Chapter Text
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Sylvain folds his pants into his suitcase as he tells his roommate, Claude. “So, you’re staying here at GMU for the winter break? Aren’t you gonna get bored all by your lonesome?”
Claude sits down next to Sylvain’s suitcase with a raised brow as he places the palms of his hands on Sylvain’s soft blue comforter behind him. “Oh? Didn’t take you as the worrier type, Sylvain. Besides I have plenty of things to keep me occupied including a room all to myself. Imagine what can be happening here without you around.”
Sylvain chuckles as he gently places a neatly folded sweater into his suitcase. "I’d rather not. Next thing I know, I’m gonna come back and I’m gonna find my comforter on your bed. Imagine what nasty things I’ve done with this comforter that you keep petting.”
Claude scoffs as he lays himself on Sylvain’s bed. "Yeah, I know. But, I also know what a neat freak you are. I am ninety-five percent confident that this comforter has been cleaned within the last day.” The brunette winks at Sylvain as he crosses his arms behind his head with a grin.
Sylvain sighs softly, lightly glaring at his roommate. “Remind me, why do we hang out?”
Claude bursts into laughter, knowing full well that he has won. “Because I’m the only one on this floor that can handle your reputation and still call you a friend.”
Sylvain rolls his eyes. “Hey, I can’t help it if the ladies find me utterly irresistible and who am I to deny their desires.” Sylvain gives his roommate a cheeky grin waggling his eyebrows.
Claude shakes his head. “And then you wonder why the so-called ‘ladies’ boyfriends, brothers, and even fathers come up to you and put you in your place.”
Sylvain zips up his suitcase, finally done with his packing. “Hey, what can I say. I just have all the goods that the ladies can’t help but be drawn to. Don’t hate me because I’m hot, Claude.”
Claude gets up on his feet and looks up at Sylvain. “Yeah, so damn hot that you literally burn yourself to a crisp.” He looks around the room briefly and picks up a wrapped gift off of Sylvain’s desk. “Hey, don’t forget the gift to your Secret Santa this year.”
Claude hands the gift over to Sylvain. “What did you get your Secret Santa, and which one of your friends is it this year?”
Sylvain opens his suitcase back up to place the gift in it. “Oh, my Secret Santa is Felix this year. I had a hell of a time trying to figure out something he would like. He collects swords mainly, but there was no way I was getting him a sword for Christmas, so I got him a pretty sweet dagger instead. I figured something sharp would be nice for him and I even bought a book about its history too.”
Claude raises an eyebrow and gives him a look of disbelief. “Wait, you got your friend a dagger for Christmas? A dagger with a history no less?”
Sylvain closes his suitcase and furrows his eyebrows wondering if that really was weird.>
Claude scoffs lightly at Sylvain’s silence. “Alright, alright. You really go all out on your Christmas gifts. I don’t want to know how much that cost you.”
Claude shakes his head as he pulls out his car keys. “C’mon, let's get you to the train station so you can meet your childhood friends for Christmas break.”
Sylvain nods as he plops his suitcase on the floor. “You better keep this place clean, Claude. I’ll know if something is amiss, or...”
Claude flaps his hand up and down in that ‘blah, blah, blah’ motion, “Alright, alright. If you’re so worried about that, call me. Maybe I can finally talk to one of your friends and give them a true glimpse of ‘Sylvain’s college lif—‘“
“Yeah right, they don’t need to know about that. C’mon chauffeur, take me to my destination.”
Claude shakes his head, “One of these days, those friends of yours will find out.” The brunette grabs his room key before opening the door. “Let’s get you to Faerghus.”
Sylvain huffs a laugh, “Someone is eager to get me outta here.”
Claude smirks, “Oh, you have no idea! Having a room all to myself is gonna be awesome.”
Sylvain makes a face, “Tch, it’s only temporary. I’ll be back before you know it. Besides, I know you’ll miss me, Claude.”
Claude locks the door behind them. “In your dreams!”
