Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

December 2019

Both Sören and Yeyette couldn't help noticing that their martial arts instructor and friend, Ryu, was not his usual cheerful self when he met them for coffee at The Coffee Grounds in Terre Haute, not far from Ryu's apartment. Even though Ryu looked festive in the blue Santa hat that matched his light blue fur-trimmed parka, snowflakes glittering in his long black ponytail like diamonds, there was a small frown on his face and his shoulders were hunched. Sören had a feeling it wasn't the winter weather or the holiday blahs.

"Hey guys," Ryu said as he sat down, and gave a wan smile as Yeyette pushed a cup of hot cocoa across the table at him.

"Are you OK?" Sören asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ryu looked out the window at the snow - like he was looking at something far away.

"Out with it," Yeyette said.

Ryu glanced back at them and sipped his hot cocoa, shoulders hunched. "Sorry," he said; Sören was amused by the Canadian accent turning it into "sore-ree". "I don't want to be a downer and tell you all about my problems..."

Sören tried not to laugh at the "aboat". "What are friends for if you can't tell us things?"

"Well, the holidays are coming up so soon, and this is kind of a big thing..."

Sören fought off the that's what he said - there was something innocent about Ryu that he didn't want to corrupt. "Just tell us."

"Yeah," Yeyette said. "We might even be able to help you."

"I doubt you could help with this, but... OK." Ryu took a deep breath. "My landlord told me he wants me out by the first of the month."

"When? Recently?" Yeyette's eyes widened with surprise. "That's... less than thirty days' notice, isn't it? That couldn't possibly be legal?"

"I'd have to take him to court and I don't have that kind of money. It's not worth it."

"Why is he evicting you?" Sören somehow didn't think Ryu was the type of person to be an inconsiderate tenant.

"Well, he's complaining about my dog, even though he's housebroken and doesn't make a lot of noise, and the lease gives permission to have dogs. He says Hiro growls at him and he does but Hiro would never attack him. But also he was like, you know, 'I bet you're going to eat that dog anyway, you should go back to China where you came from.'" Ryu scowled. "First of all, I'm Japanese, not Chinese, second of all, I'm from Canada, and my parents were also born in Canada. I don't eat dog. I eat things like bacon, and maple syrup."

"God, no wonder Hiro growls at him," Yeyette said.

"Fucking idiot," Sören said, and then he quickly clarified, "Your landlord, not you, or your dog." He had been in the States long enough to know that the rise of Trump had emboldened people to blatantly express racist views they would have kept to themselves to be "polite" during the Obama administration - or in the South where he used to live, they didn't keep it to themselves then, either. Even white immigrants like himself weren't always treated well, but Sören knew Ryu had it far worse. Sören felt a flare of anger - he loathed bullies, and he especially hated it when people were bullied for things they couldn't help, like the color of their skin or where they came from, or who they loved.

Yeyette sensed the tension rising in Sören, mirrored by her own. Easy does it, she spoke into Sören's mind. We don't need their fire alarm going off.

But of course feelings didn't have an on/off switch, and Sören still felt angry as he sipped his hot cocoa. "Fucking bigoted shitstain," Sören muttered. "I oughta go to your place and give him a piece of my mind..."

"That would probably hurt more than it would help," Yeyette cautioned. You can't set people on fire nowadays, Fëanáro, you can go to jail for that.

Sören snorted and kicked her under the table.

"Besides," Yeyette said, "I don't think that talking to the guy will do any good, if he's like that. It's too bad that this is such short notice, it's not like a lot of places are available right now or people who want to schedule appointments to show a place during the holidays."

"And moving's a pain in the ass any time of year, but I imagine it would be much worse during the winter." Sören remembered leaving Florida during the winter and arriving in the United Kingdom, and the radical temperature change and adjustment. He'd gotten sick. At least he hadn't had to hire a moving truck and haul his things around in the snow. What was left of my things after... He winced, and shoved the flashback away. Focus on Ryu.

Yeyette looked at Sören, and Sören could practically see the gears grinding in her head. He had a feeling of what she was going to ask him, and it was confirmed when she said, "We have plenty of room at the farmhouse, do you and the dog want to stay with us for awhile? It doesn't have to be forever, if you want a place of your own, but we're not going to get at you to move out on some kind of deadline."

"Oh..." Ryu looked shocked. Then he smiled again - this time the smile was genuine - and he bit his lower lip. "I don't... I don't want to impose -"

"You visit so much you practically live there anyway," Yeyette said. "I'm sure the others won't mind."

"I don't," Sören said, wanting to give Ryu some reassurance. "And this way if the weather gets really bad you don't have to drive in it to come over for Christmas..."

"Are you... are you sure?" Ryu looked at Yeyette, then at Sören, then back at Yeyette.

"I'm sure," Yeyette said. "In fact, when we're done here, we can go to your place, get your things, and bring them on over."

"Jæja, fuck that guy," Sören said. "If he's being such an asshole to you, I worry about him being even more of a Grinch during the holidays and people can get, uh... weird... when they're like that." He knew that not every bigot was violent, but he also felt like the world had gone mad enough that it was safer to not take chances. It was bad enough Ryu's landlord was pushing him out into the snow.

"You guys are great," Ryu said. "Anything I can do to make it up to you..."

Yeyette made a dismissive hand gesture. "Don't worry about it. You've done a lot for us. Consider it an early Christmas present."


_


Ryu didn't have a lot of stuff - his apartment in Terre Haute was pre-furnished - nonetheless he had enough in the way of books, clothes, and personal knicknacks that it took a few trips and several pairs of hands to get everything brought over from Terre Haute to Beauregard. DeKalb and Anthony both seemed disappointed the landlord wasn't around - "I would have liked to punch him," DeKalb said, and Anthony added, "And kick him in the knackers."

Getting Ryu's stuff moved across town and unloaded was enough of a production that nobody was up for cooking an elaborate meal. "We could order a pizza," DeKalb suggested.

"I think we still have frozen pizza in the freezer," Yeyette said, "and if we do, it's been in there for awhile so we should use it."

She was correct - there were in fact a few large frozen pizzas. As the pizzas baked, Ryu started to unpack, while Ryu's enormous Irish wolfhound, Hiro, sniffed around. Hiro had been over plenty of times, enough to make friends with Yeyette's orange-and-white cat, Eugène. Eugène came out from where he'd been napping to touch noses with Hiro, and then Hiro trotted after Eugène as if the cat were giving him the tour. Sören knew that was probably a bit more likely than anyone outside the household would think.

After Ryu made a couple of trips to his room, Yeyette put a hand on his arm and marched him to the couch. "You," she said, putting the remote control to the TV in his hand, "sit and relax for awhile."

"OK," Ryu said. He began to flip through the channels, till he got to the guide to check. A Christmas movie was coming on - the animated version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas - and Ryu clicked on the channel, waiting for it to start.

"Oh look, there's your landlord," Anthony said once it started.

Nicholas snorted. "As you know, the Grinch's heart is two sizes too small. It sounds like Ryu's landlord doesn't even have a heart."

"He shouldn't have a dick, either," Sören said. "People like him shouldn't breed and inflict those views on children. Pity Hiro couldn't have bitten it off before you left."

Ryu chuckled. "That's awful, Sören. Besides, I'd have to brush his teeth after."

"Fucker," Sören said, his fists clenching as his heart raged at the injustice all over again. "How could anyone be like that just before Christmas? What a piece of shit..."

Yeyette nodded, scowling. Sören could feel her own anger as well. Yeyette's French accent got a little stronger as she snarled, "You would think with so much going on in the world, life being hard enough as it is, maybe assholes could take a break from being assholes for the holidays. But if anything that just seems to bring their assholery out of the woodwork even more."

The smoke detector started going off. Sören was absolutely sure nothing was burning.

