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Jackie wasn't enjoying themselves.
How could they? Angels were nuts about Christmas. A bunch of big, quiet ceremonies, fasting periods (literally, even Jackie was stuck fasting), and the fluffy snow, with slicks of ice on the road. Angels didn't fly in the cold. In fact, they were quite sensitive to it.
Jackie, however, heard rumor that the brothers were invited to Christmas. It was shocking, but apparently Michael was pulling out all the stops, making sure the event was perfect. Raphael said this was the most he had done.
"Good morning, Jackie," Simeon greeted, Michael nearly smacking into the glass wall in his turn. "Hot cocoa?"
"Sure," they accepted, wanting to be polite, before remembering something. "Wait.. aren't you supposed to be fasting?"
"I'm not an Archangel, silly," Simeon chuckled, giving them a cup of hot cocoa, with a mini candy cane slowly melting into it. "Whipped topping?"
"Thank you, no." Sonata peered up with her big eyes, Simeon giving her her own cup.
"Would you like whipped topping, Sonata?"
She gave a shy nod. Simeon gave her a generous serving, before putting a chocolate drizzle over the top. It was fine, Sonata didn't consume such large amounts of sugar regularly, after all. At least, not that Jackie knew.
"The brothers are supposed to be here this evening. Lucifer seems a bit.. freaked out."
Jackie couldn't imagine why. Michael was being a little weird now that Jackie was here, dodging them and peering at them when he thought they weren't looking. Ugh. Men.
"Come to think of it.. you talked to Lucifer a couple of days ago, didn't you?"
"Yeah, it's his turn with Sonata this year," Jackie explained, Sonata covering her face in the whipped topping. Jackie summoned a handkerchief, which happened to be a prideful blue. "He told me they were all invited to Christmas."
"Yeah.. Michael got a little carried away with the invites." Simeon giggled, looking towards the loitering Archangel. "Yukarra had to tell him to pump the brakes."
"Goodness, so eager to see his boyfriend?" Jackie jested, Michael's cheeks dusting pink. Perhaps he thought they wouldn't notice? "I kid, I kid. Is Semyaza coming, too?"
"He'll be here, don't worry. I invited him." Specified Simeon, who gave Sonata a piece of chocolate. Sonata's uncles were coming, so Jackie had a feeling that the spoiling wouldn't be ending. "Michael forgot about Semyaza."
"I did not forget!" He loudly exclaimed, pulling a tray of brownies from the oven, his movements exceptionally smooth and precise, despite his voice and facial expression. "I just.."
His voice trailed, prompting Simeon's; "you forgot."
Michael's cheeks turned darker, the dusting now reaching his ears. Sonata bounded over to him, expectant of a treat. "Ah, yes, I have something special for you, dolce mia.. take the other to Pommy, please?"
He gave Sonata something, before she rushed back to Jackie. Jackie helped her back onto the couch, the little girl clumsily shoving a small wrapped candy into their hand.
"Oh! Thank you, Sonata," cooed Jackie, mouthing another to Michael. It was definitely a truffle, they could tell that much. Sonata had a chocolate one, and Jackie had a lemon one. They were shaped like cupcakes.
Sonata, with no regards to her safety, popped the entire thing in her mouth. Jackie immediately went to correct her, only for Michael to give one to Simeon, who did the same. Jackie hesitantly followed their lead, the lemon jelly filling their mouth with a bittersweet sensation. It was delicious.
"How's the strawberry, Simeon?"
"Very, very strawberry. Did you make actual strawberry jelly for it?"
"I did."
"Before you ask, yes, I think Lucifer will quite like it." Again, Michael's face and ears went red. "It's a little sweet, though, and you know his opinion on sugar."
"It's Christmas, he can splurge." Michael reasoned, not sounding very virtuous. "How about the lemon?"
Jackie didn't realize he was talking to them, at first. "It's.. a little tart."
"It should be, it's lemon," he retorted, giving them a little smile. "I need not ask about the chocolate.. Sonata seems to have enjoyed it."
Jackie looked at Sonata, who wasn't wearing the truffle. She was, however, tucking back into the hot cocoa. She was going to have a sugar rush..
"Sonata, let's try to slow down a little bit, okay? Daddy is probably bringing you something, too." Sonata looked up to Jackie, her big emerald eyes mirroring Jackie's. Jackie could see their reflection in her eyes.
"Jackie, it's Christmas.. surely a little bit of snacking is okay?" Michael reasoned, Raphael having entered while Jackie was speaking.
"When Michael and I were younger, they'd load us up on sugar, then give us whiskey so we'd go to bed at night," Raphael said, a sneaky smile on his face.
"What!?"
"Oh, Father did not." Michael snapped, Simeon laughing between the two. "Do we know what the brothers are bringing?"