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Sylvain looks out of his train cabin window, watching the darkening scenery become painted with flurries of snow and ice. The cabin becomes notably colder the closer the train gets to Faerghus. They do this every Christmas, visit Dimitri at his home in the capital city of Fhirdiad to celebrate the holiday and more importantly, to celebrate Dimitri’s birthday. After Dimitri’s parents passed away in an accident, they always went out of their way to make sure Dimitri wasn’t alone during the holidays. As they grew older, their group of friends expanded, and every year for as long as he can remember, they stayed over at Dimitri’s home since there was so much space for just one person.
Sylvain sighs softly as he watches the swirls of snow fall, a twinge of loneliness grips his heart. He had hoped that Dimitri or Felix would have gone to GMU with him, become roommates or something, but neither of them decided to do that. His hopes were further dashed when the rest of his friends went their separate ways. Dimitri and Felix decided to go to Fhirdiad U, Annette decided to follow Mercie to Arianrhod U, Ashe and Dedue decided to go to Duscar U and Ingrid went to Enbarr U. They all made a promise to come back every Christmas break without fail, and that’s exactly what they have done for the third year in a row. Somehow watching them all go their separate ways, including himself, just makes him feel low, but he’d never show it.
Sylvain leans back in his chair, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket, a text from Ingrid.
[ To: Sylvain
From: Ingrid
You better be on the train, Sylvain. Dimitri and Ashe will be picking you up from the station. Don’t give them a hard time. The rest of us are going shopping for ingredients and for some holiday décor. The string of lights are busted, you can say goodbye to those lights since they were your favorite. Mercedes is on a mission to find the exact same string of lights, so you better thank her when you get here. ]
Sylvain sighs, “So cold, Ingrid.” He understands though. It wouldn’t be the first time he had failed his friends in some way, and again he is the last to arrive. But just the same as last year, he had a class in the late afternoon and needed time to pack and once again, he is taking the evening train.
[To: Ingrid
From: Sylvain
Hey, give me some credit. ^_~ I’m on the train, should be there in a couple of hours. And what a shame. T.T I will give those lights the proper funeral they deserve when I get there. After all, they have served their duty with their unyielding loyalty for the last 3 years, gotta pay respects! ^_^]
Sylvain hits send and as he re-reads the message he can already feel the massive eye roll and glare from the blond woman. He decides to check the email Annette sent the group back in October with a list, a tall order of Christmas activities. Sylvain reads the list: Christmas caroling, baking Christmas cookies, baking gingerbread cookies, gingerbread house competition (two teams), going on a sleigh ride, making hot cocoa mixes (having hot cocoa too!), decorating the house (inside and out), get a Christmas tree, decorate the Christmas tree, go snow tubing, build a snow family, go ice skating, have an eggnog party, visit Santa and take pictures, make s’mores, wear ugly Christmas sweaters, make Christmas wreaths and decorations, Christmas game night, visit the holiday market, make holiday scented candles, make mason jar snow globes, and the list goes on.
Sylvain wonders if they will be able to do all of the Christmas activities listed and he highly doubts it, but as long as they are all together, that’s all that matters. Sylvain closes his eyes as he throws his head back slowly, his head hitting the cushioned back seat. He recalls last year’s Christmas shenanigans, and as much as any of them complained about stupid details, they were ridiculously happy, but Sylvain wonders how long they can keep this up.
Eventually things like this don’t last, right? Who will be the first to drop out he wonders, maybe it will be him. He always has a way of disappointing others in the end, will this be one way of doing just that? His family has been asking him to visit, but he has been deflecting the holiday season for as long as he’s able. He’d rather not see his brother and whatever girlfriend he currently has, nor his father and his talks about how he needs to marry after he graduates.
He shakes his head not wanting to think about anything and decides he will just rest until he gets to Fhirdiad.
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Sylvain takes a deep breath and saunters down the walkway of the train station, heading to the parking lot to look for his friends.
Ashe is the first to spot him. “Sylvain! Over here!” He waves his hand in the air to get Sylvain’s attention.
Sylvain hears his name being called and looks for either Dimitri or Ashe, he smiles when he sees the silver-haired man looking at him. “Hey, Ashe! Long time no see! How are you?”
Ashe takes Sylvain’s suitcase. “I’m doing well. Again, you are the last to arrive. Everyone will be happy to see you when we get back to Dimitri’s place. That means we can start decorating as soon as we get back.”