"SHUT UP!" Yeyette screamed at the beeping smoke alarm. "NOBODY LOVES YOU!"

The smoke detector stopped beeping.

"I'd be a great parent," Yeyette said sarcastically.

"I dunno, taking me in was a really mom thing to do," Ryu said.

Yeyette reached out and patted him. "I want you to feel at home, OK? If there's anything you need..."

"I already feel at home here." Ryu looked around the living room, with the Christmas tree lit up, the fairy lights and stockings hung on the mantle - Ryu already had a stocking before he moved in; even Hiro and Eugène had stockings. "It's so Christmasy."

"I was gonna put the lights up on the house tonight," DeKalb said, and then he quipped, "and on that fucked-up tree by the lab." A few months ago, the lone pine tree standing by the former chapel Victor used as his alchemy lab had been transformed in an accident, into something resembling a cross between a pine tree and a palm tree.

Victor chuckled. "At least it will look festive, if not proper."

"I'll still do that after supper," DeKalb said. "I gotta blow off some steam since I can't punch that landlord."

"I'll help," Anthony said.

Sören grinned - it still tickled him that the all-American Green Beret and the very British archaeologist had become fast friends.

"I'll help too," Dara said.

Then Palcë chimed in, "I will also assist with the lights, if you wish."

"Uh-oh, that's ten words," Yeyette teased. "That's a full third of your thirty-words-a-day quota!"

Palcë frowned.

"I don't mind you helping," DeKalb said, "but it's gonna be cold as balls tonight and you still don't have a proper winter coat and things. I know you say the cold affects, uh... your kind... a bit differently, but I get cold looking at you."

"Are you requesting I stay in and refrain from helping?" Palcë's frown intensified.

"Twenty," Yeyette said under her breath.

"Well, no..." DeKalb shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Just saying, though, we should get you a coat and stuff, real soon."

"You need to get clothes anyway," Sören said, "so the Yule Cat doesn't eat you." He loved telling people about Christmas traditions in his native country.

"Yule... Cat?" Palcë looked confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Twenty-nine," Yeyette whispered.

"Oh god," Anthony said, as Nicholas rolled his eyes - they'd heard Sören go on about the Yule Cat for a couple of Christmases now.

"Back in Iceland, we have a legend of a troll woman named Grýla, and she has a troll husband named Leppalúði. Grýla collects naughty children and puts them in a stew. There's statues of them on the main street of my hometown, Akureyri. Their sons are the Yule Lads, who start showing up thirteen days before Christmas to fuck with people in different ways - stealing spoons, slamming doors - and if you've been good you get candy or other small gifts, but if you've been bad the Yule Lads put a potato in your shoe. And Grýla and Leppalúði also own a giant cat. The Yule Cat. Jólakötturinn. If you don't get at least one new item of clothing for Christmas, the Yule Cat eats you." Sören smiled.

"You... teach this to children." Palcë's brow furrowed. "That sounds worse than accosting people for candy at Halloween."

"That's more than thirty words," Yeyette said, before she got up to check the pizza.

"We teach this to children," Sören said, nodding. "But I mean, even half the adult population believes in Elves, and here you are, and Maglor. So maybe the Yule Cat isn't total bullshit." Sören tried to wink, though he knew it was more of a clumsy blink. "We should take you out clothes shopping this week before Christmas comes, just to be on the safe side."

Palcë frowned.

Maglor patted him. "You'll get used to it. I did." Maglor was wearing a Metallica T-shirt and jeans, but he'd been living among mortals for a very long time.

The pizza was ready, and after the meal, Anthony, Dara, DeKalb and Palcë went up to put the lights on the house while Nicholas and Victor handled the dishes, and Yeyette, Sören and Maglor helped Ryu continue unpacking. When Ryu got to a good stopping point they took a break and came down, and everyone but the men handling the lights watched another Christmas movie together, this one White Christmas with Bing Crosby. Maglor showed off by singing along with the songs.

"Man, you could have been a star with that voice," Sören said, tearing up a little. "I know it would have defeated the purpose of keeping a low profile, but..."

Maglor nodded. "And I wouldn't want to be a celebrity and live that sort of... flashy, ostentatious but shallow life, all style, no substance. I don't need a mansion and a Bentley and a Rolex and designer suits. I'd rather have this." He gestured to the fire in the fireplace, his family gathered around him.

Sören reached out and gave him a hug.

Once the lights were up, everyone went outside to take a look. The house was strung with golden-white lights, and the "pineapple tree" also had golden-white bulbs. Sören got teared up again - despite knowing so much about Christmas traditions in his country, the aunt and uncle that had raised him ruined holidays by drinking and did little in the way of outward celebration, so things like going all out with decorations and lights gave him a feeling of coming home that was hard to explain. Anthony and Nicholas sensed their partner's mood and each took his hand, squeezing. Then Anthony playfully grabbed Sören's ass.

"Wow, it looks amazing," Ryu said, with a huge smile.

"Thanks," DeKalb said. "Some people around here go all out, more than we did. 'Cuz, you know, it's the birthday of CHRIST, so people make a big deal out of that. Even though I'm not a fan of religion, I still like seeing the lights."

"Oh, that's something we should do," Yeyette said. "We should take Ryu to see the lights! And Sören and the others!" Yeyette turned to Sören and said, "Wait till you see some of these places, they're ridiculous."

"There's this one guy who has a full-on animated Nativity," DeKalb said, "and Santa Claus is one of the wise men, with two elves as the other wise men."

Sören looked at Nicholas, then Palcë and Maglor. Anthony knew what Sören was thinking and choked back a guffaw. Nicholas glared; Palcë frowned. Maglor rolled his eyes but his lips quirked with the hint of a smile.

"Let's do that tomorrow," Yeyette said. "We'll go take a tour of the lights."

"In the meantime... ours are pretty nice," Sören said. It was starting to snow again, and he reached out his gloved hand to catch a few snowflakes. The light in his heart, surrounded by his found family on a peaceful winter night, was as bright as the lights on the house.

Chapter Text

The people had gone out to look at "lights" - Hiro guessed it was the same sort of lights that were around the house - and he and his friend Eugène the cat had to stay home. Hiro would have liked to come along, but Eugène didn't like riding in the car, and Hiro didn't want his friend to be all by himself.

Hiro liked Eugène a lot. They played and cuddled together. Sometimes they talked to each other. Hiro thought it was good that friends have values in common, like being protective of their family, and an appreciation of hard food.

Hiro's mind was on food now as he watched Eugène walk slowly over to their food bowls, sniff, and walk back. The people had fed them before they left, but that felt like hours ago, or even days. And it was the wet food. Sometimes you just had to have hard food.

"I can see the bottom of my dish," Eugène said in his French accent. "Mon Dieu, this is no way to live."

"I hope they're coming back." Hiro began to pace, feeling keyed up. A lot of strange things had been happening. There were bad things out there, like the bad man with the flaming eye. Hiro didn't like him. "I hope nothing happened..."

"I'm so hungry! And I want Maman!" Eugène went to the window, joined by Hiro, but there was no sign of them.

Eugène went back to his bowl, and Hiro saw him looking around the kitchen. "The last time I moved the food, Maman hid it in a new place," Eugène explained. "I can't see it."

"Neither can I, and I'm good at tracking things." Hiro gave a little whine.

Eugène came back to the window and they sat vigil. Then Eugène couldn't take it anymore. "Maybe if I cry, Maman will hear me and come back," Eugène said. "I have to sound like a normal cat, to make it really sad." With that, Eugène began to meow at the top of his lungs. Hiro had never heard a cat scream like that. A long time ago, Ryu had neighbors with a baby and the baby's cry was almost like that, but Eugène's was louder. Hiro wondered if the neighbors would hear Eugène, as far away as they were, and he wondered if the neighbors would call the people in the blue uniforms who ate donuts, which he thought were called "cops" but Sören and Anthony called them "pigs". Hiro didn't know why.

Eugène screamed and hollered until he exhausted himself, then he lay flat on the floor, looking despondent. Hiro nuzzled him.

"I'm hungry," Eugène said.

"There is still food in our dishes," Hiro pointed out.

"Yes, but it's not the hard food! And it's almost gone!" The bowls were over half full. "I have to make it last if the people won't come back for awhile!" Eugène huffed. "Why did they need to go out, anyway? Can't they see lights here?"

"I guess it's special lights. Different lights. Like we want different food."

"It's not the same thing," Eugène said. "I'm starving. They will not die if they look at the same lights." Eugène dramatically rolled onto his back and then he started up again, screaming.

Hiro decided this was an emergency and he nosed around the kitchen to see if he could find the food, but the people had done a really good job of hiding it. When Hiro came back, Eugène had stopped crying but he sat at the window, looking heartbroken. "I'm so hungry... and now I'm angry," Eugène said. "I should pee on Maman's bed."

"They told us to be good," Hiro said. "Maybe if you don't pee on her bed, she'll give you treats when she comes back."

"If she comes back." Eugène huffed and walked towards his scratching post to scratch aggressively, like he was blowing off steam. Then he stopped mid-scratch, like he was looking at something, and said, "Ah ha!" He stopped scratching and ran towards Yeyette's laptop, which was open on the coffee table and had not gone to sleep yet.

"What are you doing?" Hiro asked.

"I sit next to Maman when she does things online. She gets my food delivered from a place called Amazon because she says it's cheaper to buy a lot at once and easier to have that brought here by strange people." Eugène tried to type on the keyboard, but keyboards were of course not designed for typing with cat paws and Hiro watched as a lot of gibberish appeared in the address bar.

77e444444444444444444444444444444444444444444rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeee

"I don't think that says Amazon," Hiro said.

Eugène frowned and his tail thumped the floor; he was thinking hard. Hiro thought too. "Maybe if we had something to press the keys with," Hiro suggested.

"A pencil!" Eugène and Hiro looked around the room and then Hiro went into the office room. There was one sitting on the desk. Hiro closed his eyes and pushed with his mind and the pencil came floating off the desk. Hiro ran back into the room with a yip of victory, the pencil floating in front of him, over to Eugène.

Eugène reached out his paw and the pencil floated over to the keyboard. Eugène used the butt of the pencil to type the keys - A M A Z O N . C O M . and then the Enter key. Once Amazon was on the screen, Eugène used the floating pencil to type dry cat food. He used the pencil on the arrow keys to scroll down until he saw the kind Yeyette bought, and selected the largest quantity available. Then he did the same for Hiro's dog food.

Once it was in the cart, Eugène was about to order and then he saw shipping time. "What? It takes three days? Merde, that's too long. We need food now."

Eugène went back to the window to scream for his mother. It was painful. Hiro cried a little too, wishing there was something he could do. He thought hard. He thought of the times when Ryu didn't feel like cooking, and got food delivered. Unlike food Yeyette bought for the cat and dog, it got there right away, it didn't take three days.

"Let's order pizza," Hiro said.

"Oui!"

This time Hiro used the pencil, when he remembered where Ryu ordered pizza from. He typed dominos into the search engine and went to the website.

The only thing worse than being hungry and seeing the bottom of one's dish was being hungry, seeing the bottom of one's dish and looking at all the endless possibilities for pizza online. Hiro started drooling; he moved away from the laptop so he wouldn't get drool on the keyboard.

"Maman doesn't let me eat pizza," Eugène said, "but I've taken toppings before." Eugène looked off to the side. "Anyway, even just a piece of chicken or two would help me be less hungry."

