5 - All I want for Christmas

"Not all of them yet," Theseus admitted. "But on the ones I use the most, yet. I've indicated on my Instagram and my Twitter that I'm dating." He smiled at Asterius. "That's why some of my fans want a confirmation that it is you. But I'd rather wait for when I'll be able to properly kiss you for that, if that's alright with you. Oh, but speaking of which, we should make our relationship official on our facebook pages as well!"

"It'll take me a while. Are you sure ?" Carleen smiled at Horknath and raised on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, if he was still avoiding her gaze. But if she got a confirmation from him she agreed to go first, and grabbed everything she needed. She came out of the bathroom with her hair loose, and wearing a pair of winter pajamas. And without any make-up, which didn't change much in her case. She ran her hands through her long locks and smiled at him. "Bathroom's free!"

Asterius chuckled. "I don't mind waiting to make it known to your fans for good", he answered reassuringly, slowly stretching an arm to wrap it around Theseus' - if he was close enough. If not, it was more like an invitation for his boyfriend to get in there. He lazily took a hold of his own cellphone to open up his Facebook app, and didn't lose time in changing his status from single to in a relationship with Theseus Mishra. Mostly because he knew Theseus would appreciate, but also it felt weirdly satisfying to see it written down somewhere for everyone to see. "Done."

Horknath had taken advantage of the fact that Carleen would have taken some time in the bathroom to change fully before she came back - so now he was sitting on the bed in his pajama pants, without a shirt, and smiled at her when she exited the bathroom. "Alright!", he answered, getting up and walking off to the bathroom, leaving a kiss on her cheek as he went.

Theseus was close enough to Asterius already, but he leaned more into his side when his boyfriend wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He beamed however when he saw the relationship status request pop on his screen, and he pressed 'accept' immediately, before he held his boyfriend's cheek so that he could angle himself better and kiss him. "That's perferct! Thank you Asterius." He smiled to himself and took a picture of them both resting against each other, before he discarded his phone, and tried to get him to talk about his last camping trips.

Carleen had frozen slightly on her spot when she had seen Horknath with his chest bare - but she let out a fond smile when he walked closer, gushing slightly when he kissed her cheek. Oh, this felt all so domestic she could melt! She sat on the bed while waiting for him, so she wouldn't have to get out from under the blankets to close the curtains around her bed.
Eh, she was a princess.
In the meantime, she brushed her hair to free it of any remaining knots, and tried to suppress a yawn. This had been a long evening.

"You're welcome", Asterius answered simply, gladly letting Theseus to kiss him. He too put his phone back on the bedside table and leaned back a little better in the pillows, angling his arm better so that he could hold Theseus closer to his chest. He answered his boyfriend's questions about his own experience in camping in a quiet voice as he rubbed his thumb gently over his skin, asked some questions of his own and listened back to his ramblings with pleasure.
Even though it was clear enough, from the soothing voice he used and the gentle touching, that he was trying to see if Theseus would fall asleep or not. His boyfriend had confessed to him that he did not sleep nearly enough, after all.

When Horknath emerged from the bathroom - he had taken less time than carleen indeed - the first thing he intercepted was that cute half-yawn, and he smiled softly. "You're tired?", he asked, sitting on the opposite side of the bed. "Ah - sorry for the, uh. Lack of a shirt. I should've told you beforehand, but I tend to overheat if I wear one", he explained bashfully, not even sure why he felt the need to specify that.
I mean. They had almost made love once. Surely she wouldn't be overly concerned with his half-nudity, right?

Theseus's eyes actually flickered closed a few times, before he stopped trying to open them. His voice grew sleepy, his sentences shorter and shorter. Asterius' voice and presence were indeed soothing him, to the point that he was falling asleep in his arms, completely at peace.

Carleen chuckled kindly. "Don't worry about it. But I hope I can still sleep in your arms without making you uncomfortable, in that case. Both from the closeness and, well. From the fact that I will certainly look for heat during the night. My feet will be icy cold, I hope you won't mind." She pecked Horknath's lips and then went to close the curtains around her bed, so that they both could slide under the blankets.

Asterius smiled to himself when he heard his boyfriend's words start to get less and less, and softly nuzzled his hair when he noticed that he had closed his eyes. He was careful not to move too much, as to not bother Theseus and his newly-found sleep, even though he couldn't resist from running his hand over his back, soothingly and gently, quite ready to fall asleep himself.

