shade of red, the embarrassment catching up to him.
Neil shrugged. “It was good enough,” he admitted.
“‘Good enough’?!” Aaron exclaimed, clearly offended.
Before Aaron could go on any sort of tirade, Neil edged his way around him. “Anyway,” he declared to the shocked room behind him, “I’m going to the bathroom. I need to find some mouthwash so Andrew will make out with me. Right?” he added to Andrew.
Aaron whipped around at that and blanched at the sight of his brother. “Andrew,” he gasped. “I-”
Unimpressed, Andrew waved him off and turned to Neil. “You’re going to have to do it multiple times. Who knows where his mouth’s been.”
Neil grimaced at the thought. Predictably, Aaron blew up again. “Hey! That’s rich, coming from you.”
“At least he tastes good,” said Neil, absentmindedly. He made his way along the hall and heard Andrew falling into step with him.
Behind them, the room erupted into noise. Neil could hear Allison cackling. Aaron was still outraged. As Nicky screeched, he could hear Matt and Dan laughing. Neil couldn’t help but smile at how happy everyone was, even if he’d just had to put up with Aaron for a couple of minutes.
“No more party,” Andrew murmured into Neil’s ear.
Stopping in front of the bathroom door and Neil grinned at him. “Oh? Sounds interesting. Why?”
Andrew sighed. “I can’t have you thinking about my brother. I’m going to pick you apart, bit by bit, so you forget him.”
A thrill ran down Neil’s spine. “I’ve forgotten him already,” Neil assured him, breathlessly. He leant in, his heart pounding in his chest, yearning for Andrew’s touch.
But Andrew planted his hand on Neil’s face and shoved him away. “Not until you’ve used the mouthwash.”
Neil laughed and pulled Andrew into the bathroom with him.