Sleigh Ride is heard playing in the background as a shadowed figure swooshed across the room. A flash of green, red, yellow, and other shiny colors followed after them with each motion.
Emlyn held his breath and avoided looking down as he hung the star onto the tall tree before making his way downward with the garlands. His green shirt and thigh-high shorts with zigzagged edges, along with his floating motion, made him appear like Peter Pan, except Peter was a bit scared of flying.
Finally done, he landed gently before sighing in relief. He shrugged off all bad thoughts and with a snap of his fingers, a green-tilted hat with a fluffy ball at the top appeared.
Placing it on his head, he made his way outside. String lights hung across the castle to the very top, appearing very pretty. The day was as warm as any normal day—but not for long!
Emlyn closed his eyes while muttering some spells, and at the last moment, he snapped them open, revealing a pair of icy blue pupils.
“Freeze!”
A heavy cloud covered the sky. The temperature of the castle and its surroundings drastically plummeted, and by the time the clouds cleared up to reveal the departure of the sun and the arrival of the snow, the ground temperature had been fully altered.
Emlyn smiled, “Perfect.”
He dashed inside to awaken the real MVP of the whole thing and, in his excitement, ended up running into something hard. He stumbled lightly but maintained balance, and before he could look up, a soft kiss fell on his nose, and the light bruising cleared up immediately.
“Is this what you've been preparing so hard for?” a small smile appeared in Riven's eyes as he motioned to the decorations. Emlyn looked up and immediately rushed into his arms.
“Merry Christmas, Teach.”
Riven chuckled, “What’s that?”
“You'll see!” he exclaimed before leading the male outside who was left surprised by not only the decorations but the sudden change in weather as well.
"This...?”
“It's snow! On Earth, we hold celebrations during Christmas, and playing in the snow is one of the most fun activities,” Emlyn chattered, "Even the witches couldn't resist. Although most prefer Halloween which is a different celebration. We still celebrate Christmas sometimes. I promise it will be fun!”
Riven was stunned. Of course, snow wasn't something that eluded him, but he never really liked it. It clustered everywhere and kept on harassing people with its whitish particles, and was overall incredibly annoying. And his witch was telling him it would be fun? What exactly? His questions were answered not by words but by action.
Emlyn didn't wait for his reaction and simply smashed a snowball into his face before running away. He stood transfixed. Was he supposed to…? He was and he learned this the hard way after the naughty little witch drenched him in snow.
Unfortunately, because Emlyn became reckless, he ended up having himself directly buried in the snow by Riven's snowball.
“Did I do it well?” Riven asked while helping out the male from the snow.
Emlyn laughed, “Yes!”
Their next snowball fight was with magic. They made it a snow animal fight battle, with whoever came up with a bigger or more ferocious animal having the right to make the large ball, while the weaker animals would be smaller. If you made a larger animal first, then your opponent would have no choice but to go with a weaker animal.
Riven demolished Emlyn, and he ended up throwing in the towel. How was he so vicious with his lover?!
***
“You froze the courtyard?” Riven asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.
“Yup. Now put on your skates, teach.”
Riven could only follow along with him before being dragged off into the skating rink. He slid slowly across the rink to get the hang of it, while Emlyn made his way to the center.
He was good, very good. He spun with effortless grace before jumping up in a beautiful arc and then landing with a split. His hat had been tossed aside, and his short black hair scattered across from the incessant motion, striking a sharp contrast to the expanse of white.
His golden eyes sparkled with glee, and his glossy lips resisted the cold's whitening vengeance. He skated towards Riven, before dragging the dazed male into the ice rink.
“You'll get the hang of it, teach, and then you'd be surprised by how fun it can be!”
Although he said that, Emlyn was still astounded when Riven easily mastered skating in less than an hour, even performing spins he previously did. His jaw dropped. What an absolute genius!
He observed in awe as his lover's white hair, which he, Emlyn, had braided into a single length, spun along with him before he arched backward, tail on the floor as he slid across the ice leisurely like he didn't just perform one of the most complicated skating forms in only an hour of learning skating.
Emlyn wanted to ask if he had been pretending not to know how to skate because everything was becoming too shocking for him to believe. But Riven was having too much fun, so he had to bury his questions for later.
While skating, he couldn't take his eyes off Riveb. He was just too beautiful.
He was like the living embodiment of the snow itself, with his overall pale features— and his red outfit struck a brilliant taint to not only him but the environment as well.
He had been staring so much that he ended up falling, face-planting on ice, which had him tearing up from the numbness.
This ended with them skating together after he managed to convince Riven, with much pleading against moving inside.
Playing in the snow turned out to be very fun.
***
“Hot cocoa?” Riven sipped the dark liquid before having a plate of cookies placed in front of him.
“Don't like it?” Emlyn placed on his hat, reaching out to his cookies and drink.
“No, I love it.”
“That's good. I would have just made you something else if you didn't, haha.”
They ate and drank in silence, with Riven's eyes transfixed on Emlyn, who was too busy enjoying his cookies to notice—until he was licked.
“!!!”
He was trapped by Riven, who licked off all the crumbs on his lips before capturing his lips. A deep blush colored his fair face and he was kissed until he became bedazzled, a bit dissociated from reality.
Riven's hand slid down but was caught by Emlyn, who shook his head in complaint.
“Tonight… not now.”
He was kissed again till he somehow ended up on Riven's lap, staring at his abandoned snacks as a pair of strong arms pulled at his nipples.
“Nghh…” he shuddered, biting his lips till they were recaptured again, tongues entangling together with the sweet taste of cookies and cocoa overwhelming them.
They ended up helping each other once before Emlyn forcibly resumed their Christmas activities.
***
“How was breakfast, Teach?” Emlyn's eyes sparkled before he was cornered into a wall.