"Satan probably made cookies. He's a patissier of them," Simeon said, Raphael sitting beside him. Michael gave Raphael a truffle, as well. He ate it, before sighing in relief at the treat.
"Michael, get over here," Raphael demanded, standing up to move towards him.
"Huh?"
"I need to kiss you on the lips."
"Oh, uh, do me a favor and sit back down?"
Simeon rolled his eyes, refocusing on Jackie.
"Are you nervous?"
"About what?"
"About the brothers being here, of course," he said, like it was obvious, "I mean, all the brothers haven't visited you since.. since you had Sonata."
"They're not visiting me. They're visiting for Chr-"
"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Jackie. I'm sure they miss you." Simeon replied, Sonata letting Jackie wipe her face off again. Michael let out a strained scream, which Simeon didn't exactly address. "What time are we expecting them, Michael?"
"I don't know! Whenever they get here! Raphael, I will put you through a wall-!"
"I'm sure Gabriel will greet them on the way in," said the angel, ignoring the two older Archangels. "Oh, you seem anxious, Jackie.. are you alright?"
"I'm just.. not sure if this is appropriate for Sonata to see.." they muttered, covering Sonata's eyes.
"Oh, are they..?" Simeon looked over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at the other two. "Hey, stop it! There's a small child!"
"I'm not doing anything!"
"That's the problem, old man!"
"AAAAAHHHHH!!"
Jackie sighed, before pulling Sonata into their arms.
"I think it's time to go.." Sonata whimpered, not happy about the new circumstances. "It's okay, sweetie. We can color while we wait for Daddy."
"But Michel is here.." she whispered, saying Michael's name wrong, "didn't you want to see him?"
"That's not important," Jackie cooed, leaving through the front door, kissing Sonata on the head. "Anyway, it's.. it's quite warm, isn't it?"
"It doesn't feel like Christmas." She whined, the sky awfully clear. "Daddy said Michel was gonna try real hard to make it snow this year.."
"I'm sure he is, Sonata.. it's not easy to change the weather. Besides, it's usually nice and warm here."
"It's cold in the Devildom."
"There's no sun in the Devildom, sweetie."
Sonata perked up, before pointing towards the Celestial Palace. Jackie looked over, spotting Mammon rushing towards them just in time.
"Mammon!?"
"Jack!!!" He hollered, his voice loud enough to shake the Heavens. He lifted them, Sonata laughing as the two of them were heaved up. "Look at ya!! Lookin' young as ever! Angels must really like ya!!!"
"This excitement is nice, but I need you to put me down!"
"And Sonata! Look at my li'l niece!" He set Jackie down long enough to thieve a giggly Sonata. "Your daddy is a pain, ya know that?"
"Daddy's here!?"
"Yes, ma'am! He's right over here! 'Ey! Luc!" Mammon, with no care about Jackie's opinion, ran back in the direction from whence he came. They heaved another sigh, trying to figure out why they even bothered..
Jackie ran into Lucifer later that night, the poor man looking drained of all energy. The brothers had Sonata, and were spoiling her with God knows what, but they weren't worried.
"Um.. how are you feeling?" They asked, still feeling awkward about talking to him.
"I'm here," he understandably answered. "I really thought all that caffeine would get me through that nightmare.."
"Diavolo pried, didn't he?"
"Always. He's upset I won't introduce him to the Archangels.. I'm not even here for those fools; I'm here for Sonata."
"So are your brothers." Jackie said, Lucifer raising an eyebrow at them.
"She's not met Diavolo either."
"Let's keep it that way."
"That we can agree on.." he took a deep breath, before looking at Jackie. "How are you enjoying the Celestial Realm?"
"..it's.. okay. I think I like the Devildom more. Not that the Archangels aren't funny, just.. after everything that's happened.."
"You don't need to say any more, I understand. It's been a lot, hasn't it?"
"Overwhelming. Especially as Sonata's gotten older. Now the talk of me getting married has come up."
"But you're human? Surely they wouldn't force you to engage in their laws regarding marriage?"
Jackie replied with a shrug, knowing something he didn't.
"..has Sonata been good today?" He continued, as Jackie wasn't.
"Absolutely. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was an angel."
"She's not," he said, his initial smile slipping fast. "She's only human."
"I love her."
"I do, too."
Jackie received a message from Michael later that night, and returned to his abode. Sonata was with Lucifer and Co., which gave them the break they so desperately craved.
"Hi," they sighed, nearly collapsing into his arms.
"Goodness, Jackie.. you've barely come in."
Jackie lazily met his gaze, the Archangel smiling at them. They smiled back, the two just.. staring at one another. Eventually, Jackie remembered that Michael had something he wanted to talk about.
"What was it?"
"Oh? Ending our romantic moment so soon?" He purred, Jackie stroking his hips. He ducked away. Fast. "Ahem. You never told me what you wanted for Christmas, dolce mio."
"Does it matter? I'm an adult."
"So?" He watched them for a moment, before lifting their chin so they'd look at him again. "Va tutto bene, tesoro mio bello?"
"Why wouldn't I be okay?" They retorted, Michael leaning his forehead against theirs. "I just.. you know what? I do have a gift idea."
"Oh! Do tell."
"Can you make it snow? Like- I'm talking snow. Not a little flurry, something that will stick for a few days."
Michael tilted his head, like the request was strange. "..that's what you want?"
"Please."
"Come first light, there shall be snow."
With that, Jackie sent Lucifer a message (when Michael wasn't looking) to let Sonata know that it was supposed to snow tonight. Before dark, Jackie returned to their room in the Celestial Palace.
And in the morning, Jackie was awoken by a screaming Sonata, her mouth as wide as physically possible, hollering and pointing at the window.
"Pommy, wake up! Wake up!!! Pommy, look outside! C'mon, you gotta look outside! Pommy! Pommy! Pommy!!"
"Yes, honey.. you must be wanting to open your presents, huh?"
"Pommy, there's snow!! There's so much snow!!!" She screamed, Lucifer peering in through the cracked door.
"I tried to stop her.."
"It's fine," Jackie answered, picking Sonata up, and clumsily standing up. "Michael made it snow a lot, didn't he?"
"He did! Daddy, look what Michel did!!"
"I can see it, Sonny," he chuckled, taking her from Jackie. "Ohh.. goodness, sweetie, let's get some breakfast, open up your presents, then we'll play outside, okay?"
"Okay!! I'm so excited!!!!"
Jackie sighed, sitting back down. They looked out the window. They had to make this up to Michael.
..expect, they didn't want to. They didn't consider they'd have to walk back to Michael's house in this nightmare. Unfortunately, Jackie was short, and their boots only did so much.
Once they finally made it, they heaved an enormous sigh, then pushed open the heavy door. They stopped at the pan beside the door, and slipped off their boots.
"Alright.. where is that bastard..?"
"I'm not a bastard, caro mio."
"God-!"
"Common misconception, tesoro," Michael purred, standing behind them, "but you know better."
"Were you- were you just waiting for me?"
"Of course not. I saw you as you approached my house," he replied, Jackie seeing a cheeky smirk on his face. "You know, the snowflakes blend perfectly with your complexion."
"You're an asshole."
"Didn't you want it to snow?" Michael inquired, before he seemed to realize something. "..was your.. wish for someone else?"
"Well.. yeah.. not that I didn't want snow on Christmas.."
"Sonata?"
"Yes. She was very excited for the snow. She was also very good and opened all her presents with only a little bit of a mess."
"I'm glad. She's what makes these holidays worth having," he said, walking away from the door. He gestured for them to follow, and maybe Jackie was too eager as they did. "Hot cocoa?"
"What kind?"
"Whatever you desire, amore mio."
"Mm.. maybe the peppermint blend?" Michael smiled, Jackie plopping down at the island. He removed their coat, and hung it up, starting the kettle somewhere in the process of his movements. "You weren't at the Palace this morning."
"I was. I drank my holy water blend."
"Do you.. feel okay? Simeon said that it's rancid."
"Yes. He drank his, too. We do it together."
"He's not an Archangel, though.. right?"
Michael was silent, getting out Jackie's little plague doctor mug. So they had left it here..
"Would you like whipped cream, darling?" He changed the subject.
"No, thank you."
"Marshmallows?"
"..if you have some, that'd be nice."
"Have you ate?"
"I ate breakfast with the brothers."
"Are you hungry now?"
"I'm okay, Michael. Have you ate?"
"Don't turn my questioning back on me," he replied with a chuckle, Jackie taking a sip of their hot cocoa. "I love you, Jackie."
Jackie looked up at him, the two locking eyes. He leaned over the island, Jackie leaning towards him in response. Their lips connected, before their faces lingered near one another.
"..Michael?"
"Mm-mm.. this is my Christmas present."
"Would you like to tie me in ribbons?" Jackie joked, his eyes shooting open. "Whoa, hey-"
"Goodness, don't suggest things like that if it's not what you want.." he teased, finding his way around the island. Jackie had a sneaking suspicion that the Archangel had an idea that was now stuck in his head. "I would like to tie you in ribbons."
"Didn't realize that was a kink you had."
"Don't be like Simeon."
"I will kink shame you if I so desire, Michael." They replied, squishing his cheeks. "Merry Christmas."
"Mm.. Merry Chrithsmaths.."