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It was cold outside as Lane held open the front door for the three men who all trundled inside in their snow boots and heavy jackets and the largest evergreen tree Lane had ever seen held up between them. Although it was mostly Piotr doing the heavy lifting; Scott was in front directing the parade and steering Piotr away from hitting anything, and Logan brought up the rear with one hand nonchalantly placed on the stump of the tree and the other holding a an axe that dangled down by his thigh. He gave Lane a nod and a satisfied smile as he passed, allowing Lane to shut the door behind him and step back into the warm house.
Ororo and Kitty had already pulled out boxes of various decorations into the foyer - one box was labeled Hannakuah , one Kwanza , another one reading Christmas and then the final (and largest) one marked as Winter Holiday misc. There was already a fine dusting of glitter on the floor around them, which neither seemed to mind as they set to work pulling out a variety of lights and ornaments and other holiday decorations as Piotr and Scott navigated the tree into the center of the foyer.
“Looks good,” Logan said, moving to stand next to Lane as they watched the two men work on standing the tree upright in its stand. “The kids are gonna love this.”
Lane nodded, their eyes traveling up the trunk of the tree and past the long boughs, past the mezzanine level and then to the very top of the tree where it nearly brushed the high ceiling of the foyer. It had to be at least twelve feet tall and equally as wide (if not wider) with great green limbs that perfumed the space with the earthy scent of pine.
“How many ended up staying?” They asked.
“About fourty or so, usually we end up with a third that stay over the holidays,” Kitty called over her shoulder as she set up a brass menorah on a table by the front window; she centered the lamp and stepped back, then forward again to adjust it until she was pleased. Seemingly content, she nodded and turned to address Lane directly. “Most don’t have a place to go back to, or…well, folks who really want them back. So we try to really go all out with the holiday stuff; ice-skating, baking cookies, sledding. The whole hallmark experience.”
Lane hummed in acknowledgement, thinking back to their own experiences of the holidays and finding nothing but a blank spot in their memories. Sure, there were the commercials on TV and the universal symbols of the season, but nothing… personal. No favorite present under the tree, no church service or lighting of a menorah, nothing to tie them back to any tradition or any people to share it with; it was a blindspot in their mind’s eye. That was more than slightly distressing, but… hey, all the better to make new memories, right?
Scott stood up from underneath the tree, brushing pine needles off his shoulders as Piotr rose beside him; the two men took a step back, craning their heads in order to take in the full scope of the massive decoration. Scott let out a low whistle and clapped Piotr on the back.
“Best one yet, Pete?”
“ Da ,” Piotr said with a nod and a triumphant smile.
The presence of the fully-erected tree created its own gravity that drew in all the bodies in the room, making them stop what they were doing and look upwards at its impressive height. It was a centerpiece to the room, a marvel - not only in the fact the men had actually managed to get the thing inside - but also in the way it brought a brightness to the room. For Lane it compelled them to step closer and inhale deeply, the pine strong and bracing in their nose and creating a new memory attached to the scent. I am here, I am safe, I am with friends.
Kitty and Ororo set to work on placing the tree skirt around the base, discussing what decorations should go where and strategies of placing the lights on such a massive tree. Logan stood behind the two, occasionally offering his input with his face content in a way that Lane had never seen before. The man was normally so high-strung, so ready to throw down at a moment’s notice, that to see him so utterly relaxed made Lane do a double-take as they backed out of the way of the decorating party and right into Piotr’s chest.
“Oop! Sorry, Piotr,” they apologized, quickly righting themselves and pulling forward; they had been so enamored by the tree they hadn’t realized he had moved behind them. “Didn’t see you back there.”
“Not a problem,” he said, and his smile was so full of warmth that it caused Lane’s heart to squeeze in their chest. When it fell, it was like watching the sun disappear behind a cloud. “Were you leaving?”
“Oh, no I mean - I just didn’t want to be in the way of things,” Lane answered with a shake of their head, motioning to the group now working on untangling a string of lights. “Looks like they have a system going. I’m kinda just…spectating.”
“Here, help me. We have most important job.”
Piotr turned before Lane had a chance to question him, dropping to his knees in front of one of the boxes and beginning to dig through its contents. Lane followed behind him, watching as he then pulled out a small figure from the box and held it up for them to see. It was a doll, clad in a red felt suit with a matching hat and a mischievous smile painted on its plastic face. Lane noted the pointed ears and raised a brow.
“An elf?”
“On the shelf.” Piotr confirmed, looking at the plastic toy fondly. “Very popular with the kids. We move him every day until Christmas, sometimes pose him, and the kids try to find him.”
Alright, that’s adorable , Lane thought as the picture of Piotr constructing tiny scenes for the doll played out in their mind’s eye. “Okay, so what’re you thinking? You gotta start strong.”
“I had an idea,” Piotr began, pursing his lips in thought as his eyes wandered back to the box of decorations. “Here, hold him,” He said, depositing the toy in Lane’s hands before diving back into the decorations and pulling his prize.
Is that -? Lane’s cheeks began to heat up as they recognized the decoration, the way it hung between Piotr’s fingers and was all held together with a red ribbon. The white berries were coated with a layer of glitter, obviously fake but the sentiment behind the tradition making Lane suddenly flustered. Their heart hammered, the temperature in the room spiking as Piotr looked up at them, completely oblivious to where Lane’s mind had gone - and thank god for that.
“I thought we could have him holding this, what do you think?”
“Y-Yeah,” Lane stuttered, blinking hard and blurting out the first words that came to mind. “It’s pretty…,the mistletoe. It’s, ah, sparkly . I like sparkly things.”
‘I like sparkly things’ -? What are we, six?
To their surprise (and relief) Piotr let out a good-natured laugh as he stood up. “I do, too. It is festive, da? Here, he can sit on the frame and hold this.”
Lane followed him as he approached the front door and carefully balanced the doll into a sitting position on top of the frame. He then positioned the sprig of fake mistletoe between the doll’s legs, dangling down into the doorway but just out of view for any unsuspecting bodies caught underneath it. The kids would get a kick out of it for sure, the mischievous eyes of the doll almost daring anyone to deny the tradition of being caught underneath the mistletoe.
Which now, technically , they were both under. Did the tradition still apply to whoever had originally placed the mistletoe? There had to be a clause in there somewhere, Lane thought as their heart skipped a beat while looking up at Piotr. There had to be an exception, a clause absolving the placer of all expectations, because why else would Piotr be looking at them like that? And why else would he be moving closer and bending down and the space in the doorway suddenly felt so small between their two bodies and then -
“Anyone want hot chocolate?” Jean called out into the foyer, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of steaming mugs in hand and the sickly sweet smell of instant hot cocoa and melting marshmallows filling the room.
Lane wasn’t sure who pulled away faster, but they both jumped apart with such an urgency it was like an electric shock had been passed in the air between them. They also weren’t sure why everyone in the room had suddenly turned their attention to the two of them - just two friends, two pals under the mistletoe fulfilling a traditional contract, right?
Right.