5 - All I want for Christmas

"Will do", Horknath answered, amusedly watching Theseus almost tripping in the couch as he backpedaled away towards the kitchen. He sighed, looking back at Carleen, a bashful smile on his lips. "I don't know what you mean, this went over great!", he joked, before scratching his neck a little. "Yeah, I... sorry", he finally let out, even though he knew it was definitely not his fault - or anyone's fault, really. "This was definitely not how I imagined this to go." Because he had definitely imagined this before.

Asterius - who had just turned around with one bottle of beer in each hand - stared down at Theseus as he pressed his face against his chest. He let out a little sigh, holding back a little smile as he rested the beers on the nearby kitchen counter and gently patted his boyfriend's back. "Are you alright?"

Carleen smiled at Horknath, and gently took his hands in her to guide him upstairs. "Me neither. But- I suppose it'll make up for a fun story in the future," she told him with a chuckle. "'Our failed attempt at sex', subtitled, 'My brother staggered out of the closet and we should definitely close the door next time'!" She grinned at Horknath, clearly hoping to de-dramatize the whole situation.

Theseus scoffed, but it took him a few more seconds to finally look up at him. "Me? I'm fine, Asterius, perfectly fine!" He sighed, however. "So- you knew. About the both of them, I mean."

Horknath let out a laugh at Carleen's joke. "Yes, I guess all of our friends will definitely have a good laugh with this", he answered with a little smile, looking lovingly at her - and squeezing her hand in his. When they got back in his bedroom he quickly looked around to fish back his pants from near the bed and pulled them back on, passing Carleen's own pants back to her with a bashful look in her direction. "You can. Keep my sweater, if you like it", he blurted out, for the first time now taking in just how much he actually enjoyed the thought of Carleen wearing his clothes.
It was a romance trope he actually quite liked.

Asterius hummed. "I did. I thought you knew too", he added, tilting his head. "Horknath has come at your place quite a lot of times to meet up with Carleen, to go on dates." He gently let go of Theseus just to rest his hands on his shoulders. "If you're doubtful of my brother, don't be. Horknath is honest, good, and soft-hearted. I know no person who's kinder than him."

Carleen beamed when Horknath offered her to keep his sweater. "Really? Oh, thanks!" She walked closer to him - still holding her pants instead of putting them back on - so that she could kiss him. She cleared her throat afterwards however, and raised the sweater just a bit to reveal his boxers underneath - that she had most definitely pulled up a little for the pair to fit her. "I. Suppose I should give this back to you once it's wash, shouldn't I," she asked a little more shyly. "I, uh. I panicked earlier."

Theseus sighed. "Oh, worry not, Asterius. I don't have issues with your brother - in fact, as you put it, he and Carleen have been meeting regularly already. I was simply concerned and angered beforehand, because I thought that it went on too fast. But it is not the case, then! It's fine. Everything is fine." Yet, the way he pouted and pressed his cheek against Asterius' chest indicated that he was a tiny bit upset by these recent events.

Horknath happily kissed her back, before his attention was diverted by her demure cough and he looked down to see her lifting up the hem of his sweater. His heart stuttered for a second - he genuinely thought she was still commando under the safe cover of his sweater - before he noticed that she was wearing his boxers. He let out an embarrassed laugh, looking back up at her. "It's probably better", he admitted. "I don't want you to have to wear the pair of underwear that Spike has had in his mouth."

Asterius snorted. He looked fondly at the cute pout Theseus was sporting now - and was uselessly trying to hide against his chest - and he ran his fingers through his hair. "You know what I like the most about you?", he murmured, thoughtlessly playing with some of his boyfriend's longer locks. "That you wear your emotions right on your sleeves." He brushed his snout against his head, and then got the beers back in his hands. "You still want this?", he asked, showing him a bottle.

"Well. Thanks," Carleen replied with a chuckle, before she let the sweater fall back down around her hips, having her struggle just a little bit when she put her pants back on. She then sat on the bed and looked at Horknath with a smile. "Even if we... didn't do it, would you feel comfortable to sleep in my room both on the 30th and the 31st? I mean- we do have guest rooms at my parents' place, but I'd feel lonely knowing that you're under the same roof, in another room."

Theseus scoffed, but he was conflicted. Was he half-offended that Asterius could see so clearly right through him? Or was he pleased to know that his boyfriend had a favourite to pick among the things he liked in him? In the end, he got distracted by the offered beer, and let out a smile. "I do, Asterius." He picked his bottle of beer and waited to be able to clink it with Asterius', before he took a long sip of it. "Shall we go and get that nail polish for your horns, then?"