Sylvain looks down momentarily at the slight reprimand from Ashe before he covers it up with a big grin, “Aww, c’mon! Don’t be like that Ashe! I’m here now, doesn’t that count for anything?”
Ashe gives him a pointed stare. “It does. It just seems odd that you still have classes when everyone else was done almost a week before you.”
Sylvain stares at Ashe with surprise. “Huh? Wait, why didn’t you all start without me?”
Ashe frowns as he raises an eyebrow at Sylvain. “Felix was adamant that you would feel left out, so we waited for you and Dimitri didn’t see a problem with waiting either.”
Sylvain chuckles lightly, “Aww! You know how to make a guy feel special, Ashe.” He gives Ashe a crushing side hug. Sylvain takes note of the small detail that Felix was the one who probably convinced everyone to wait, and deliberately leaves that out.
“He-hey! Stop that, Sylvain! C’mon! We’re almost there! I swear, if you keep squishing me...I will have you decorate the shingles all by yourself!”
Sylvain quickly let’s go, “Ehh? You wouldn't dare leave a man to do all that by himself, would you?”
Ashe rolls his eyes. “Glad to see you in good spirits.”
Dimitri gets out of the car and smiles when he sees Sylvain. Sylvain smiles back and waves, “Hey Dima! Nice to see you! I hope my late arrival hasn’t caused too much trouble for all of you. We can start as soon as...”
Sylvain is cut off as Dimitri embraces him in a great bear hug. Sylvain’s eyes widen momentarily before he returns the hug. “Missed me, huh?”
Dimitri releases the redhead. “Of course I missed you, Sylvain. I am glad to see you safe and sound.”
Sylvain can sense the worry in those blue eyes. “Sorry for my lack of communication lately, I’ve been really busy with exams and getting things done so I could be here.”
Dimitri nods, and before Dimitri can respond, Ashe closes the trunk of the car and the blond looks back. “Oh, we should head back. Everyone is out shopping for supplies, and you should get settled in your room before they come back.”
Sylvain smiles. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.”
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Sylvain raises an eyebrow when Ashe informs him that he is sharing a room with Felix. Ashe leaves him alone to let him get settled in. Sylvain can already smell the delicious fragrance of holiday treats that were baked earlier in the air. He could smell the familiar scent of cinnamon and allspice warming him from the inside and calming his nerves. There are two double sized beds covered in soft blankets with a nightstand between them. Sylvain can tell that Felix already claimed the bed farthest away from the window, as Felix’s dark blue suitcase sits on top of the bed. The redhead snorts, ‘figures he’d remember that I run hot, huh.’
Sylvain is quick to claim the unoccupied bed placing his suitcase on it and unpacking his clothes into the nearby dresser, he recalls the last time he shared a room with Felix, was during their first reunion in Fhirdiad for Dimitri’s birthday. Sylvain hadn’t quite felt like himself so the two didn’t talk much when they were alone. The happiest times he had sharing a room with Felix was when they were children. Back then, Felix was quite the crybaby and he would slip into bed with Sylvain, as the redhead would make up stories of a young swordsman that looked exactly like Felix who went on adventures to save people from the evils of the world.
But as they grew older, things changed, Sylvain pulled away, not because he wanted to, it’s just that things got in the way, mainly his brother and his ‘jokes,’ at least that’s what Miklan always called them. His mother definitely favored one son over the other, and his father would always submit to his mother as long as it had nothing to do with the ‘family line.’
Sylvain’s thoughts burst as he hears a knock at the door. “Uh...Come in.”
Dimitri comes in and stands by the opened door, “They want us to go take pictures with Santa tonight. If you’re ready, we can head over there right now.”
Sylvain chuckles, “Yeah, I can finish this later.” Sylvain leaves the suitcase open and walks over to Dimitri, “Let’s go before Ingrid texts me.”
Dimitri smiles in agreement with a chuckle. “Yes, that would be the best course of action.”
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Sylvain sighs softly as they are waiting in line at the Fhirdiad mall to get a picture with Santa. He eyes two elves, both with green hair and he wonders if they are a brother and sister team. The young woman is especially cute with her twirls of green hair on each shoulder while wearing a green and red dress. The man with her seems to constantly have the look of ‘no nonsense’ and Sylvain wonders how many babies have cried just staring at that cranky face.