Horknath smiled bashfully at Carleen when she pecked his lips. "Of course you can sleep in my arms, even right from the start", he answered softly, getting under the blankets. "And I don't mind cold feet if they're yours. You can leech off my warmth all you want", he added with chuckle.

Theseus indeed fell asleep under Asterius' ministrations. His last words had probably been about a wish to go stargazing with Asterius on their next romantic getaway, but honestly, he wouldn't remember much of it in the next morning.

Carleen chuckled back, and cuddled with Horknath under the blankets with a pleased sigh. "You're so warm, indeed." They probably talked a bit more, kissed a few times and exchanged a few chuckles before they too fell asleep in each other's arms.

--

On the next morning, around 8, Theseus frowned slightly and then opened his eyes lazily. There was a bit of light filtrating through his closed shutters, and honestly that was a bit unsettling. He usually woke up to a fully dark bedroom.
Then again, he never woke up with his face pressed against a warm, fuzzy chest. Now that was something he'd like to get used to. He smiled to himself and ran his hands over Asterius' torso and back, while looking up to see if he was still asleep.

Carleen too awoke around that time, but it took her a little longer. She sighed softly when she noticed that she wasn't alone in bed, and tried to shift a little closer to Horknath, seeking his warmth.
Especially with her poor, cold feet, that she tried to warm up.

Asterius was by no means a light sleeper - so normally, Theseus caressing his chest wouldn't have been enough to stir him awake. But it was already close to the hour he'd normally wake up anyway, so he blinked sleepily, instinctively tightening his arm around his boyfriend's back. He looked down at him and smiled softly, without saying anything.

Horknath shivered a little bit when Carleen's icy feet rubbed against his leg - but all in all, he wasn't as fazed as a walker would have been. He was quite warm, as said, and when he remembered in the fumes of his slowly retreating sleep that he wasn't sleeping alone, he turned around to hold Carleen close to him, so that she could feel less cold.

Theseus smiled at Asterius, and leaned in to kiss him. The gesture was spontaneous and not as careful as usual so he let out a slight distraught noise through it - it didn't pain him anymore, but the cast bumping against his boyfriend's snout and ring didn't feel too great. "Good morning, Asterius," he then said sleepily, before he let out a yawn. "Did you sleep well?"

Carleen smiled to herself when she felt strong arms wrapping around her, and finally opened her eyes to look up at Horknath. And if he still hadn't opened his own eyes, she would just snuggle close to him, and wait for him to get up. And if he wasn't a morning person, or wouldn't wake up any time soon, well, then she gently brushed her fingers against his torso, drawing small circles on his muscles.

"Good morning", Asterius greeted him back, his voice still low since he had just waken up. He happily kissed Theseus back, even though he did cut it a bit short when he heard his distressed huff. "I've slept fine. Your bed is very comfortable." He lovingly ran his hand through Theseus' soft locks. "What about you? Did you sleep well?"

Horknath was most definitely less of a morning person than Asterius - but he just couldn't keep his eyes closed when he felt Carleen snuggle close to him and caress his skin. He sighed blissfully and looked down at her with a small smile. "Hey. Good morning", he greeted her in a murmur, leaning in to kiss her lips. "How are you feeling?"

Theseus hummed softly, appreciating to feel Asterius' hand in his hair. It was probably messy by now, with many strands falling on his forehead. "You know what? I have no idea what time it is, but all I can tell is that I definitely didn't wake up tonight. I feel particularly rested."

Carleen smiled back at Horknath. "Like the luckiest girl in the world. And I've slept well. How about you?" She wiggled her toes against his legs, glad to find them warmed up by now.

Asterius didn't mind that Theseus' head looked messier in the morning - he kept on petting it, enjoying the feeling under his fingers. "It happens to you often, to wake up in the middle of the night?", he asked gently, only slightly moving to fetch his phone from the bedside table. indeed he had no idea what time it was either, but he was feeling quite rested.

"Like the luckiest boy in the world", Horknath echoed with a little grin. "And I've slept well too." He chuckled when he felt her moving his feet against his leg. "You weren't joking when you said that your feet are cold in the morning. For a second I thought I had stepped in the snow", he teased her, tightening his grip around her a little bit.

Theseus stretched a little since Asterius turned away from him, but then he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's hips. "Hm. I usually wake up at least twice per night. And get out of bed at either 4 or 5, depending on whether or not I manage to sleep again before 5. What time is it?" He asked with another slight yawn.

Carleen let out a soft chuckle. "They're not that cold. But thank you for warming them up, at least my toes won't fall off now." She nuzzled their noses together. "Mh... I'm kinda hungry, but I feel so comfortable now that I'm back in your arms. What to do, now," she joked kindly.