Horknath had opened a drawer to pick another sweater to put on, and was shrugging on a clean one. He turned to face Carleen with a startled expression as he tugged down his top, blinking. "You mean your parents wouldn't mind if I stayed in your room?", he asked, sounding honestly baffled. "I mean- of course I would feel comfortable sleeping with you", he added quickly, feeling his fluster raise to his cheeks again and looking back down, feigning to straighten a wrinkle in his sweater. "If they're okay with it - if you are okay with it."

Asterius clinked his bottle back against Theseus', downing down some of the beer. "Sure. I'll go get it for you, I keep it in the bathroom downstairs", he added, nodding towards a closed door. He rested his bottle on the counter. "You'll need to sit on the couch. I'll be sitting on a pillow on the ground, to give you more reach", he explained.

Carleen smiled fondly at Horknath. "Like you said to my brother- we're both consenting adults." She shrugged. "They'd have something to say if we were both underage, but it's not the case, so. Besides- I haven't told Thee about that plan, but he'll probably jump on the opportunity to ask Asterius to come as well and he won't agree to have him sleep anywhere but in his own bed."

Theseus grinned. "Alright, then! I'll go sit on the couch and wait for you." He did raise on his tiptoes to peck Asterius' lips though, before he went to flop on the couch with his beer, at which he sipped before he narrowed his eyes when looking at Spike, if he was still in the room.

Horknath snorted. "And he gives me the impression of someone who never relents until he gets what he wants", he commented - thinking that Carleen was maybe a little bit like that too. But if it came down to her, he definitely didn't mind. He did like an assertive woman. "I don't know how Asterius will feel about that, but I'll gladly sleep at your side", he added with a kind smile, walking up to her to sit at her side on his bed.

Asterius let Theseus peck him with a content hum before going towards the bathroom to retrieve the nail polish.
He didn't take long, soon coming back with both the right color and all that was needed to remove it - in case his boyfriend decided that there was a speck that looked out of place.
And Spike was indeed still there, looking as innocent as ever, half snoring on the floor - even though when he felt Theseus' eyes on him, he just started wagging his tail more.
Usually when someone looked at him it meant pets were coming.

Carleen smiled back at Horknath and took his hand in hers. "It'll make me glad too. And- I always had a pretty big bed, so hopefully you'll be alright!" She then excitedly discussed with him what they might organise for New Year's Eve with their friends.

'You'd better stay put on the day Asterius and I decide to make love here', Theseus thought hard while looking at Spike, but he beamed again when Asterius came back to him. He opened his legs to make space for his boyfriend there, and once he sat down he probably ran his hands on his horns for a bit before he painted them with neat, intricate details, while chatting with his boyfriend.
And by the end of the afternoon, he ran his hands into Asterius' hair and kissed his forehead, all done with his painting.

They probably chatted like that for the rest of the afternoon - Horknath leaned back on the bed at some point, gently but insistently puling Carleen down with him so that they could at least cuddle a little bit while deciding who to invite and what games they'd play on New Year's Eve.

Asterius happily listened to Theseus as he spoke to him while painting his horns, providing answers from time to time - but mainly just content to hear his boyfriend excitedly tell him about his last hiking trip back before he broke his nose, and how hyped he was to organize another one soon, closing his eyes from time to time because it was just very relaxing to him, to be handled with so much care.
He opened his eyes back when Theseus kissed his forehead and stretched a little, rolling his shoulders. "All done?", he asked.

Of course, Carleen happily cuddled with Horknath until it was late and time to go! She sighed then, when she saw how late it was. "I should get back with Thee so that we may ready our bags and drive back home. I know we're seeing each other again in three days, but- I'll miss you." She looked up at Horknath, with a sad look on her face.

"All done," Theseus confirmed with a smile. He brought his hands on Asterius' shoulders. "Did your sitting stance leave you sore?" He began to massage his shoulders for a bit, trying to find and undo any knots.

Horknath looked down at Carleen and felt his heart squeeze painfully inside his chest. Aw- how was it allowed to be that cute? "I'll miss you too", he answered softly, cupping her cheeks to kiss her on the mouth. "But I can't wait for you to come by at Christmas. And I can't wait to start the new year with you at my side."

Asterius held back a smile when he felt Theseus' hands knead at his shoulders and back. "It was actually quite relaxing", he admitted. "I enjoyed having you paint my horns. You're very delicate." He tilted his head. "And you? Didn't you get bored, sitting still for so long?" It was a legit question. His boyfriend was always so full of energy that imagining him not moving for so long felt almost unnatural.

Carleen smiled at Horknath. "You're right. We'll have plenty of opportunities to build memories together." She sighed softly an gently laid a hand on one of his own, on her cheek. "I love you, Horknath." She hoped the words didn't feel too heavy, but- she couldn't hold it back. She loved him more dearly than anything in the world.

Theseus was grinning proudly by then, but he stopped his ministrations the moment Asterius looked at him over his shoulder. And he scoffed. "Why, Asterius! What got you to believe that I would be bored by anything remotely tied to you? Never, do you hear me? I'll never be bored in your vicinity!" Unless sociology was involved but. Hey.

If Horknath's heart had tightened before, when Carleen uttered those words to him it downright exploded. He felt himself melt as she touched him, and couldn't help but lean down to kiss her again, more passionately than he had ever done before. "I love you", he repeated then against her lips, gasping for air a little bit. "I love you too, Carleen."

Asterius scoffed as well, even though his own scoffing was far more amused. "Really?" He glanced at him again, raising a brow. "Nothing? Are you sure?" He turned around for good, folding his arms on Theseus' knees to look up at him. "Not even studying?", he asked, with a somewhat smug light in his eyes. "Not even sociology?" He was clearly teasing him now.

Carleen replied happily to the kiss, wrapping her arms around Horknath's neck to keep him close. She felt like she could burst at any moment with happiness- She had finally told Horknath about her feelings for him, and he shared them! Oh, how sweet that felt.

Theseus had been about to protest, but his mouth twisted into a slight pout, that morphed into a grin when sociology was mentioned. "You sly bull. I was speaking of things that are directly related to you! Sociology is the most boring thing on Earth, and I can't wait to be done with it in a few years."

How sweet indeed. Horknath sighed happily against Carleen's mouth, still holding her tight against him, kissing her to his heart's content - even though it got slowly softer, and a little less desperate. More and more loving, that was for sure. After a good while he regretfully broke their kiss, only to look at her with utter fondness. "I'm so happy", he sighed.

Asterius chuckled. "I had no doubts", he answered then, lightly patting Theseus' leg before he finally rose from the ground. He stretched a little bit like he would before a wrestling match before sitting down next to his boyfriend. He brought his arm around his shoulders, gently pulling him closer to his side.

"Me too," Carleen replied with a soft sigh. "I'll text you tonight, if you're up for it. But I'll try to leave you a bit of time to spend with your family first." She smiled at him. "I mean... You haven't seen them in weeks, they're the priority right now."

Theseus leaned against Asterius and- actually held back a yawn as he settled against him. There was something about his boyfriend that made him all warm and fuzzy inside, and that had him relax so much he felt...
Sleepy.
As if all of his overload of energy finally left him to go back to a walker's normal level.

Horknath beamed. "That's very thoughtful of you - but do text me. I'll definitely find the time to answer - maybe not right away, but don't hesitate to write", he added with a little smile. "Besides, you'll be getting to your family's place too, right?"

Asterius glanced down at Theseus when he felt him barely keep a yawn for himself, noting how sleepy he looked all of a sudden. "Do you want to take a nap?", he asked kindly, not moving from his spot - brushing his lips against his head in a tender gesture.

Carleen nodded. "Yes. And my parents will drown Thee and I under questions about Asterius and you," She admitted with a smile. "Speaking of which-" She sighed. "We really should go if we don't want to arrive too late."

Theseus scoffed. "I don't nap," he protested, his eyes closing slowly. "I've never napped. In fact, I barely even sleep," he said, yawning through it this time. "That's why I get out at 5 every morning for a run."

Horknath let out an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, I think my parents will do pretty much the same. Even though if we're any lucky, Aria's the one who will get more attention." At least at first, anyway. Then his mother would have started drilling both him and Asterius for details about their new relationships. And he was very possibly going to be the designated victim, because Carleen was the very first girl he was bringing home - and the first he was having a relationship with. He sighed, though. "Alright, let's go then", he muttered as he raised from the bed once again.

Asterius frowned - and then scoffed. Hard. "Do you have any idea of how bad that is for your health?", he commented, still keeping his voice to a low, nice rumble though - he had noticed how Theseus was slowly drifting into sleep, and he actually hoped to get him to rest a little. "An athlete such as yourself should know best, Theseus. Along with a healthy diet and exercise, sleep is the most important thing." He paused. "And I've heard it does wonders for your skin." The classes he was taking for his degree were paying off with some knowledge it seemed!