Annette places a Santa hat on Felix’s head and Sylvain muffles a laugh. However, Felix is quick to hear the redhead laugh and he is met with an icy glare. Sylvain swiftly puts his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just...a nice touch, Felix. Really. It’s a really nice touch.”
Felix grumbles, “Shut up Sylvain!” He quickly snaps at Annette, “How come he’s not wearing one?” Felix points at Sylvain.
Annette pouts, “He’s too tall! I can’t reach his head!”
Sylvain grins, “Awwww, Annette! You know I’d do anything for you!” He winks at her.
Annette raises an eyebrow, “Oh? Well bend down so I can give you a Santa hat too.”
Sylvain does as he’s told and bends down to allow Annette to place the hat on his head. “So how do I look? Am I a sexy Santa now?”
Ingrid smacks Sylvain’s shoulder with a light glare. “This isn’t the time to joke around like that.”
Sylvain winces as he rubs his arm, “Ahhhh. You didn’t have to hit me so hard, Ingrid besides if not during the holidays then when is a good time to joke around?”
Felix rolls his cinnamon eyes, “Serves you right.” He crosses his arms over his chest, facing away from Sylvain.
Sylvain feigns heartbreak as he places a hand over his chest as if he had been shot. “Ouch, Felix. You really know how to hit someone below the belt.”
Felix side eyes Sylvain and frowns at his antics. “It’s your own damn fault.”
Sylvain places a finger over his mouth, “Felix, shhhh. Don’t say such things...there are children present.”
Felix’s eyes widen as his face blooms with redness, “Wel—shut up then!” Felix scowls at nothing in particular.
Sylvain smiles to himself, ‘heh! I still got it! I can still get under his skin.’ Sylvain throws an arm around Felix, placing some of his weight on the shorter man and whispers in his ear, “make me, Felix.”
Felix stiffens as hot air brushes against his ear and without much warning, Felix elbows Sylvain in the stomach. The redhead dodges the blow for the most part, but still gets the back end of Felix’s assault. Sylvain grunts as he places a hand over his stomach, “Ooof. Man, you really know how to pack a punch. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
Felix grumbles, still blushing slightly, “get off me you heavy oaf.”
Sylvain feigns being really hurt, “Awww, but I need your support Felix. I’m an injured man after all.”
Felix huffs a sigh, “It’s your own dam—pft. It’s of your own doing, Sylvain. Stop being such an assh—a pain in the rear.”
Sylvain grins as Felix corrects himself. He notices that Felix’s face becomes just as red as the Santa hat that Annette gave him.
Ingrid gives both Felix and Sylvain her classic glare, “Stop, both of you. Language, Felix. And I don’t have to remind you why that is important.” Ingrid gestures to the kids in the line in front of them.
Felix huffs in annoyance as Sylvain rubs the back of his neck with his free hand, “Sorry Ingrid. Don’t worry, I’ll keep Felix’s potty mouth in check, promise.”
Felix raises an eyebrow and glares at Sylvain, “excuse me? I do not have a potty mouth.”
Sylvain chuckles, “If you say so. How about a naughty mouth then?” He waggles his eyebrows.
Felix elbows Sylvain again and this time Sylvain releases his hold on Felix, raising his hand in surrender, “alright, alright. I’m sorry Felix. I promise, I won’t tease you too much.”
Felix shakes his head, “yeah right! Just...be quiet and stop messing around.”
Sylvain chuckles, “Well I mean it’s the season to mess around a bit. Well, maybe more along the lines of having a bit of fun, right? I mean, what’s the point of all the fun activities if we don’t goof around a little.”
Ingrid shakes her head as Felix rolls his eyes, his crossed arms somehow tense up more than usual.
Sylvain sighs in defeat as Dedue places a hand on Sylvain’s shoulder, “I know what you mean Sylvain. However, you may want to tone things down a little.”
Sylvain smiles gently, “Thanks Dedue. I know you always have my back.”
Dedue nods before Ashe grabs his hand to show him a display of cute little snowmen plush toys. Sylvain smiles fondly before his eyes fall on Dimitri and Mercedes in some kind of discussion as Dimitri rotates a plush doll in his hands. Annette and Ingrid are taking selfies or video probably for their social media, which leaves Felix just petulantly sulking in his Santa hat.
Sylvain smiles to himself as he pulls out his phone and snaps pictures of Felix in that ridiculous Santa hat with twinkle lights blinking, trying to get the perfect angle without him noticing. When he finally gets the perfect picture, Felix turns his head and glares at him, “what?”
Sylvain grins, “Oh nothing. I was just checking something on my phone.” He places his phone back in his pocket, “say, Felix...which holiday activity are you most looking forward to?”
Felix shrugs, uncrossing his arms, “It doesn’t matter. Whatever everyone else wants to do is fine with me.”
Sylvain raises an eyebrow, “Oh? So are you looking forward to the mulled wine then? Since that’s a new one this year.”
Felix shakes his head, his glare becoming more thoughtful. “One drink won’t hurt.” He looks up at Sylvain, “If you get sloshed, I’m not dealing with you...you can sleep on the floor.”
Sylvain scrunches his face in feigned pain, “Ouch, Felix. You really know how to make a guy feel so unloved.” He gives Felix a pout.
Felix’s shoulders tense as his eyes widen momentarily, “Shut u—be quiet, Sylvain!”
Sylvain chuckles to himself as he watches Felix’s cheeks become pink, ‘I did say I would lay off...and I don’t want to piss him off since we share a room.’ Sylvain silently waits in line until it’s their turn to take pictures with Santa.
For some reason they all split up into pairs and Mercedes suggested that they have one big group picture at the very end. Dimitri and Annette were first followed by Ashe and Ingrid, Dedue and Mercedes, and of course Sylvain and Felix.
Felix refused to sit on Santa so that just left Sylvain to indulge their friends and made himself comfortable on Santa’s lap.
He gives Felix a cheeky grin before he looks down at Santa, “sorry if I’m a little on the heavy side, but it’s only for a few minutes, right Santa?”
Felix talks with the cute green haired elf, probably about picture packages or something.
Santa’s minty green eyes gently analyze the redhead on his lap before he says. “Have you been a good boy, Sylvain?”
Sylvain’s eyes widen momentarily, ‘huh? When did I tell Santa my name?’
Before Sylvain could continue that line of thought, Santa says calmly. “I’ve noticed that you have been struggling this year...loneliness can be a deadly thing, Sylvain.”
Sylvain’s eyebrows rise up in surprise before he schools his face in a mock smile. “Ah! I’m not lonely Santa, really I’m fin—”
Santa laughs with strangely monotone, “Ho, ho, ho,” before his strangely serene mint eyes fall on Sylvain once more, “everyone deserves a Christmas wish, tell me, what is your wish this year?”
Sylvain wants to retort that he’s much too old for Christmas wishes, that he gave up on believing in Santa Claus when he was a kid, that wishes don’t come true, and that disappointment, loss, subjugation, exploitation, and money is what makes the world turn. But somehow the question seems to make his heart swirl with hope.
Sylvain chuckles, taking the bait, ‘why not? What’s the harm in indulging in a little Christmas spirit? There’s no way wishes come true just by saying them out loud.’ Sylvain whispers into Santa’s ear, “I wish to be loved for me and I wish to do the same in return.”
Santa’s minty eyes smile as he quietly laughs before they are asked to smile for the camera. After Felix and Sylvain have their photo taken, the group comes together for a final shot, everyone squishing in to ensure that all of them are visible in the photo.
Sylvain watches as the group gush over their Christmas photos, a bit disinterested, instead the redhead turns his head to stare at Santa with a teenager that was behind them, probably asking the kid what their Christmas wish is too.
Sylvain watches Santa closely, there is something strange about him, and he can’t seem to put his finger on it either. He notices that Santa is going on a break and heads straight for him. Sylvain is about to make a comment, to forget what he said, but Santa places a firm hand on Sylvain’s shoulder, and even though he is shorter than the redhead, he still hears Santa say, “wish granted.”
Before Sylvain could question Santa, he leaves. Sylvain stands there dumbfounded, ‘what? There’s no way a wish can be granted just like that, right!? It’s not like I asked for something that you could just buy at a store. There’s no way.’