Asterius scoffed. "That's awfully early", he observed, a slight, chastising note in his voice before he put down his phone and snuggled again against Theseus with a satisfied hum. "It's just 8. We can rest another little while", he answered.
Not realizing that to Theseus, that would have probably sounded as it's awfully late, let's make it even later.

Horknath chuckled, feeling hismelf melt a little at her tender gesture. "You're welcome." He honestly didn't feel like abandoning Carleen's embrace so soon after waking up, but if she was a little hungry then they'd better get up. They could always cuddle a little more after breakfast, right? "Let's get up and have some breakfast. Then, with our stomaches full, we can hug all we want", he suggested, kissing her forehead after nuzzling his nose against her for another little bit.

"It's 8?" Theseus asked in disbelief, before he scoffed. "It means I've slept close to 7 hours! That's a whole lot! It's- double the time I'm used to! But if you are still tired, then, I suppose I could wait for a bit more..."
He wasn't sleepy, no. He was just extremely comfy.
Very comfy.

"True," Carleen replied with a fond smile. "And that way I'll be able to show you around before we get everything ready for our party!" She finally untangled herself from Horknath to get up and get dressed in casual clothes. She'd dress up for their party later! "Do you like pancakes, by the way? Our chef should be on holidays today, so Alfred probably made some pancakes."

"It's the amount of sleep you should always get", Asterius corrected him. "I'm not tired. But I feel like it would do you good to take everything a little easier." He ran his hand from his head down to his shoulder, brushing his fingers up and down on his arm. "We can get up and have breakfast, if you wish. Then we could get on our morning run."

Horknath held back a smile and got up as well, ready to get dressed. "I'm alright with pancakes", he answered distractedly, before he walked to the bathroom to quickly wash his face and put on some clean, comfortable clothes. When he re-emerged from it he was adjusting his hair, running his fingers through it to make sure it would stay in place. "Do you mind if I take a run around your place, afterwards?"

Theseus perked up and grinned at Asterius. "Let us go, then! I actually rarely have breakfast for my morning run. It only happens when I wake up at 5 and decide to go in the kitchen to greet our chef instead of getting out right away. He likes the company," he explained as he finally got up. "But when we're at uni I rarely eat at all for breakfast, since there's no one for me to spend time with then. Carleen wakes up rather late."

"Not at all! I could come with you to show you around, if you wish. I wouldn't be running, though," she told him with a grin. "But if you'd rather have a running partner, maybe Thee will be in the mood to take another round with Asterius." Yes, she genuinely suspected that Theseus had gotten up early as per his usual.

Asterius snorted as he got up as well, eyeing Theseus a little disapprovingly. Because avoiding breakfast was definitely not good, in any book. "It's a wonder you manage to stand on your feet", he observed, raising from the bed to stretch a little bit. "With a healthier lifestyle you'd really be the most fearsome rival I could ever dream of."

Horknath beamed. "I would love for you to show me around", he answered, leaning towards her to leave a kiss on her cheek. "I have the feeling that Theseus is going to want Asterius all for himself, and I really don't want to third-wheel them", he joked.

Theseus held back a smile, his chest swelling with pride. But let's be honest, he was also fairly excited by now. "Then I'll do my best to make my lifestyle healthier, so that no one could ever dream of becoming a better rival to your eyes! Just so you wait, Asterius! It might be that the next time we wrestle, I defeat you!" He discarded his pajamas quickly before he dressed up, putting on some sportswear right away - he didn't intend on sitting idle for too long after their breakfast before they went for their run.

Carlee chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. A morning jog is totally my brother's idea of a romantic time together." She put on Horknath's sweater, the one he had gifted to her. It was now her most comfortable piece of clothing, so of course she loved it! "I was thinking of maybe following you on horseback - what do you think?"

"We'll see about that." Asterius smiled to himself, and went to look in his bag for his own sportswear. He wasn't as quick as Theseus - he liked to take his time in the morning - but he was ready soon enough. "We may go", he said after carefully folding his pajama pants and laying them on his bag. He got closer to Theseus and leaned down - he couldn't resist from pecking him on the lips again.

Horknath froze for a split second. Carleen on a horse? That sounded like he was going to witness her at her most graceful! Was he ready for that? "Oh - sure! That way you'll keep up with me without having to run", he finally answered, smiling at her a little shyly.