Hiro used the pencil to build a custom pizza online. He built one that was half chicken and half beef for Eugène and himself, and then he selected an extra-large pizza with everything on it for the people. He decided to order two in case they were also starving, so maybe the people would think they were extra good and give them treats and hard food. A dog could dream.

They needed to put in payment information. "I know where Maman keeps paper money, in case of an emergency," Eugène said. "This is an emergency, we're starving." Hiro nodded. Eugène trotted out to the kitchen and Hiro saw him open the large drawer at the kitchen counter without touching it. He heard what sounded like a box opening, and then he watched paper money fly up and away. Eugène chased after it for a moment, then pounced on it like it was prey, and carried the paper money in his mouth to the coffee table. He dropped the now-wet paper money next to the laptop, looking pleased with himself.

Just before Hiro could hit the button to place the order, they both heard the sound of cars pulling up. "Maman!" Eugène cried. They ran to the window and watched the people getting out of the vehicles. Eugène started to scream again.

"Oh god, is that Eugène?" Sören asked.

"Holy shit, he sounds like a toddler having a tantrum," Anthony said.

"He's very spoiled," Yeyette said. "I'd better hurry..."

Yeyette got in first and a moment later the people came in - with bags of what smelled like Chinese takeout food. Hiro began to bark excitedly and Eugène rubbed up against Yeyette with a happy chirp.

Before the people could get too settled in with their food, Yeyette gave them treats and hard food for being good boys... "And maybe they won't beg us for our food," Yeyette said.

"Or try to steal it," DeKalb said.

Eugène gave them an offended look as if to say I would never even though he'd just admitted to it not that long ago.

When Yeyette and Victor sat on the couch together Victor blinked with surprise, put a hand on Yeyette's knee and said, "Your laptop is on."

"Oh, the cat must have walked on it again..." Then Yeyette saw what was on the screen, and the money next to the laptop. "Or... not. Eugène." She pointed at the cat and glared.

Eugène hid behind Hiro.

"Whaaaaaat?" Sören came over to get a better look and then he had to sit down on the arm of the couch, laughing too hard, turning red and tearing up. "What in the HELL?"

"What happened?" Nicholas asked, his eyebrows raised.

"The order screen for Domino's Pizza is on my computer." Yeyette looked at the cat, who was now walking into the kitchen to eat his food, pretending to be innocent.

"How did that happen?" Nicholas looked incredulous.

"As you know," Yeyette said, making Sören and Anthony smirk and snicker, "the animals are Forceful. You've seen that they're toilet-trained, and Eugène is smart enough to find his food and dispense it in too-large quantities if I don't hide it very well."

"Yes but..." Nicholas blinked. "They can read, too? Well enough to attempt to order pizza?"

Yeyette nodded solemnly. "Eugène can, anyway. I found out Eugène can read when Victor and I were playing Scrabble one night and Eugène started moving tiles around to spell words."

Hiro decided not to tell them just yet he could read AND talk, as well. He went over to his bowl and crunched his treats happily before digging into his kibble. Pizza would have been nice, but it was better that everyone was back home where they belonged. Treats were better than pizza, and pets and cuddles best of all.

Chapter Text

The time had come to take Palcë clothes shopping. Yeyette was driving; Sören and Maglor were going along for moral support.

Maglor and Yeyette put on their outerwear while Sören checked to make sure he had everything. Yeyette gave Palcë a onceover - he was still in the same getup he'd been wearing since he was rescued back in October: a black gambeson and leather breeches. His silver hair hung to the middle of his back, some of it pulled back in a tail, the rest of it worn loose - just enough to hide the pointy tips of his ears. Then Yeyette's eyes met Maglor's and she knew without him saying anything that he was a little concerned about that outfit in public.

"Are you sure you don't want to borrow one of my outfits for the trip?" Maglor raised an eyebrow. "You, ah... might get fewer funny looks."

"This will suffice," Palcë said, looking displeased with the entire idea of new clothing.

Anthony was in the kitchen having coffee and before Sören could head to the coatrack to put on his outerwear, Sören stopped in the kitchen and put a hand on Anthony's shoulder. "You're coming with us."

Anthony chuckled. "Where are you guys shopping, anyway?"

"The mall in Indianapolis," Yeyette said. At Anthony's raised eyebrow - that was a bit of a drive, close to two hours one way - Yeyette explained, "There's a big-and-tall shop there and Palcë is... definitely tall." Both Palcë and Maglor were close to seven feet tall.

"And you need me to come along because..."

"You can be the style consultant," Sören said.

Anthony laughed harder. "What is this, Queer Eye for the Elf Guy?"

Nonetheless, Anthony went along without a fuss, cuddling with Sören on the ride there. Occasionally Yeyette stole glances at Sören in the rear-view mirror, and couldn't help smiling at the sight of him smiling, looking cozy and content.

It's nice to see you happy, she spoke into his mind. She knew that happiness had been hard-won - and the fight wasn't over yet - but she hoped it lasted. And she hoped that the other reason why she'd chosen the mall in Indy would give Sören an additional reason to smile.


_


"Hey, it's the Witcher!" "Wow, he's even hotter in person." "GERALT! GERALT, I LOVE YOU!" Teenage girls giggling.

Palcë frowned. "I do not know any Geralt, and I am not the Witcher," he told the girls as they passed by.

Maglor patted him. "I did try to warn you," he said gently.

"Hm." Palcë's frown deepened.

"Well, look on the bright side," Sören said. "At least no one's come up to me yet and -"

"OH MY GOD IT'S JON SNOW!" a young woman screamed from several feet away, pointing at Sören. "KING IN THE NORTH!" The small group with her, college students from the looks of them, assorted genders, began to chant "KING IN THE NORTH! KING IN THE NORTH!"

Sören facepalmed. "Never mind."

Anthony gave him a little kiss. "You know nothing, Jon Snow."

"They're not entirely wrong," Palcë said. "You were the King of the Noldor, and 'Formenos' means 'Northern Fortress'..."

"Jæja, could we not right now." Now it was Sören's turn to frown; Yeyette couldn't help chuckling, as the family resemblance between Sören and Palcë was obvious when Sören frowned.

Nonetheless, Yeyette felt for him. October hadn't been that long ago, and it was still a lot to take in. Yeyette didn't think she'd ever really be done processing everything.

When they arrived at the big-and-tall store, a salesman greeted them. "Good afternoon!" His eyes widened at the sight of Palcë. "That's a great costume."

Before Palcë could say it's not a costume, Yeyette gave a too-hearty laugh and said, "Our D&D group meets later and he really gets into it!"

Palcë gave her a confused look and opened his mouth as if to protest. But the salesman went on, "Nice. Is there anything in particular I can help you find?"

Yeyette really didn't want to be hounded by a salesman, but she also knew he was just doing his job, so she tried not to be grumpy. "We'll let you know," she said, and gave a small push with the Force at the end of that sentence, since she wasn't in the mood to be followed.

They went to the tall section and began looking around. Yeyette noticed that clothing for big-and-tall people was significantly pricier, but money was no object. Making sure that Palcë didn't stand out any more than he already did was the object.

Of course, it was one thing to look at clothing and another thing to get Palcë to actually wear it. Anthony started pulling items off the rack and Palcë would just frown. After five tries of this, Anthony sighed.

Yeyette put a hand on Palcë's arm. "I know you don't like this, but -"

"I feel naked without armor," Palcë said.

"Yes, but. You will feel even more naked and vulnerable if we take you out in public and people make a big scene because they think you're the Witcher or some kind of cosplayer or... or something." Yeyette's voice lowered as she went on, "You know the situation we're in. We're supposed to be keeping a low profile. That's easier said than done being what we all are, but..."

"I do not want to cause you problems," Palcë said. "I... will try to comply. It is simply difficult for me, to think of wearing different clothing. Clothing without armor." Clothing that isn't the last thing I have of the days before.