Felix raises a concerned eyebrow at Sylvain when he notices that the redhead is being left behind. “Sylvain? Is something wrong?”
Sylvain’s coffee eyes divert toward Felix and he smiles. “Oh, no, no, nothing is wrong. I was just thinking that elf girl with the green hair was really cute.”
Felix shakes his head with a glare, “We’re leaving. We have to start decorating the house and tomorrow morning we are getting a tree.”
Sylvain trots over to Felix, “Okay, yeah. Decorating the house. Oh! That reminds me...I still have to say goodbye to the string of lights.”
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Sylvain finally places the broken, yet loyal string of lights in a pretty sparkly bag and says a few words before gently placing them in the trash bin. The group quickly gets to work decorating the inside of the house with last year’s decorations, but Annette, Mercedes, and Ashe want to make new wreaths and ornaments to display in the house.
Sylvain has been tasked with untangling the old lights. After he gets through half of the string of lights, Felix joins him at the request of Ashe.
Sylvain looks over and gives Felix a grin. “Hey, Felix. Are you here to relieve me from this disaster?”
“You wish,” Felix grunts, “No, I am here to help you with this mess.”
Sylvain chuckles, “Ah, I should have known better.” He hands Felix the lights, “I can’t seem to get this figured out, maybe you can have a go at it.”
Felix lightly smiles. “What would you do without me?”
Sylvain picks up a different string of lights and starts the process of untangling them. “I’d probably be wearing that string of lights if you didn’t come to my rescue.”
Felix laughs. “Well if that’s the case, we can just hang you up on the wall.”
Sylvain gives Felix an incredulous stare and chortles, “Are you kidding me? You really would hang me up on the wall, wouldn’t you?”
Felix chuckles, “Why not, then you can greet all the guests while you’re at it.”
Sylvain bursts out in laughter, holding his stomach, “Oh, wouldn’t that be a sight! Me hanging on the wall as a guest greeter, hahaha!” Sylvain places a hand over his mouth, trying to stop laughing, “Tell me, who would be the brave soul to place me on the wall in the first place?”
Felix’s eyes become dark, “I would. What? You think I can’t do it?”
Sylvain tries to stop laughing, but he can’t help himself. Felix tenses as he continues watching the redhead laugh in his face, “That does it! I’ll prove that I can...”
Sylvain tries to put his hands up in surrender, but the string of lights he was working on tangles up in his hands.
Felix bolts into action and walks over, pulling Sylvain’s arm over his shoulder. Felix turns around, his back facing Sylvain as the redhead just watches in bewilderment. Before Sylvain is able to get words out of his mouth, he is hoisted up, his weight on Felix’s back as Felix says, “See. No problem. I can lift you anytime.”
Sylvain huffs a laugh. “I...I didn’t say you couldn’t. And that wasn’t a challenge! Felix! Put me down!”
Felix readjusts Sylvain on his back, using his knees and Sylvain wraps his arm around Felix’s neck as he says, “FELIX! I swear if you drop me, I will kill you!”
Felix chuckles, “Not until you tell me I’m the strongest person you know.”
Sylvain sighs in defeat, “Unbelievable. You are unbelievable, Felix! Just...be careful...I am fragile goods, you know.”
Felix ignores Sylvain’s comment, “C’mon say it!”
Before Sylvain could answer, Ingrid comes over and crosses her arms over her chest. “What are you two doing?”
Felix tenses and he loses his balance briefly and the two crash down on the floor. Sylvain hits the hardwood floor first and the navy-haired man slams into him falling right on his chest, the lights twisting around them both.
Ingrid just stares at the two grown men on the floor with a raised eyebrow as Felix says, “What?”
Sylvain grins up at Ingrid, both Felix and Sylvain are wrapped up in the string of lights Sylvain was already tangled in. “We were just having some reindeer games. Don’t get mad, Ingrid.”
Ingrid sighs softly, amused but making sure not to show it, “Fine. Just finish up untangling those lights so we can put them up.”
Both Felix and Sylvain nod. “Yes, Ingrid.”
Ingrid nods, “If I see you struggling with those lights, I will help you both personally, understand?”
