Work Text:
come and trim my Christmas tree
"Of all fucking nights for Yowan to return with the shipment." John grunts, slamming his phone down.
"Why can't you have someone else receive it?"
"The fact that it went missing at all means we need tight control on the audit until we're certain we've isolated the issue."
"You could have told him to hold onto it for a few days," Arthur crosses his arms.
"I know, but it was already late and if Father starts to think we're letting things slip through the cracks…" John works his jaw.
Arthur frowns deeply. John worries for a moment that he's going to start yelling, but instead Arthur sighs deeply. "No, you're right. You should probably get it taken care of as soon as you can. Your work is more important."
"Look, I'll tell him to hang onto it until after Christmas," John says, "It's Yowan's own fault for letting it get so far out of hand that he only got it back now."
"No, no, it's fine." Arthur waves him off. "It's not like it'll take up the whole night." He stares off to the side, seeming less upset and more… thoughtful?
"I know we had our plans for tonight," John says. They always made a whole day out of Christmas Eve, usually ending in Arthur telling John how good he's been this year, leading to an entire night of them presenting their gifts for each other and trying them out right then and there.
"It's fine, John, really," After a moment, a small grin slides onto Arthur's face. "Besides, I can join you at the club."
"If you perform, I'm not going to get anything done in a timely manner," John huffs.
"John, I'm not even on the roster, relax," Arthur laughs, "I just meant to keep you company."
"Do you realize how distracting you are?"
"Are you saying you don't want me with you on Christmas Eve?" A quizzical eyebrow raises and John immediately backpedals.
"Wh—No! That's not— I just don't want you to have to sit around for hours on Christmas Eve."
Arthur laughs. "John, I like the club. I have plenty of company to entertain myself with, including you."
"If you're sure…"
"I am."
"I really don't deserve you," John says, pulling Arthur close and cupping his face in his hand.
"Mm, maybe not, but you are quite the catch for me," Arthur teases, wrapping his arms around John's neck.
"God, I love you."
"I love you too, John," Arthur says, leaning in to kiss his husband. John readily reciprocates, immediately beginning to ravish Arthur's mouth while they enjoy this moment together.
Arthur is the first to pull back, slipping out of John's grasp and stepping toward the door.
"Where are you going?" John frowns.
"Well, I've got to change a few plans, don't I?"
"Oh… Right."
"I'll meet you at the club, then."
"Wh—How many plans do you need to change?!"
John clicks his pen compulsively, constantly looking up from the documents and boxes in front of him to glance out of the one way glass overlooking the club. Arthur still hasn't shown up.
Fuck.
Yowan is leaning against the wall, arms crossed impatiently while John fails to audit the numbers, instead deciding to dwell on his conversation earlier. Arthur had been annoyed initially, sure, but John can usually tell when he's really angry. He'd thought Arthur seemed almost playful by the end.
"Can you go any slower? It's not like some of us have places to be," Yowan snaps irritably.
"You're the one who brought it today of all fucking days!" John growls back. "Besides, what do you have to do? Get drunk?"
"Do you even realize how hard I had to press to get a bead on this fucking thing?"
John opens his mouth to yell at his brother, but stops when he hears a loud cheer from the club. He turns his head to look out the window and feels his breath catch in his throat. Beside him, Yowan lets out a wolf whistle.
"Thaaaaat's right, lads and gentleladies!" Kayne has evidently stolen the mic off its stand at some point and now parading with it across the stage, gesturing behind him. "A surprise Christmas appearance from the Lovely Lester himself!"
Lovely is an understatement, in John's mind, now realizing exactly why Arthur had run off for so long. The sleek red gown hugs his form perfectly as he steps out onto the stage, thin white trim tracing the top of his chest, contoured perfectly to present the illusion of cleavage, while a long slit along the side reveals the thigh high, heeled black boots underneath. Long white satin gloves cover his forearms, shimmering in perfect match with his pearlescent eyeshadow.
"Jesus…" John breathes.
Arthur continues forward, reaching out to take the microphone, which Kayne readily hands over before twirling off to seat himself at the piano.
"Good evening, everyone, and a very Merry Christmas to all of you!" Arthur greets, painted red lips opening in grin as the room cheers. "I know you weren't expecting me to be here tonight, but how could I possibly pass up an opportunity to surprise all of you on this fine holiday eve?"
God, he's really going to perform, isn't he? John stands from his desk, immediately walking toward the door.
"Oh, no you don't!" Yowan steps in front of him, perfectly blocking the doorknob. "If you go now, we're both stuck here til morning. No, you can just ignore your little minx of a husband and get to fucking work."
"Move!" John snaps, hearing Arthur continue to address the crowd in the background.
"Seriously? He performs practically every night! This isn't new!"
John grits his teeth. Yowan is, unfortunately, correct. The sooner he finishes this, the sooner he can get out there. Hopefully before Arthur finishes his show. "Goddammit, fine!" He turns and storms back to his desk, though not before taking another look out to see Arthur begin a rendition of White Christmas.
Fine. He can do this.
John forces himself to focus on the task at hand, letting Arthur's songs work their way into the background. He even manages to make good progress, until a sudden uproar in the crowd sounds. John's head snaps up, catching sight of Arthur at the same moment he process what exactly he's singing now.
"I'll wait up for you, dear" Arthur purrs, no longer on the stage but instead standing over one of the patrons, flashing his leg out from the dress, "Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!"
Arthur spins off, now making his way to the bar to stand beside…
"Think of all the fun I've missed," Arthur's free hand reaches up to brush Parker's cheek. "Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed."
Parker's face may have gone beet red, but that could also simply be John's vision.
Arthur turns and looks out, past the crowd. Even unable to see him, John knows that Arthur knows exactly where John's desk is in that room, proven now as he can see Arthur's eyes staring directly at him and tossing a wink in his direction.
"Next year I could be just as good, if you'll check off my Christmas list."
Right. So Arthur is mad at him.
"Damn, bet he'd be climbing into your lap if you were out there." Yowan laughs.
"Shut up!" John forces his head back down, furiously scrawling down stupid fucking numbers.
Reinvigorated, he makes a good pace, especially once the current song finishes up and Arthur mercifully returns to the stage. The remainder even goes well, at least until a particular shift in the piano tune catches his ears making him lift his head back up.
Kayne is now standing beside the piano, while Arthur has sat himself down to play and Arthur…
"I really can't stay…" Arthur's voice rumbles through the speakers.
Hold on…
"But baby it's cold outside."
Is he doing a fucking duet?
"I've got to go away,"
Kayne circles around the grand piano, finger trailing across it's surface."But baby it's cold outside."
With Kayne?
John hears a sharp crack, looking down to see that he's apparently snapped the pencil he's been working with in half. "God fucking—" He hurls the broken halves at his brother, who lets the pieces bounce off of him, making a show of being politely invested in the performance outside.
"Well this is a treat, Kayne never sings for the club unless he's wasted," Yowan comments idly, still situated directly in front of the fucking door. John hastily grabs a pen and scrawls furiously.
"My father will be pacing the floor," Arthur's face turns and glances up, once more finding John's in his office.
"Listen to the fireplace roar," Kayne stops his circuit behind Arthur, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going to fucking kill them both." John announces.
"Sure sure, at least finish fucking counting first." Yowan rolls his eyes.
"I ought to say, 'no no no, sir',"
"Mind if I move in closer?" Kayne leans down until his head is right next to Arthur's to share the mic mounted to the piano.
"At least I'm gonna say that I tried," Arthur tilts his head back to rest it against Kayne's shoulder.
"What's the sense of hurtin' my pride?" At that, both of their eyes turn to find John, the telltale gleam of mischief alight in both.
Well. If that's how they want to play this.
"Fortunately," He says flatly to his brother as he stands up. "I just finished."
"Did you actually?"
John picks up the papers and stands, walking over to shove them in Yowan's chest. "It's all there, take it and stow it, just get your ass out of my way."
"Well someone is riled up." Yowan laughs, taking the papers and stepping aside. He gestures grandly to the door, permitting exit at last.
John storms out, rounding the short hall to enter the club itself just as that damned song is ending. Arthur spots him immediately, a grin pulling onto his face.
John steps up onto the stage, plucking the microphone off of the stand and turning to face the crowd.
"Everyone, give it up for Arthur for this wonderful Christmas treat!"
Kayne chuckles behind him, making John squeeze the mic tight as he forces himself to keep a smile plastered while he waits for the crowd to settle.
"Unfortunuately that was his last song for the night, but don't worry, we still have your regularly scheduled entertainment for the evening!"
There's only a short delay before the original performer rushes onto the stage, summoned by the boss' words. Once the mic has been handed off, John turns around to where Arthur is still seated and holds a hand out to help him up.
Arthur takes it, looking like the cat who got the canary when John squeezes his hand almost too tightly—Possessively—while leading him offstage.
"Did you enjoy the show?" Arthur asks behind the thinnest mask of innocence. "I figured I'd do something nice for our guests since I was here."
"Don't pretend there was anything nice about that."
"Oh, are you saying I was naughty?" Arthur turns around John's arm, pressing himself into the man's chest. "Maybe you should teach me a lesson."
"If you keep this up, we're not even going to make it home," John warns.
"Mm, you're not saying anything that's convincing me I did anything wrong."
John lets go of Arthur's hand to instead grab him by his hair and his ass, crushing him against him while he slams their lips together. Arthur groans, pawing at John in a futile effort to hold him even closer. He grinds slowly against John, feeling for the growing arousal beneath his trousers.
John pulls away from Arthur's mouth to begin mouthing at his neck, hurriedly stumbling into the open dressing room and kicking the door shut behind them.
"All I'm hearing is that I should try to be naughty on Christmas more often," Arthur laughs breathily, pulling them back toward the couch and letting John push his weight foward until they fall together onto the cushioned surface.
"Don't push your luck," John warns, moving back to Arthur's mouth to shut him up while his hands find their way up the skirt of Arthur's dress.
"He really had to involve me with his flirting with John, huh?" Parker muses, downing the last of his drink in one gulp.
"Don't pretend you aren't dying to see the fallout," Kayne laughs, "Just you wait, when they finish going a few rounds backstage and come to us for the ride home, you'll have a fresh ticket to round two."