Chapter Text
Anders wasn’t raised to celebrate Christmas, really. Sure, there was the stuff at school, and everyone made a big deal about it on television but being from a family of Norse God vessels sort of put a damper on the whole thing. Sometimes they would do something for Yule, but more often than not that involved hiding while his parents got drunk. As an adult, he was happy to ignore the whole thing until it was over.
Then came John Mitchell, throwing a wrench into those plans. Former Catholic that he is, he wanted the tree, presents, dinner, the whole shebang. He didn’t care that Christmas was in the middle of summer for New Zealand. He plastered fake snow all over everything, turned the air conditioning down low, and wrapped up in a blanket anyway.
When Anders tried to protest, Mitchell gave him a puppy dog expression and said, “But it’s tradition!”
Anders grudgingly gave in. Just like he gave in to the huge tree in the middle of his living room. Just like he gave in when Mitchell wanted to do a holiday dinner. Just like he gave in when Mitchell insisted on inviting Anders’ entire family – except Anders held out long enough to get a blow job thrown into the deal, there.
But now? Now, as Anders looked around at his family, he couldn’t help but grin.
The entire Johnson clan liked Mitchell. When Mitchell gave everyone those puppy dog eyes and told them, “It’s tradition!” they couldn’t resist either. So now, Axl, Mike, Ty and Olaf were all sweltering in hideous holiday sweaters, trying to choke down Mitchell’s dried out turkey.
“Here, Axl, try the gravy.” Mitchell spooned a congealing, greasy mass on to Axl’s plate, ignoring Axl’s protests. He dropped Anders a wink as Axl stared at the plate in dismay.
John Mitchell was a lapsed Catholic, vampire, horrible cook, and Anders’ beloved. Anders was starting to realize that he was also a giant troll, and a complete little shit.
It was the best holiday ever.