Felix and Sylvain nod as Ingrid walks away. Felix’s shoulders relax as Ingrid leaves and he tries to get up only to fall right back onto Sylvain.
Sylvain grunts lightly, “Ouch, careful there Felix. Remember, I’m fragile goods.”
Felix sighs as he just lies on Sylvain, “Shut up! You aren’t fragile, Sylvain. C’mon, since when do you fish for compliments, especially from me?”
Sylvain chuckles, “Well if my strong hero didn’t get all hot and bothered about being the strongest, then we wouldn’t be in the mess now, would we?”
Felix tenses and flushes, glad that Sylvain can’t see his face, “Shut up! You are so annoying.” He tries to get up again only to fall back onto Sylvain. He grunts, “How the hell did we end up like this?”
Sylvain grunts once more as Felix’s ass rams into his leg. He releases the breath he was holding, “Ah, Felix. I think we are terribly tangled in the lights. We will have to work together to get out of this mess.”
Felix looks over his shoulder, “And what do you propose we do?”
Sylvain chuckles. “Well, we have to get up together, kinda how when we used to do those three legged races back in the day? Remember those?”
Felix lightly glares. “What are you talking about? We didn’t have to get up together to race. We just had to run at the same pace, in sync.”
Sylvain smiles, “Ah, so you do remember. Well, yeah, not exactly the same thing, but same concept. So, we have to time this right, and I’m gonna hold onto you as we get up together. Ready?”
Felix feels Sylvain’s arm snake around his waist and he nods vigorously as he flushes yet again.
Sylvain chuckles. “Alright, alright. Up we go.” Both Felix and Sylvain get up off the floor together. The redhead smiles, “see? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Felix tries to get away from Sylvain only to almost trip on the string of lights tangled on his calf. Sylvain catches him before he falls again. “Careful there Felix. Let’s get this string of lights in order and then you are free to leave me, ok?”
Felix huffs a sigh. “Fine.” He takes a deep breath and together Sylvain and Felix untangle themselves.
Sylvain smiles at Felix. “Alright. If you want to help Annette or Ingrid, you can. I will finish up with these lights.”
Felix looks off to the side with a glare, but Sylvain notices the small pout on his lips, “Fine. I’ll go.”
Sylvain’s eyes widen. “Wait...uh...” He looks down at the string of lights. “On second thought, maybe I do need help with this. I don’t want anyone else getting tangled up like we did.”
Felix’s eyes go between the string of lights and Sylvain’s coffee gaze. “Okay. Let’s finish this together.”
After untangling all the lights, Annette is quick to whisk Felix away to help hang decorations, and Dedue steps in to help Sylvain with hanging the lights up. Dedue finds the ladder in the storage closet and the pair head upstairs to decorate the arches.
As Sylvain finishes up with the last arch upstairs, he notices a sparkly red and green string tied on his left ring finger. He scoffs lightly as he places the end of the string of lights at the edge of the arch and tries to untie the string on his hand. Somehow his fingers just pass right through the string. Sylvain, now perplexed by this new phenomena, tries again, and again, and again to no avail.
Dedue raises an eyebrow as he watches Sylvain stare at his hand trying to get something off. “Sylvain, is everything all right?”
Sylvain comes down from the ladder and shows Dedue his hand. “I can’t get this string off of me.”
Dedue stares at Sylvain calmly, and sees that there is nothing on his hand. Dedue gingerly takes Sylvain’s hand and looks it over and says with concern laced in his voice. “There’s...nothing there.”
Sylvain stills and he looks up at Dedue with confusion. “What?”
Dedue places a hand on Sylvain’s forehead. “Do you need some rest, Sylvain? I promise you, there is nothing on your hand.”
Sylvain’s eyes widen in shock as he peers into Dedue’s worried blue gaze wondering if he imagined the whole string on his finger. The redhead looks down at his hand and the same beautiful sparkly string is tied to his ring finger. “You don’t say. Well, I’m fine Dedue, really. I guess I’m just a little tired, that’s all.”
Dedue nods as he removes his hand from Sylvain’s forehead. “If you are certain, then I will not press further.” He takes a hold of the ladder as he looks over his shoulder. “I will put up the rest of the lights downstairs and you can hold the ladder for me.”