Carleen nodded and got up, to get her shoes back on as well. She then sighed and got ready to go downstairs with him, only to pause at the end of the stairs when she spotted their brothers on the couch, unable to hold back a small smile. They were cute, and she felt bad for breaking their moment, especially given how tired Theseus sounded when he mumbled to Asterius that he was definitely right.

"Thee, I'm sorry but we should get going if we still want to have dinner with mom and dad at a reasonable hour."

Theseus sighed dramatically and forced his eyes open again. He doubted he'd feel at peace without Asterius' arms around him in his bed that night, and he obviously regretted it. "Yes. You're right too." He straightened up and yawned some more before he got up, and looked at his boyfriend with a slight pout. Oh, how he didn't want to go.

Horknath followed Carleen down the stairs, and indeed - it seemed that their brothers were having a cute moment, and he also felt a little guilty for interrupting them. But after all, he and Asterius needed to get all their stuff - and Spike - ready for their little trip back to their parents' place.

Asterius got up from the couch, looking down at Theseus. "Oh, don't look at me like that", he smiled slightly, even though he certainly wished for his boyfriend to stay a little longer with him too. "We'll see each other again soon enough. And- well, we should get ready too, right?", he added, turning to look at his brother. "Yep. The sooner we get on the move, the easier will be to force Spike in the car", Horknath answered.

He looked a little regretfully at Carleen, though. "Well- see you soon, then", he said in the end, leaning down for a quick peck - when he was sure their brothers weren't paying too much attention.

Carleen made that kiss linger for a bit longer - after all, she had seen that Theseus was about to do the same with Asterius, that ought to buy them a bit of time. "Alright. Talk to you later," she told him with a fond smile.

Theseus had been unable to take that pout off his face from now - he was actually quite sleepy now - but he did kiss Asterius goodbye as well, while minding his cast. His sister probably had to tear him away from his boyfriend and, after one last wave an pat on Spike's head, both were gone.

Thankfully, Carleen managed to shake Theseus awake, and he was back to his usual self so that they might drive home that night, to talk to his parents about his amazing boyfriend for hours.

--

Christmas came by quite fast, actually. Since they had been told that theirs was a comfy family gathering, Carleen had made sure both she and Theseus would be looking, well. Casual, instead of flashy. She had managed to get Theseus to simply put a hoodie on, while she put the cute dress she had made for the occasion, with the reindeer on it. Just because they didn't celebrate Christmas didn't mean they couldn't be festive about it! They had even wrapped the presents they were getting for their significant other.
Alright, and Sakrish had given them a basket with one of his favourite bottles of champagne, a few Indian specialties prepared by their cook and now that Carleen was looking closely at it, was there his business card somewhere-

Before she could open the plastic wrapping around the basket to fish it out, Theseus had parked the car in front of the Laurkinsons' house and was taking both the basket and his gift for Asterius from her hands, jumping with excitement. In fact, he was so excited that he had already walked to the front door and was trying to ring the bell with his arms full. She quickly joined him to do it herself, before he might have the bright idea of using his foot to do it.

"Please stop jumping, you're making me even more nervous," she whispered hastily to him.
"How can I stand still when my beloved stands mere seconds away from me!" Theseus replied dramatically, in what was supposed to be a hushed voice. But We've accepted the headcanon that he can actually only stage-whisper, so that's absolutely what he was doing by now.
Carleen was probably rolling her eyes by the time someone might open the door for them.

And the one who ended up coming to open the door was Horknath himself, who was loudly complaining about something to someone in the other room when he finally took notice of Carleen and Theseus, standing right in front of him.

He looked like he was having a good time - his hair wasn't as combed as usual, but his cheeks were colored and he had a large smile on his lips, proof of the nice day he had so far.
What might have caught the attention of the Mishra siblings, though, was the terrible, hand-made ugly Christmas sweater he was wearing; red, green and white, a reindeer with a red nose in the middle of it and a flashy 'Merry Christmas!' written above it. He looked suddenly a little flustered when he realized that Carleen was looking extra cute, as per her usual, while he looked like an extra from some random holiday movie. But he was so overjoyed about having her there that his smile didn't even falter. "Oh!", he exclaimed with a little laugh, gesturing for Carleen's attire. "We... almost match!" He pointed at his own reindeer. "Hi Carleen, Theseus - merry Christmas. Come on in! Mom has just finished cooking", he added, making space for them to get inside the house.

In the living room, once they'd get there, they would find Asterius discussing rugby with his father, Ga'roh - both also clad in lovingly handmade ugly Christmas sweaters, with a decorated Christmas tree and Santa 'ho ho ho'ing' respectively. Ariadne the great, Aria and Dionysus were nowhere to be seen yet.
Maybe they were in the kitchen.