Chapter Text
“Jingle bells, Valentino smells. Vox just laid an egg,” Angel sang as he hung up garland around the banister.
Husk chuckled. “Can’t say I recognize that version of the song.”
Angel grinned. “You should hear some of my other variations of Christmas songs.”
“I’m not gonna lie, I find it a little odd how much you all actually enjoy this holiday,” Lucifer noted.
“What’s not to like about Christmas?!” Angel exclaimed. “Gifts! Christmas baking! Angels! Gifts! Sex!”
“How is sex involved with Christmas?” Lucifer asked. “I don’t know if you read the book, but Mary had baby Jesus without the sex.”
Angel waved his hand. “Please, we all know that was just a ploy because she got knocked up before she got married. Besides, it ain’t about Jesus it’s about the gifts and the toys and the food. And did I mention the gifts?”
“About three times,” Husk replied.
“Well, I just think it’s a great holiday,” Charlie chimed in as she decorated the tree. “I know humans love it. It’s the one time of year where people actually try to better themselves.”
“Guess I’m just a little disillusioned about it,” Lucifer replied. “I mean, people suck.”
“Some of us more than others,” Angel said with an overdramatic wink.
“I’ve got hot chocolate!” Niffty called as she dashed into the room with a tray full of mugs.
“Thanks, Niffty!” Charlie told her as she accepted a mug off of the tray. She took a sip. “This is amazing!”
“It’s the recipe I used all the time back on Earth,” she replied.
Everyone else accepted a mug as she made her way around the room. Alastor was sitting on the sofa quietly, lost in his own thoughts. “Alastor,” she called to him as she stood in front of him.
He quickly looked up at her as though suddenly realizing she was there. “Yes?”
She held the tray out to him; his tall red mug the last on it. “Hot chocolate?”
He smiled and accepted it. “Thank you, my dear.” He took a sip. “Delightful.”
Lucifer took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa. “Not much into the Christmas spirit?” he teased. “What’s got you so glum?”
“Nothing,” he replied simply.
Lucifer considered him for a moment. Alastor wasn’t wearing his usual smile. He’d been doing that a lot more recently. Ever since he’d broken his soul contract he seemed to have changed as though he didn’t need to pretend anymore and could just be whoever he wanted to be. Lucifer decided to ignore him. If the man wasn’t going to join in the merriment of the others, who was he to try to make him.
“So,” Lucifer called to everyone else, “what were your favorite Christmas traditions when you were alive?”
***
Alastor wandered the halls wanting to be alone with his thoughts. He didn’t hate Christmas. No, he loathed it. He tried not to think of his mother, the smell of cinnamon as she made wassail. The fresh sent of baked cookies, the vanilla permeating the air. They didn’t have much, but she always made it special, she and his father. He remembered playing on the floor as a boy with the hand-carved train set his father had made for him as his mother knit by the fireplace.
“Son,” his father called to him, grabbing his attention.
Alastor looked up from his play and dropped his smile; he’d never seen his father with such a sad expression on his face. “What is it, Papa?” he asked.
His father took a deep breath as he looked over at his wife. He met Alastor’s eyes once more. “There’s something your mother and I have been needing to tell you.”
Alastor stood up and went to his father, crawling into his lap. “What is it, Papa?” he asked again, quiet, more fear and concern in his tone.
He took a deep breath. “You know the world is a scary place right now,” he began. “And there are a lot of bad and evil men out there.” Alastor nodded as he listened quietly. His father sighed. “I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’m just gonna come out and say it. I’m going overseas to do my part to help our country.”
Alastor sat there and stared at his father blankly. “I don’t understand, Papa.”
His mother sighed as she set down her knitting. She moved from her rocker to sit next to her husband. She rested a hand on Alastor’s back. “Your father has joined the army, to do his part for the war effort.”
Alastor looked at his mother and then at his father. “But why?” he asked.
“I didn’t have much choice, son,” he told him. “The president says he needs men to join and when he sends out this little blue paper to you, he expects you to go.”
Alastor looked between both of his parents. His gaze finally settling on his father. “When do you have to go?”
He sighed. “Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!” he shouted. The day after Christmas!?