“I'm still hungry,” Riven murmured.
Leaning towards the male's slender neck, he bit into it lightly. A rose bloomed on Emlyn's neck and he let out a soft purr, which heightened his lover's fever.
He was no monk, and even he was seriously tempted to just fall in bed with his lover, who had become more seductive than him— even though he was the incubus. But he had to preserve on.
“After Christmas... Be patient.”
Despite his reluctance, Riven listened and was led into the instrument room, which had now been updated with a sound recorder and audio player.
He sat down patiently, watching Emlyn rummage before he found what he was looking for—a long candy stick.
“Ahem,” he coughed, “It’s not real candy, I just made it like that for aesthetics, but it's a microphone.”
He bent down to turn the audio player on, but he felt a shockwave spread from his bottom to his whole body. He flinched, and then his face turned into a tomato.
“Riven!”
He was astonished when he found him back on his chair. Really? He crossed all that distance in a second just to do that?!
Riven: Worth it ( ^_^ )
Emlyn: (×_×)
He huffed, trying to shake off his anger at the white-haired pervert, who was very into pretending like he did nothing. The audio player was finally turned on, and the sound of a piano drifted through the room— it was the instrumental version of the song.
He began with the music, and soon his awkwardness left him as he sang and danced heartily while motioning the song lyrics to Riven, who listened and watched.
“A love that's meant for me~, a heart that's mine complet-ely~. Presents~...”
He twirled his cane about him, before throwing apart his hands in an embracing motion. His movements were bold and expressive, all thrown towards his audience, along with his choreography, which somehow managed to possess a complexity to it despite its leisurely form.
In the end, he bobbed his head up and down as his voice rose before sliding across the floor on his knees, with his head thrown backward, in a dramatic and hilarious conclusion.
“Phew!” He lay down with his stick across the floor.
A very beautiful face overlooked him from the top. He stood up abruptly, “So?”
“Do you mean your words? Or singing? Or dance?” Riven smiled with a suffocating warmth in his eyes, and then chuckled, “Yes.”
Emlyn was tackled again.
“Wait! Mmph—! Mmph… Mmph~.”
***
The rest of the day was spent watching movies. The ones in Emlyn's mind had been a bit “corrupted,” but with some adjustment, it came out perfect; though some parts had to be cut off, it was mostly good.
They snacked on more cookies, macarons, pies, and more pastries. Emlyn was sure to make an assortment of these. More than anything he was determined to enjoy his snack time.
Sure, half of the movie might have been spent with them frolicking about, but which couple wouldn't when they were so close to each other on one couch, with some scenes being quite steamy?
[A/N: Which kind of Christmas movies are you even watching?]
“Teach, enough. We might go all the way… ah~. Wait! It's my favorite part! Take it back a bit, turn it back!”
Riven, who had been blue balled by a movie scene:...
Maybe he shouldn't have made that damn video player after all. Then they would focus on more important things.
***
They ended up falling asleep with the movie playing in the background. A bigger male with long hair sprawled across the couch, holding a smaller one whose face was buried into him in a loving embrace. Along with the decorations and movie playing in the background— even in their dressing, they perfectly embodied the festive feeling of Christmas.
But then Riven woke up, and everything was gone.
The decorations, the movie, his witch— everything.
The formerly bright place had become dull, and only a hint of his figure could be seen. Yet, despite being the only source of light, his heart was even more dull than his surroundings. It was warm because there was no winter but somehow, it had been warmer when there was.
He spread out his arms in a futile attempt to feel something, anything, but there was nothing. His lover was gone.
And so, he embraced himself and curled up on the couch like a fetus, listening to his heartbeat, which seemed more like a curse now. But then his eyes caught something.
Beside him was a tiny box wrapped up in a red ribbon, and opening it, he found a ring.
The ring was rose gold, with a floral and leaf pattern along the band. At the centerpiece was an obsidian-colored diamond, which had his acronym embedded in cursive: R&B.
He raised his hand and observed. It was a beautiful fit.
“Just like your eyes—enchanting.”
He unfurled the red paper gently and, after surveying it, let out a hollow laugh and then closed his eyes, reminiscing on what had just happened.
The excitement of his lover, his laughter, his playfulness, the feel of his skin and touch, he opened his eyes, and what was left was an empty gaze. Was it magic? He couldn't tell. But the object on his hand was proof that it hadn't been an illusion.
{I wanted to keep you company one last time. I'm sorry. Merry Christmas.
P.S. Please forget about me and be happy. I'm not at all pleased with your current state. At least try. Please Riven.}
What a cruel joke it all was. The one time, he had a chance to meet his lover. He still couldn't do anything. The cruelest joke, however, was his lover's wish.
He couldn't fulfill it, but he would give him something better, something far better when they meet again… Soon.
***
[Authorial Intrusion]
“You are not here,
Where you should be.
Snow isn't falling and music is dead.
It just isn't the same,
Alone on Christmas Day.
Presents, what's a beautiful sight!
Don't mean a thing,
If you ain't holding me tight.
You're all that I need,
Underneath the tree, tonight.”
Merry Christmas everyone! I was late, but hey, as long as it's still Christmas week, it's Christmas, right?! By the way, thank you for all your support!
See you in WAST S2, which, due to it being replotted (I ran into an issue when rereading it), has been moved to next year!
Again I say, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance!
AUTHOR'S RANT:
This should have been here since 26th! But ******* *** and its issues is what got me here!! I was so depressed trying to fix this shit, all the more reason to start up S2 in another book. Anyways, I managed to have it done but it warranted you guys having three dud chapters before the main thing-- I apologize. Surely, S2 will have less technical issues and depression smh. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it came late... and quick note, ignore the upcoming next chapters-- Don't unlock them!! They're duds to push up this chapter.
Though I'm late, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance!