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Chapter Text

LINUS’ POV

The Parnassus-Baker family was seated around the dinner table enjoying Zoe’s amazing cooking, tonight’s masterpiece being a delectable noodle casserole and mashed potatoes when Linus noticed the first few flakes of snow drifting slowly downward out the window. “Look children, it’s snowing.” Perhaps not his smartest move, he realized as children quickly shoved out of their seats to press their faces against the window and watch the snow. But he didn’t mind, he stood up and walked over, watching over their heads. It was the second week of December and the first snowfall on the Marsyas island. Linus had been wondering if it would snow here, based on the children’s excitement it must not happen very often.

“Come children, your dinner will get cold.” Arthur said with a stern but content tone from where he sat at the table. Linus loved that about him, the easy way he could redirect the kids into behaving without smothering their enjoyment. There were a great many things Linus loved about Arthur. “We can go outside and watch after dinner.” They all rushed back, making a pack to eat as fast as they could. But Linus paused at the window, taking in the view for just a moment longer before he rejoined his family.

His family. They were his kids, his husband, his friend. And he was theirs. He rubbed at his chest where a happy ache had risen and tried to preserve the memory of Lucy shoving spoonfuls of mashed potatoes in his mouth forever.

This would be his first December with his new family and his first Christmas. He felt a swirl of excitement gather in his belly at the thought of it. Linus had been alone for a long time. Ever since his mother passed, Christmas had meant nothing more than a mandatory work holiday. He had still tried to get in the spirit, buying gifts for The Magical Orphans Christmas donations and volunteering each year to haul whatever was dropped in the box around to different orphanages near the city. Usually, most of the gifts were from him. But he never judged them, one could never know the financial standing of one’s coworkers. He thought about that a little differently now. In the evenings he would put on his favorite Christmas records and bake cookies, knowing they would go uneaten and it wasn’t practical, but he did it regardless.

But not this year, and the idea of purchasing gifts for all his children set that feeling in his gut ablaze, as hot as Arthur’s skin. He could picture Lucy with a sugar rush from all the sweets in his stocking, bouncing off the walls like a maniac. Sal reading his younger siblings a Christmas story. Chauncey gliding around with a tray of milk and cookies for their esteemed guest Santa Claus, asking if he would be able to take his coat when he arrived. With child-like wonder, he asked. “How do you celebrate Christmas? It’s only a few weeks away.”

He knew he’d done something wrong when the room fell silent and the food the kids had been shoveling down their throats was forgotten. What did he say wrong? Theodore chirped quizzically. “What’s Christmas? Well, it’s a common holiday. Everyone gets each other gifts and bakes cookies and sings Christmas carols. You’ve never celebrated?” He supposed it made sense that a Wyvern didn’t celebrate but it was still curious he hadn’t been introduced to it after coming to the island.

“It’s the other one’s birthday.” Lucy said flatly, a bored look plastered on his face where he sat in his booster seat. Oh. Oh, of course, they didn’t celebrate here, how could Linus be so stupid? Honestly Linus, think before you speak!
“Oh, Lucy I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean- I suppose I overlooked its, ehm, religious ties.” Linus had some damage control to do. He never meant to make Lucy feel uncomfortable or that he was picking sides.

But Lucy was not so easily soothed, and he had a bloodthirsty taste for dinner time chaos. He’d never miss an opportunity to drum some up. “They also cut down trees to put in their living rooms and everyone stays home the whole time.”

“They cut down trees!” Phee cried, Talia was eye-ing Linus distrustfully.

“Um, some people do. A lot of people use fake trees now.” Neither looked satisfied, Phee looked close to actual tears.

“What about the hotels! Are they empty?” Chauncey wailed.

“And a big fat man named Santa breaks into people's homes and steals treasure from unguarded hoards.” Lucy continued, holding up a finger as if he were quoting a textbook.

“Okay, well that’s not true.” Linus couldn’t get another word in, Theodore was squawking about his own hoard and Arthur was quietly trying to soothe him at the other end of the table.

He caught Sal’s eyes, surely he’d celebrated before, he may be better able to talk to the kids. He was so quiet that everyone was sure to settle and listen closely whenever he piped up. But he just looked at Linus with sad eyes. “Don’t worry Theodore.” Linus had false hope that he would fix this. “Santa doesn’t come to orphanages. Your hoard is safe.” He did effectively calm the panicked Wyvern but the others were just as upset as before. Linus’ heart shattered. He wasn’t sure what hurt more, the fact that one of his adopted children just called their home an orphanage, or the thought that no one had ever brought gifts for Sal before. It made him want to give him a proper Christmas so much more. But as he looked around the rest of the table, he knew that was not going to be possible.

“Children.” He used his strongest, commanding voice, just sharp enough to gather their attention and quiet their distressful noises. “I apologize. What I asked was inappropriate.” Linus didn’t miss Arthur shudder at the word inappropriate. It was the words of the man he’d been when he first came to the island. The man who lived and died by the text of the RULES AND REGULATIONS. But Linus pushed on. “It was not my intention to upset you. And you don’t have to worry, Santa won’t be coming here, and we certainly won’t be cutting down any of your trees Phee. Again, I’m sorry.”

“What about the hotels?” Chauncey asked, shaking so hard that his eye stalks wobbled.

“Plenty of other people don’t celebrate Chauncey, and many travel to see family during the holiday. I’m sure the hotels will still have plenty of guests.”

“Oh good.” And just like that he went back to eating, the others weren’t so quick to follow. But at least Phee had stopped crying, it was likely the best he could do for tonight. He would spend the rest of the week making up for his slip with the other children, especially Lucy.

Linus looked longingly out the window where the snow was coming down in thick clumps now and tried to push the imaginary images of a Christmas with his kids from his mind.

He worked extra hard the rest of the week to try to make up for his behavior to the children. He let Chauncey do all his laundry every day and put on an extra sweater each morning just so Chauncey could take it for him at breakfast. He spent extra time with Lucy, who pretended to forget the incident but who refused to go watch the snow fall with the other children. He baked with him, not cookies, but breads and cupcakes, and stayed away from any red and green color combinations while decorating the treats. He listened to all his records and always let him play just one more song, which was usually two or three more, before bed each night. He showered him with words of affirmation to ensure Lucy knew that Linus loved him. That he didn’t see him as something evil but as Lucy. He spent long hard hours winter-proofing Talia’s garden, trying to convince the little gnome that he was not a plant-hating monster, with limited success. And he memorized the names of all the trees so he could talk easily about them with Phee during their walks through the woods. But Sal, nothing really changed with him. If he couldn’t give the boy the Christmas he deserved it was probably best to not do anything that might remind him of it. He still read all his poems and edited drafts of his stories, but they didn’t talk about Christmas.

What he thought would take a week to make up for, took two, all the way up to Christmas. Linus was exhausted, he tossed and turned fitfully every night in the bed he shared with Arthur. But what hurt the most is that the two men didn’t talk about it. Arthur still kissed him good night and good morning and showered him with endearing pet names, but there was a distance between them that hadn’t been there before. And where before Arthur would have soothed him back to sleep after just one fitful night’s sleep, he never rolled over to check on him now. It broke his heart, but he was too busy devoting his attention to the children he never got the chance to fix things with Arthur. Arthur, who was alarmingly silent about the whole situation.

But despite his exhaustion, on the night of Christmas eve, he still slipped out of bed once he was sure everyone was asleep and tiptoed downstairs. In the kitchen, he made a mug of hot chocolate and put one of the cupcakes he and Lucy made on a plate and brought it with him to the study. It wasn’t cookies and milk, but it was close enough. And Lucy had made it, so it felt like he had a sliver of his family there with him. He locked the door behind him and very quietly put on one of his Christmas records. The volume was so low he couldn’t hear the words, just enough to decern which song was playing and that was enough. He pulled a Christmas story up on the computer to read while he ate and drank. After he’d finished reading and cleared the search from the computer’s history, he slipped over to the couch and laid down. He thought about his mother. Christmas would always hold a special place in his heart for her. She worked so much growing up but always stayed home on Christmas. And even though they got practical gifts for each other, hats or new trousers or school supplies, it was still precious to him just to spend time with her.