Theseus smiled to himself and kissed Asterius back, before he took his hand in his. "Come now, love - We have a lot we want to do this morning, we'd better get going!" He grinned at his boyfriend and lead him out of his room, actually meeting with Carleen and Horknath on his way to the kitchen. Carleen was actually quite surprised to learn that her brother had just woken up, as were her parents when they heard the news at breakfast. Ashanti and Sakrish exchanged a knowing smile, but didn't comment on it for now, being simply thankful that Theseus had slept a full night's sleep.

While their son showed Asterius around their gardens on that morning through their morning run, Carleen did the same with Horknath. She introduced him to her horse, a gentle black mare called Sakhi - after an Indian river - that she would ride by his side. Both couples ended by a tour of the house for everyone to cool down before their respective showers.

After lunch, Carleen had offered that she and the boys prepare the room that would be dedicated to their New Year's Eve party with their friends. Theseus had excused himself after an hour or two, saying that his father needed him for something. He didn't specify why - Carleen stepped in at that moment to explain it was related to their father's work, so no more question would be asked to him.

Only one hour before their guests were due to arrive, Carleen looked at her phone and beamed. "Well! I think we can get ready for the party, now. Asterius - Thee just told me he's home, and waiting for you in his bedroom, you can come up with us."
Now that didn't sound suspicious at all, did it.

Horknath was a little wary of Carleen's horse at first - who could blame him, every time his parents had decided to take him and his siblings on a nature-oriented trip to a farm, horses immediately tended to react to his nervousness and became quite disgruntled quite fast. But it was Carleen's horse, and he wasn't stressed, so in the end everything went down okay - maybe he even got to pet Sakhi's snout and give her a carrot or a sugar cube after his run with Carleen!

As for Asterius, he hadn't commented on the fact that Theseus was needed by his father for work - he supposed that being a model was pretty demanding, and probably there were very few holidays for them. He did, however, raise a brow when Carleen told him that his boyfriend was home already and waiting for him upstairs.
Maybe he was tired, and he had decided to go rest before the evening with their friends? He shrugged it off in the end, and followed her and Horknath upstairs to the bedroom. "Theseus? Can I come in?", he asked after knocking on the bedroom door, feeling suddenly sheepish for some reason.

Indeed, Carleen's horse was a cinnamon roll! She had gladly taken a treat from Horknath's hands, and had actually been so thrilled about having someone running by her side that she galloped a few times as if she were racing against him, drawing a few startled laughs from Carleen, who had reprimanded her kindly for not listening fully to her rider.
She definitely got both a carrot and a sugar.

Carleen was actually so glad to finally have a bit of time to cool down that she collapsed on her bed for a bit, with a soft sigh. "Pfew! And to say that now I've got to get ready for tonight. Will this year never end," she joked lightly.
Oh, she actually wanted this day to never end.

"Sure, Asterius!" Theseus replied from inside. He actually hurried off the bed where he had been sitting, looking at his nose through his phone's selfie mode, actually really, really glad that he had finally found his straight nose back. And he had probed at it a few times, to make sure it wasn't sensitive, and that he could kiss his boyfriend breathless!
"Close your eyes when you enter, please. I've got a surprise for you."

Horknath let out a little laugh when he saw Carleen flopping down on her bed. "Yes, today's really been something", he admitted as he carefully sat close to her on the bed, shooting a fond glance at her. "But I'm very glad I'll be ending this year with you - and start the new one in the same way."
Oh, he hoped this will be the case for many more years to come.

Asterius rolled his eyes, snorting amusedly at his boyfriend's curious request. "Fine. I just hope it's not some prank." He opened the door and took two careful steps inside the room, eyes closed as promised.

Carleen smiled fondly at Horknath. "I feel the same." She straightened up so that she could lean towards him. "Will you kiss me at midnight?" Her tone wasn't even teasing. She was dying to live this romantic fantasy of hers - kissing the man of her dreams at midnight. She had always been single around that time of the year, but she was confident that with Horknath things would be different, and not just because they were still together after a few months.

"It's not!" Theseus assured Asterius with a grin, that could be heard in his voice. He closed the door behind him, and came to step in front of his boyfriend. He wrapped one arm around his neck, the other ready with his phone to immortalize that moment. "You may open them."
He had already put on a tiny bit of concealer to hide the blueish hue that his skin still bore around his nose. But all in all, his wound was fully healed ; and if he had looked dashing before even with a slightly crooked nose, the difference showed.
And he couldn't wait to kiss Asterius, but he allowed his boyfriend some time to take the news in.