Sylvain smiles as he rubs the back of his head sheepishly. “Uh, yeah, no problem. I can hold the ladder.” He watches Dedue walk ahead to the next arch as Sylvain follows slowly behind, staring down at his hand once again, ‘Dedue always tells the truth. Am I imagining things? I don’t understand...what is this thing? Am I hallucinating....I didn’t even drink any spiked eggnog yet or even mulled wine for that matter.’
After putting up all the Christmas lights inside the house, Sylvain tells the group that he’s pretty beat and heads upstairs. He puts the rest of his stuff away before flopping on the bed, sighing heavily. He raises his left hand up in the air to find that sparkly red and green string attached to his ring finger.
He squints at it, ‘what the hell? It’s still there...why?’ He sits up on the bed and delicately tries to untie the string only for his fingers to go right through it, like there is nothing there in the first place. He sighs with frustration, “what the hell is this? Is this some kind of joke?” Sylvain gets up off the bed and starts looking for a pair of scissors, maybe it will just come off if he could cut it. He finally finds a small pair of scissors and no matter what he does, the string remains untouched.
Sylvain plops the scissors on the dresser, ‘forget it, maybe it is my imagination. I’m just gonna take a shower and hit the hay.’
After a much-needed warm and steamy shower, Sylvain wraps a short towel around his waist, and comes out of the en suite bathroom. As he steps in the room he notices that Felix is sitting on the bed, putting on a shirt. The redhead closes the bathroom door; an audible click makes Felix look up, his cinnamon eyes wide. Sylvain chuckles as he rubs the back of his head, “hey, Felix. Sorry if I surprised you.”
Felix watches the redhead curiously. “Dimitri said you were tired. I thought I would be coming back to you sleeping, instead I come in and you’re just out of the shower.”
Sylvain walks over to the dresser, pulling out clothes for himself. “Yeah, I am tired. It’s been a long day. So, is everyone turning in for the night?”
Felix continues to watch Sylvain’s strong back muscles tense and relax as the redhead looks through the dresser. Felix notices how droplets and rivulets of water bead down the spine of his back and when Sylvain bends down, Felix can’t help but notice how toned and muscular the back of his thighs are. He blushes lightly as he averts his gaze. “Mostly. Dedue, Ashe and Mercedes are prepping some things for breakfast. We have to be up early.”
Sylvain sighs softly. “Is that right? I mean we could just have pancakes in the morning, heck, I could even make your favorite protein pancakes if Dimitri keeps some around. Or we could even make bacon waffles!”
Felix’s eyes light up before he furrows his eyebrows. “Wait, are you suggesting that you will be making breakfast for everyone?”
Sylvain turns around and places a pile of clothes on the bed. “No, well, maybe. I know everyone is pitching in to make things special this year. I just, I don’t know, I just don’t want them to resent me, I guess.”
Felix eyes are transfixed on Sylvain, trying to figure out what he really means, but he notices that Sylvain shamelessly pulls on his boxer briefs under his very short towel and he looks away, “Are you saying that you don’t want to be here?”
Sylvain takes his towel off as he puts his flannel pajama pants on, “Uh, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m glad I’m here with you, well, everyone, especially for Dima. Hey, what did you get him for his birthday?”
Felix rolls his eyes. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get him anything.”
Sylvain puts on a tank top before he stares at Felix, “Hey, I’m not that bad. I got him a navy merino wool blend hoodie.”
Felix climbs into his own bed, “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
Sylvain turns on the lamp between their beds, shuts off the light before getting himself tucked in, “I was debating between a cashmere sweater or the wool hoodie I got him. I wasn’t sure how he would feel about cashmere, since he’s not a fan of fancy things, so I went for a happy medium and got him a blend. Since it’s so cold up here, I figured something cozy would be nice. Also I had to give it a tug test since you probably remember how he accidentally ripped his last nice sweater.”
Felix yawns and Sylvain furrows his eyebrows. “Hey wait a minute. Go brush your teeth Felix.”
Felix gives Sylvain a glare before he throws his blankets off him, “Fine, I’ll go. Stop your worrying.” Felix walks into bathroom and brushes his teeth. Sylvain smiles and closes his eyes.
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