He watched the clock on the wall tick by slowly until midnight struck. “Merry Christmas old boy.” He whispered to himself as Frank Sinatra sang “I’ll be home for Christmas (If only in my dreams)” over the record player.

Linus was startled by a gentle knock on the door. He shot off the couch and stopped the music, sliding it back into it’s sleeve and hiding it at the bottom of the stack as he heard the door knob jiggle. He was eternally grateful he had locked the door on his way in. “One moment.” He said, pulling his highly annotated copy of “War and Peace” off the shelf and tossing it on the couch as if he’d been reading.

He opened the door to find Arthur standing on the other side. He peered into the study over Linus’ shoulder with a quirked eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

He cleared his throat and gestured to the couch. “I was just reading, why are you awake?” He feared Arthur, with his phoenix senses that Linus still did not entirely understand, had somehow heard the music or simply known the man dared to celebrate the holiday in his house. No, Linus corrected himself, their house. He wasn’t hurting anyone by doing this, but he still hoped Arthur, and especially the children, didn’t know.

“I could ask the same of you.” Arthur said with a confused smile. But he pecked Linus on the forehead and slung his arm around his waist. “Come back to bed with me, my darling Linus.” Linus melted at the words, soaking in the easiness between them that had seemed to be missing lately.

“I’ll be right up.” He promised, kissing Arthur gently on the lips before pulling away to collect his dishes. Arthur slipped back up to their room while Linus cleaned up. And as he washed and dried his dishes to hide any remaining evidence, he watched the second snowfall of the year come down. They would have a white Christmas, even though it really wouldn’t be Christmas at all.

Chapter Text

ARTHUR’S POV

Arthur, of course, knew Linus hadn’t been sleeping well. But frankly, he had just been too exhausted to be of any help to him. Zoe had largely been gone for the last few weeks. He saw how much time and care went into winter-proofing Talia’s garden, he couldn’t begin to imagine how much work it was to protect an entire island. And Linus, his lovely Linus, had been spending a lot of one-on-one time with the children, which left Arthur with the other five for most of the day. He could do it of course, he had been the sole provider for these kids for many years, but he hadn’t realized just how tired he had been all that time. And snapping back into that environment was taking a heavier toll than he expected, he had come to rely on his partner in these blissful months since his return. His only saving grace was that Lucy hadn’t had any nightmares about Christmas this year. And so, despite a fitful Linus, he was allowed to pass out every night and regain strength for the next day. But it was fine, everything was fine. Zoe had said she’d be back in the morning, in case you need extra help, she said it as if she was expecting something. Arthur wasn’t sure why, maybe she had just noticed Linus and Arthur’s exhaustion when she stopped by to have dinner with all of them.

But the charade of everything being okay that Arthur fell asleep with was quickly shattered when he woke up to an empty bed. He stretched out his senses, feeling for Linus. Had he left the island? Was all the individual time he had been spending with the children just a way for him to say goodbye? Panic rose in his chest, burning painfully in his throat. It settled only slightly when Arthur recognized Linus was in the study. Still here, still with them.

He was out of bed in an instant, quietly making his way downstairs and striding across the main floor with long steps. He knocked, only to prevent his entrance from startling his darling partner. But when he heard hurried shuffling from inside, not heading towards the door but around the room, that panic returned in full force. Was that music he heard? He couldn’t be sure. He tried to open the door and found it locked. That did nothing to soothe his soul. But Linus’ voice came through and he took a deep breath to compose himself, to snuff out the burning flame in him and lower his body temperature. “One moment.” When Linus finally opened the door, he took in his appearance and then the study behind him. He was still wearing his monogrammed pajamas, there were no suitcases in the room, and he didn’t appear to be packing. “What are you doing?”

Linus cleared his throat and gestured to the couch. “I was just reading, why are you awake?” That fire settled even lower. He was staying. He wasn’t leaving them. With the adrenaline gone the exhaustion in his body returned in full force.

“I could ask the same of you.” Arthur smiled at his beloved and leaned down to kiss his forehead. He slung his arm around Linus’ waist, confirming for himself that he was still here, still his Linus. “Come back to bed with me, my darling Linus.” He felt the man relax into him, resting his head in the crook of his neck. Arthur’s heart fluttered.

“I’ll be right up.” They kissed fully, Linus tasted sweet and sugary, it was intoxicating. But Arthur was too tired to entertain the idea of pushing the man back into the study and stealing more kisses from his lips. They went their separate ways, but Arthur laid awake until Linus returned to bed, pulling him in tight against his chest before succumbing to sleep.

The next morning Linus was more high-strung than usual, and he had been wound very tightly as of late. It made Arthur even more tired just looking at him. He wanted to fix it, to whisk the man away and soothe him until he was transformed back into the happy, carefree man that months on the island had turned him into. But there was no time for that, there were children to serve breakfast to and lessons to give.

Zoe was indeed back as promised, and Arthur stole a few moments with her in the empty kitchen. “I’m glad you’re back.” He admitted somewhat sheepishly.

She let out a little snort. “Of course, you are.” And then she looked at him a little curiously. “You two seem to be struggling.” Part of Arthur hated how blunt she was, but that was a very small part of him.

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Linus has been acting weird.”

“I’m sure he is, considering.” She said airily, plopping a few pancakes onto her plate.

“Considering what?” He leaned forward on the counter, all his attention focused on the sprite across from him and whatever insight into Linus she had that he didn’t.

“Well, you know what today is right?” Zoe asked, eyeing him carefully. When she realized that he did in fact not know what was significant about today, she leaned closer and whispered. “It’s December 25th.” Of course, today was Christmas day. Arthur was the worst kind of fool. “And clearly that is an important day for him. Have you not talked about it?” Arthur had the decency to shrink under her judgmental stare. “Men, useless the lot of you.” He reached out and snatched an apple out of the fruit bowl. “Fix this Arthur.” She said sternly.

How was he supposed to fix this? It was already Christmas day, surely he couldn’t give Linus the day he deserved. Well, perhaps not. But maybe he could give him half of what he deserved. “Do you think you and Linus could handle lessons today?”

She waved her hand at him. “Go Arthur, we’ll take care of the children.”

Arthur took his apple and ran for the car.

LINUS’ POV

Linus was not thrilled to hear he would be leading lessons for the day. Arthur hadn’t even come to tell him himself, he’d run off to no one knew where in the few short minutes between Linus loading his plate in the kitchen and when breakfast began. Linus only had a few lessons prepared, he always had them on standby in case something came up or Arthur fell ill, but they weren’t exactly what he wanted to be talking about on Christmas. They began the morning with a lesson on the history and procedures of DICOMY. Arthur had felt that Linus should cover it not only because he had intimate knowledge of its inner workings but also because he felt it would be good for the children to hear it from someone who joined DICOMY with pure intentions. Arthur felt Linus may be better equipped to give an unbiased picture of the department. And Linus could, he talked to the kids about the horrible discrimination within the organization while also explaining why something of its kind was necessary to protect magical children from prejudices in society and the orphanages. They did have a good discussion, the children were paying attention during the lesson and asking questions. Sal, who had been in the system the longest, talked about some of his experiences with case workers both good and bad. Linus shared stories of children he had saved, now that he had the complete files for those kids and had checked that their future placement was better than the one Linus had pulled them from. Linus was proud, feeling like the children left the classroom with a better understanding of the system.

The feeling left when Arthur didn’t join them for lunch. Thankfully, Zoe was there. The children were asking about the afternoon lesson, chatting about what they were planning to do with their time for individual pursuits. Linus thought he might have a chance to talk to Arthur then, but that was crushed when Lucy declared that they should all go down to the beach to see what it was like covered in snow. Linus applauded his scientific interest but knew that it meant he would need to accompany them all afternoon.

After lunch, they had a music class. Linus taught them how to read music and the solfège scale. Although it wasn’t Christmas carols, Linus was still happy to hear the children singing together. It was unimportant that Sal’s voice barely rose above a whisper or that Chauncey was horribly off-key or that Lucy’s singing overpowered the others, they all seemed to be having a good time. And the fun continued all the way down to the beach, everyone dressed head to toe in winter gear. The children were delighted to find that the snow there was thinner than the rest of the island. Linus took the opportunity to explain how the composition of molecules effected freezing temperatures and that the salt in the sea prevented ice from forming at the same temperature it would with pure water. When the waves washed over the sand, it melted the snow. The kids were interested for a few minutes, but that quickly evaporated in favor of catching snowflakes on their tongues and making snow/sand people (Linus was careful not to refer to them as snow angels. The kids had mostly forgiven his mistake, but he wasn’t eager to make another one).

Once the kids were sufficiently worn out and dinner time neared, they all trudged back to the house, only stopping a few times to have snowball fights. Once they were back in the house Linus came to the sad realization that Arthur once again wouldn’t be joining them. Had he done something to upset him? The kids had forgiven him but perhaps Arthur hadn’t. Not that he’d spent much time making it up to him. It seemed his work making amends was not finished yet.

About halfway through dinner, Lucy looked up at him. “Linus, is Arthur mad at you because it’s Christmas?”

The fun was officially over. “Today’s Christmas?” Chauncey asked. Phee shuddered and Talia glared at him, no doubt thinking about all the dying trees inside today. Theodore squawked and flew under the couch to individually check that each item of treasure was still there, and Sal looked sadly down at his plate.

Linus got up with a sigh and laid belly-down on the floor by the couch. “It’s okay Theodore, Santa didn’t come. You would know by now. It’s okay.” Theodore chirped softly. “Yes, you can count your treasure, quickly. We don’t want your dinner getting cold.” Satisfied with Theodore’s promise to be quick Linus got up off the floor, groaning as his knees cracked with the effort. As he sat down, he turned back to Lucy who was waiting patiently for his answer. “I don’t think so Lucy.”

“But he’s been gone all day, Arthur is never gone all day.”

Unfortunately, Lucy’s logic was too sound to argue with. “I think he’s just busy is all. You know he’ll be back to tuck you in at bedtime. He always will be.” At least that Linus could be sure of. Zoe stayed quiet across the table, but Linus wished he knew if she was thinking the same thing as Lucy.

When Theodore returned, he reported that he was in fact missing a button. Linus fished one out of his pocket, always on hand for moments like this. “Add it to the hoard and come straight back, you need to eat your dinner.” He said before handing it over. The rest of dinner was sullen. It appeared Linus was back at square one for making up for his mistake with everyone.

Chapter Text

LINUS’ POV

Zoe left after dinner was cleaned up and the children were gathered around Linus for story time, a new part of their nightly routine. They were about halfway through “The Secret of Nimh”, a book that the children had been rather enjoying over the past week but tonight couldn’t seem to grab their attention. Regardless that Linus tried to read as dramatically as possible and over-emphasized the different character voices, his performance wasn’t stunning anyone.

"Linus are you mad at us for ruining Christmas?" Phee interrupted mid-sentence.

Linus was shocked. In his mind, there was nothing these children could do to ruin a single day for him, let alone Christmas. "Come here," he said, and the six children climbed up around him on the couch and snuggled close. Even Sal sat close enough to bump shoulders with him. Lucy curled up against his spare tire and Linus took a second to commit the scene to memory, running his fingers through the little boy’s hair. "There is nothing you could do to ruin Christmas."

"But-" Lucy started.

"No buts." Linus interrupted. "You know, I was only excited for Christmas because I would be spending it with you. I'm sorry if my excitement made you upset."

"How did you spend Christmas before?" Chauncey asked, his blob of a head rested against Linus' knee.

Linus sucked in a deep breath. "Growing up I spent it with my mother, my dad wasn't around."

"What was she like?" Phee asked.

"Well, I suppose I was a lot like her when I first came to the island." Talia made a face but immediately received sharp looks from the other five children. "No, it's okay." Linus laughed, "She was a strict, practical woman. But she was the strongest, most courageous woman I ever met. She worked long hours to put food on the table and to send me to a good school so when I grew up I wouldn't have to work as hard as she did.” Linus caught movement in his peripheral vision and looked up to see Arthur leaning on the door jamb. It seemed he may have been there for a while. “But every year on Christmas, we would spend the whole day together. Opening gifts and baking cookies and singing Christmas songs... She died seven years ago, and I haven't really celebrated since. You know Lucy, you were the first person to give me a gift since she passed?"

"But that was before I was born!" Lucy cried.

"What about your birthday?" Phee asked, looking horrified.

"I would get myself something, usually something sweet. Nothing compared to Zoe's baking, of course. But, children, I was very lonely before I met all of you."

"I'm sorry we didn't give you a good Christmas Linus." Sal whispered from beside him.

Linus let out a large laugh, a throw your head back and shake your stomach so hard it jostled Lucy kind of laugh. "Sal, you did quite the opposite. All I wanted for Christmas was to spend the day with my family. And I did."

"But we talked about DICOMY today." Talia said from where she sat on his thigh, sticking out her tongue.

"And it was still the best Christmas I've ever had. It was never about Christmas, although I much would have rathered made cookies with you today than have a lesson on DICOMY. But we don't have to celebrate Christmas, because soon it will be New Year's and after that is Valentine's Day and Halloween and so many other holidays. And we will do something special then."

"Because you’re not leaving again?" Sal asked tentatively.

"Exactly right Sal." Everyone let their heads drop and nestle back into Linus' body. Linus thought for a moment that maybe the extra weight he carried was good for something because all the children had told him how wonderful he was to cuddle many times. "Everyone feeling better?" Sleepy nods all around. "Good because it's time for bed, go on and wash up, I'll be up to tell you all goodnight in a moment." And as Linus watched his six children drowsily climb the stairs with a relaxation in their bodies Linus hadn't seen since he had let his first Christmas comment slip, he felt a warmth in his body he had never felt before. It was indeed the best Christmas he had ever had.

Arthur stepped forward and offered a hand to help Linus stand. “Shall we?”

ARTHUR’S POV

Arthur had skipped mealtimes today, sneaking into the kitchen when he was sure everyone would be in the classroom. He didn’t know if he could face Linus without spilling the secret or upsetting the children. Instead, during dinner, he sat in the guest house and stared at the present in his hands. He had gone to the library and purchased a box set of choose your own adventure books that was now wrapped in shiny red paper and topped with a white bow. Obviously, it wasn’t the most meaningful gift, but Arthur had done his best with his quickly arriving deadline. He thought it might be an interesting twist to their nightly story time, a tradition that Linus had come up with. It was clearly one of his beloved’s favorite parts of the day and he hoped he would enjoy the gift. He looked up at his masterpiece, two stockings hung on the mantle filled with little candies, a tree in the corner (fake of course) strung up with colorful lights and popcorn strings and ribbons, and there was even a Christmas plate piled high with fresh cookies on the counter. A Christmas record was playing softly, and candles filled the home with scents of pine and cinnamon and baked goods. Holly wreaths were carefully strung along the trim all the way around the living room and even a little mistletoe sprig was dangling above the bedroom door. Arthur was satisfied with his work. He carefully placed the gift under the tree and headed back to the house.

