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Tino whipped the reindeer with slack as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Christmas Eve was always spent like this, working himself to death throughout the night. But he liked it. He liked seeing the satisfaction on all of the other country’s faces as they unwrapped their gifts on Christmas morning, the laughter and the joy that came from it. He adored Christmas with his heart, after all he was a charitable person who appreciated those times when everyone came together. But he was most excited about coming back home to his family, kissing Berwald on the cheek and spending time with the kids. A lovely tradition that had been going on for god knows how long. He continuously whipped the reindeers, his mind drifting to other places. Tomorrow—Berwald would cook him a lovely dinner with a gravy so thick it warmed the cockles of his heart. The fire would be on, snow hammering at the window from outside, the kids running around and playing games—one couldn’t ask for more. His movements slowed down as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to nearly touch this dream, the one part of the year he looked forward to.
But the reindeers clearly disagreed.
Without help from Tino’s constant steering, most broke apart from the sleigh and went off in different directions, leaving the sleigh thrashing around in the cold air. Tino screamed as he tried to coordinate the remaining reindeer, the weight was too heavy on one side. The sleigh came plundering down, narrowly missing a few rogue birds. Tino steadied it as best as he could while trying to keep his Santa hat on his head—a very difficult task indeed. He closed his eyes and braced for impact, feeling the cold air hit his cheeks before fragments of his sleigh hit him. He tumbled out of his seat, flying a good 10 metres before hitting the ground head first with a thump. He groaned loudly as the sleigh next to him blew up in flames, a few shards hitting his back. He slowly opened his eyes, and felt tears welling at them from the sight of his precious sleigh destroyed. He clenched his fists in anger as he bit his tongue, trying to stop the tears from escaping. He couldn’t allow himself to feel these negative emotions, after all he was the nation known for spreading joy during the festive season. He slowly got up, brushing the snow off his shoulders as he turned away from the sleigh, unable to face his now obliterated prized possession anymore. He grabbed the slightly singed sack of presents and started making his way to the nearby country, willing to get the job done.
A few hours later he collapsed in the snow, throwing his empty sack into the blizzard. He had done it. Finally. He saw the distant glow of the cottage, and sighed heavily. All he needed to do was walk over there and he would be home. Home, sweet home. But his legs ached, unable to stand up straight anymore. He tried getting up but ended up collapsing on the cold ground, slowly drifting out of consciousness. He wanted to get home, he was aching for some rest… but alas exhaustion took over him and he fell asleep right there, dreaming of the warmth in the cottage while shivering. But that didn’t last for long when he felt himself be lifted from the snow, and the warm hands wrap around his body as he was taken away. Who was this angel? He squinted at the tall figure, feeling the fabric of the jumper they were wearing. It smelled familiar… all too familiar, and suddenly he heard it.
The familiar grunt of the man he loved most.
“BERWALD!” Tino suddenly shouted as he bolted upright, his arms moving straight for his neck. Tino hugged Berwald tightly, looking up to him with cold lonely eyes that were now filled with hope.
“You found me! H-how??” Tino stuttered as he poked his husband to make sure he was real. Berwald looked at him, not with his normal stoic face, but with a worrisome expression, his sharp blue eyes softened as he held on tightly to Tino.
“Peter,” he said softly as he carried him back, stroking his back to comfort him. Tino chuckled slightly and muttered,
“Of course he’s still up… and Arvid as well I presume?”
Berwald grunted in response, too concerned about getting him back to the house.
Peter and Arvid watched as Berwald carried Tino back to the house, their faces etched with excitement.
“Dad is rescuing Santa, how brilliant!” Peter yelled as he shook Arvid who was grinning ear to ear.
“You know what that means, don’t you Peter? More presents for us since we helped him!” Arvid yelled with excitement, now jumping on the big bed as they watched Berwald stop outside the house under the canopy.
“Now that Santa is at our house, we can ask for that tin boat we’ve always wanted, Peter!” Arvid exclaimed, running around the room. But Peter had his face pressed up against the window, shock plastered all over it.
“Uh… Arvid… you might wanna take a look at this…” he muttered, his features contorting as he tried to figure out what was going on.
“Huh? What’s going on?” Arvid questioned, as he pushed Peter away to get a close look, earning an angry glare from the taller boy.
Slowly, his face changed as a little smile grew, before jumping and shouting “PETER! PETER!”
“WHAT??” Peter yelled with a bit of anger but curiosity.
“DADDY’S KISSING SANTA! DADDY’S KISSING SANTA!”
Peter’s eyes widened as he stayed banging on the window with excitement, trying to get a better look. He squealed with excitement when he saw his dad’s lips connecting with the man in the red costume’s, a mistletoe dangling above them like a scene from a movie. The snow hurled around them, dusting their hair, and the boys started shaking each other.
When ‘Santa’ and Berwald pulled apart, Peter’s face grew a bit confused as he asked,
“I thought Santa was fat?”
Arvid analysed him for a second before answering with,
“He seems chubby… close enough!”
Back inside, Tino was settled down on the sofa by Berwald, his snowy boots being pulled off with utmost care. Tino smiled and chuckled a bit, whispering “you know… when I crashed, I thought of one single person on my mind… guess who.”
Berwald paused for a moment, giving a small smile before saying, “you’re amazing… please, think of yourself next time…”
Tino chuckled a bit before grabbing Berwald’s hand, earning a blush from the taller fellow.
“I’ll try,” he teased, before he leaned in to the other’s chest.
By now, Peter and Arvid had crept downstairs, and were hiding behind the kitchen counter. They watched in amazement as the couple kissed for a second time, but a feeling of dread washed over Arvid.
“Wouldn’t papa Tino be mad?” he asked anxiously, looking up to Tino’s room which had a ‘Do not Disturb’ sign on it.
“He’s sleeping and Dad is making out with Santa!”
Peter thought hard for a second before muttering,
“Oh yeah… poor papa!”
The two watched in shock as the lovebirds broke the kiss, and Berwald carried Tino up the stairs.
When they heard the sound of a door shutting, they ran up the stairs to find Berwald standing outside Tino’s bedroom with a soft smile, like he was dreaming. Peter cleared his throat, and Arvid put on his best pouting face. Berwald jumped a little, retracting his hand which was resting on the doorknob, and then turned to face the two younglings.
“Ah! Kids… it’s late!” he whispered urgently, trying to shove them into their room.
“Nu UH dad!” Arvid exclaimed, crossing his arms.
“You have a lot of explaining to do…” Peter muttered, shaking his head.
Berwald’s eyes widened, picked the two up and quickly walked away from Tino’s room, and set them down on their bunk beds.
“You’ve been making out with Santa!” Peter yelled quickly, pointing accusingly at him.
“What would papa think???” Arvid tutted as they both demanded answers.
Berwald stared for a second, before letting out a soft chuckle in his deep hearty voice.
“Oh…” he said, covering his mouth with his hand.
“Me and Santa were just… talking! That’s all,” he said as he pulled the blankets over the two kids, but they thrashed nonetheless.
“Don’t lie! We saw you!” they yelled in unison, as Berwald shushed them urgently.
“Papa’s sleeping in his room, you ought not to wake him…” he muttered, looking worriedly at the room. He then turned to the now silent but questioning kids as he took a deep breath, and whispered, “We were just talking about the presents you guys wanted… the tin boat!”
Peter and Arvid went silent for a second before their eyes lit up with joy.
“Oh our present! Daddy you shouldn’t have!” they yelled as they giggled but Berwald shushed them.
“Santa’s gone now, he left through the chimney… but he did leave some presents under the tree… you may open them IF you sleep.”
Very quickly, the two lay down and started fake snoring, trying their hardest to sleep to bring around Christmas Day. Berwald tucked them in and switched off the lights, before grabbing Tino’s few presents he left outside the door, and putting them under the tree.
Then, without a word, he opened the door to Tino’s room, and kissed him on the cheek. Tino’s eyes fluttered slightly as he felt the soft touch, but he didn’t stir. Berwald smiled and stroked his hair, before going downstairs to properly sort out the food for Christmas morning so it was perfect for him.
That was the best Christmas they had ever had.