His father nodded solemnly. “Yes. I’m sorry, son-”
“You can’t go!” he cried as tears filled his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his father tightly. “You can’t go,” he repeated softly.
He heard his father sigh again. “I know, son, but I hafta.”
His father had written to them every day, until one day the letters just stopped. That following Christmas was the last Christmas he ever celebrated; he didn’t care about the holiday, not with his father gone.
“Oh, Alastor! There you are!” Charlie called to him as she made her way toward him. “We’re about to decorate the tree! I thought we could use it as a hotel bonding time.”
Alastor gave her a tight smile. “I’ll be there shortly.”
***
“It’s about time, Bambi,” Lucifer called to him as he made his way down the stairs. “We were about to start without you.”
“He doesn’t seem too happy to be joining us, anyway,” Vaggie commented.
“Well, Vagatha,” Alastor started as he made his way toward the tree, “Charlie asked for my presence, not my happiness. And I’m here.”
“You need to get into the Christmas spirit,” Angel told him.
“There’s only one kind of Christmas spirit Al wants,” Husk jokes as he hands him a cup of eggnog.
“Thank you, Husker,” he told him sincerely as he accepted the glass. He took a sip and hummed approvingly, the spiciness of the rye in the drink dancing on his tongue.
“Be careful,” Lucifer warns. “Too much of that and you’ll turn into Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.” He laughs.
Alastor quirks a brow. “Rudolph the what now?”
“The red-nosed reindeer,” Angel answers. “Oh, that was probably before your time. Children’s story of a weird looking reindeer with a shiny red nose.”
“And if you ever saw it,” Lucifer chanted in a sing-songy tone, “you would even say it glows.”
“All of the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names,” Cherri sang as she hung a red bauble onto the tree.
“They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games,” Charlie sang.
“You know the song?!” Angel asked in excited surprise.
“I know some things about Earth,” she replied.
“And that’s the story?” Alastor asked. “An odd-looking reindeer that the others made fun of? What a truly inspiring story.”
“Oh, no,” Lucifer chimed in next. “It gets better.” He began to sing. “Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say…”
Niffty piped in next, singing the next line, “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight.”
Then everyone began to sing, “Then how the reindeer loved him. As they shouted out with glee, ‘Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you’ll go down in history!”
Alastor looked around the room at everyone. “Well then.”
“Nope, I’m with you. I think it’s dumb,” Vaggie told him.
“No, it’s supposed to be inspiring!” Angel replied. “You know, how you can be different and still loved.”
“Or used,” Alastor replied. “They didn’t care about him at all until they found use for him.”
“Well, if you wanna look at it that way, Debbie-downer,” Lucifer replied as he put an angel ornament on the tree.
“I’m a realist,” he replied. “Not a downer.”
“Drink some more of that drink and maybe you’ll get a bit cheerier,” Lucifer replied.
Alastor met his eyes. “Perhaps,” he replied as he took another sip. He let his mind wander as he joined in with the festivities. The sooner they were done the sooner he didn’t have to be there.
The banter and conversation continued back and forth as they worked on decorating the tree. Lucifer kept an eye on Alastor. He seemed even less enthused to be there than he had been earlier when they were decorating. He didn’t care one way or the other, he told himself, but Charlie seemed to love the holiday and he could tell how sad it made her to see that even one of her friends wasn’t enjoying celebrating it. That simply would not do.
“Alright! We ready for the star?” Lucifer asked once everyone had put their decorations on the tree.
Charle clapped her hands excitedly. “Yes!”
Lucifer smiled. “Alright.” He handed the star to her and scooped her up in his arms before unfurling his wings and flying straight to the top.
Alastor tried not to think about decorating their tree as a boy as he watched Lucifer lift his daughter to put the star on top. They’d had an angel rather than a star. His father would pick him up to put it on. He could still recall the feeling of being in his father’s arms and the warm embrace as they stood there and looked over their work.
“It looks really nice, Papa,” Alastor said as he cuddled into his father’s arms. “Did you see where I put the reindeer, Mama?!”
She smiled at him. “I did, darlin’, I did.” She kissed his cheek. “Now, it’s off to bed with you.”
“Ahh! Can’t I stay up a little longer?” he whined.
“Not if you want Santa to come,” his father answered. “Come on, let’s get you tucked in.”
Alastor looked around the room as everyone chatted about the decorations and how beautiful the tree looked. He cleared his throat. “Well, if we’re done, I’ll excuse myself.” He turned and headed for the stairs.
Lucifer sighed. He was doing this for Charlie, he told himself. He quickly followed him and grabbed him by the wrist. “Come on, Bambi, I think Charlie was hoping to do some Christmas games now.”
Alastor shook him off. “I have done my due diligence; I have shown up as requested and participated in said activity. I think I have done enough for the evening.”
Lucifer crossed his arms. “You think just showing up and playing along is good enough?” he asked, more anger in his tone than he’d intended. “Maybe you shouldn’t have even bothered if you can’t at least pretend to be enjoying yourself.”
“You’re one to talk about pretending,” he quipped back. “The master of pretending to be an actual ruler. Hell, pretending to be a good father.”
“What would you know about being a good father?” he growled. “I don’t need any judgement from you. You’ve probably only glommed onto Charlie to pretend to be a father to her because you have daddy issues yourself.”
Alastor felt his face heat. “Do not speak of my father again,” he warned.
Lucifer smiled. “Ooo, hit a nerve, did I? Guess I was right about those daddy issues after all.”
Alastor could feel his rage coming on, his horns growing, his eyes dilating into radio dials. “You know nothing about me.”
Their attention was turned to Angel when he giggled. “Look who’s under the mistletoe,” he told them, pointing at the decoration hanging above them.
Alastor’s rage diminished, his horns growing smaller to their regular size as he and Lucifer looked upward. “Oh,” Lucifer said, “he’s right.”
Alastor pulled his gaze away. “He’s not right, you imbecile; that’s holly, not mistletoe! Mistletoe has white berries, not red.”
Lucifer grinned. “Oh, you mean like this?” He waved his hand and shot a little magic into the air transforming the decoration from holly into mistletoe. “Wait! Now look who’s under the mistletoe!”
Alastor glared. “You think you’re awfully cute, don’t you?”
He chuckled. “Actually, I think I’m adorable. And I think you do too,” he replied with a wiggle of his brows.
Alastor glared at him slightly. “Do you now?” He could play Lucifer’s game just as well as he could. He leaned forward. “Something tells me you want to kiss me. Well, you didn’t need to use this silly holiday tradition to do so. You could have just asked me for a kiss.”
Lucifer’s eyes grew wide in surprise. He did not want to kiss this idiot! Did he? “Well…” he stuttered, “I’m sure if I’d tried, you’d have turned me down.”
“Says who?” he challenged.
“Says me! That’s who!” He grinned again as he leaned in closer as well. “Unless you’re saying you wanted me to ask you for a kiss.” He grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him down so they were face to face. “So, whadaya say, Bambi, can I kiss you?”
Alastor’s breath caught in his throat. Kissing the little monarch was the last thing he wanted. Wasn’t it? He was just trying to see who would break first. “Well, who am I to say no to tradition,” he answered nonchalantly. “We are under the mistletoe now.”
Lucifer chuckled. “Listen, I might be a lot of things, but I’m certainly not going to force myself on anyone. So, I’m game, if you are, but only if you want to as well.”
“As I said, I’m not saying no.”
Lucifer’s grin widened. “But are you saying ‘yes’?”
Alastor closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against Lucifer’s, closing his eyes as they made contact. Lucifer kissed him back immediately and then deepened it, pressing his tongue between his lips. Alastor’s head was swimming at so much physical contact, but he would not be beaten in this game, so he kissed him in return, letting his tongue meet Lucifer’s.
Lucifer was the one to finally break the kiss, lightly biting at Alastor’s bottom lip as he pulled away. He chuckled. “Well, that certainly felt like a yes to me.”
Alastor straightened up and straightened his shirt. “As I said, who am I to say no to tradition? Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He turned on his heel and disappeared into the shadows.
Lucifer turned back to the rest of the group and was surprised to see the look of shock on their faces. “What?!”
“Wow,” Angel said, “can I have a go next?”
Husk smacked his arm to shut him up.
Lucifer laughed. “Um, maybe another time.” He had to wrap his head around what just happened. He knew he didn’t want to kiss Alastor before, but now, he certainly wanted to kiss him again.