He came in just as Phee asked, "Linus are you mad at us for ruining Christmas?" His heart filled as he watched all his children snuggle into his husband. He listened intently as Linus soothed them, that way that he could open his heart and share his vulnerability. Arthur knew he had done the right thing, and had no doubts about the surprise waiting in the guest house as he looked over the group. There was no one else Arthur could ever imagine growing older with but Linus. They were his family, not just orphans and a case worker, but his children and his husband.

He watched those six sleepy kids climb the stairs before helping Linus up. “Shall we?”

Once all the children we securely tucked into their beds, Linus turned to Arthur. “So, are you going to tell me what you’ve been doing all day?” He asked.

Arthur only smiled. “I’d rather show you.” He took Linus’ hand and led him back downstairs, out of the house, and across the yard to the guest house that had been vacant for many months. Arthur paused outside the door, turning to look at a confused Linus. He kissed him slowly, savoring this moment and the hope that Linus would appreciate the piece of Christmas he could give him. When they pulled apart Linus looked at him with a curious but content smile. Arthur opened the door and stepped aside for Linus to enter.

Arthur decided he would treasure the little gasp that escaped from Linus for the rest of his life. He followed him in and shut the door, watched with pride as Linus took in all of his hard work. “Oh, Arthur.” The man breathed, running gentle fingers over one of the stockings as if it might disappear.

“Merry Christmas, Linus.” Arthur said, coming to stand behind his partner and wrap his arms around his waist. “I’m sorry it was so… last minute.” He nuzzled his face against Linus’ shoulder to hide his embarrassment, but he knew the heat radiating off him gave him away.

Linus turned in his arms, wrapping his own around Arthur’s neck. “You did all this for me?” Arthur nodded. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Arthur pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Oh, but I did. You deserve this. You deserve so much more than this, I’m sorry this was all I could give you.”

Linus looked around the room again, eyes wide and brimming with joy. And then his gaze zeroed in on something over Arthur’s shoulder. “I think I might have a way to remedy that.” Before Arthur could ask Linus was dragging him across the room to the mistletoe and kissed him passionately under it.

Arthur laughed against his lips. “You adorable, darling man. We kissed by the door.”

“This is better.” Linus said with a wide smile and kissed him again, Arthur could not argue with that and melted against his partner in surrender. When they broke apart again, Linus’ attention swung towards the record player where Frank Sinatra sang “I’ll be home for Christmas (If only in my dreams)”. He walked over and picked up the sleeve for the Christmas Collection: All your Holiday Favorites. “Did you steal one of my records?” Linus asked.

“You already have this one?” Arthur asked.

“I was listening to it last night.” Linus said with a secretive smile.

“You read War and Peace to Christmas music?” Arthur asked with a broad grin.

Linus turned red. “I um, I wasn’t actually reading War and Peace.”

Arthur’s smile softened and he pulled Linus back into his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me you were celebrating? I would have joined you.”

Linus sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. I just didn’t know if you had the same feelings about Christmas as the children did. I didn’t want to upset anyone.”

Arthur kissed his left cheek, and then his right. “No, I’m sorry. We should have talked about this before just now.” Linus relaxed his head against Arthur’s chest and Arthur ran his hands softly up and down his spine.

“You even got a tree.” Linus sighed happily.

“I assure you it’s fake. Wouldn’t want to get killed by a talented young forest sprite and end up buried in a gnome’s impressive garden.” Arthur and Linus laughed.

“What’s that?”

Arthur smiled. “It’s your gift.”

Linus’ head snapped up to look at him. “But I didn’t get you anything.” He argued. “I should wait to open it, I can go to town tomorrow to-.”

Arthur quieted him with a gentle kiss. “You are already my greatest gift, please open it.”

Linus smiled at him and didn’t fight as Arthur sat him down on the couch and retrieved the present. He sat next to him and watched him open it. “It’s for you to read to the children, I thought they might like to be involved in the story more.”

Linus pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you, Arthur, this truly has been the best Christmas I could have ever wished for.”