Anthony started showing Palcë a selection of cashmere sweaters, like the ones he wore. Though one was black, and Yeyette imagined Palcë would get away with wearing all black if he could - like his gambeson and breeches - she also knew from past experience that wearing all black in a place like Beauregard was another thing that would make a person stand out, under suspicion of being "one of those Satanists". Though, Anthony seemed to understand Palcë favored darker colors so the other sweaters he showed off were all in deeper shades of blue, green, grey.

Anthony also picked out some jeans for Palcë, as well as some T-shirts in solid colors, both long and short sleeve. Then Anthony brought Palcë over to the dress clothes. "In case you're going out to dinner or another function," Anthony explained. He picked out button-down shirts in darker colors, and trousers - black, khaki, dark grey. Anthony paused at the suits, stroking his chin. "I think for something like a suit it would probably be better to visit a tailor and get something made custom..."

Yeyette snorted; she couldn't see Palcë in a suit. Neither could Palcë himself, who was frowning again. "I would rather cut off one of my limbs than wear a suit," Palcë said, his voice quiet and deadly. "Or better yet, cut off a limb from the person who insisted upon it..."

Yeyette looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, not wanting to cause alarm. Anthony quickly changed the subject. "Right," he said, marching to the pajamas. "Let's get you some stuff to wear to bed..."

Of course, Sören was amused by this, and Maglor was trying to disguise his amusement and not quite succeeding. Yeyette couldn't help laughing a little as she watched Palcë browsing the pajama sets and bathrobes - she'd never seen someone look so disgruntled at pajamas before.

"I like this robe," Sören said, holding up a cerulean terry bathrobe. "It looks so fluffy."

At the word "fluffy", Palcë's frown intensified.

Sören and Anthony started laughing, and Sören put the robe back on the rack and pulled his phone out of his pocket. His fingers pressed buttons on the screen, and then he held his phone out - he'd gone into his folder of reaction memes and he had one ready.

Palcë read it aloud. "No talk me. I'm angy."

Those words out of Palcë's mouth made it even funnier. Yeyette giggled and clapped a hand over her mouth. She felt almost a little guilty for laughing.

"Why is it misspelled like that? Why is the grammar so bad?" Palcë sounded confused.

"Because it's kittens," Sören said. "It's like how a lot of small children fumble English."

As Sören put his phone back in his pocket, his eyes caught something in the distance. Before Yeyette could ask what, Sören pointed and marched over. He pulled something that looked like a blanket in a clear plastic envelope from a display rack, and Yeyette saw the label on it: Snuggie.

"He needs one," Sören said, "being traumatized by the shopping trip and all."

"What... is a Snuggie. Is it like angy?" Palcë asked, scowling.

"Snuggie is for when you're feeling angy, to help you feel the opposite of angy." Sören tucked the Snuggie under his arm. "We're getting it."

The next order of business was a coat for Palcë - even though Elves tolerated cold better than humans, winter in Indiana could get very cold, and Palcë being outside without outerwear would arouse suspicion with any passerby, or worse, a good Samaritan thinking he was in need of assistance. Palcë went with a black wool trenchcoat similar to the ones Sören and Maglor wore. Palcë also picked out some socks and underwear, with Maglor helping him to find the right size since they were of a similar build.

After that, Palcë spent some time in the fitting room trying everything on, except for the Snuggie, which stayed in its packaging, and the socks and underwear. When it was determined that everything fit correctly, they went to the cash register, where the salesman who'd greeted them looked way too eager to be ringing them up; Yeyette had a feeling the guy was probably working on commission.

Sören's eyebrows shot up at the total, but Yeyette had been expecting this, and Palcë needed less conspicuous clothing. While Palcë wasn't as familiar with modern American culture as Maglor was, nonetheless Palcë seemed to understand enough about money that when the salesman said they would get ten percent off their order if they signed up for the catalog, Palcë said, "I will sign up," before Yeyette could decline.

"Oh... we could put it in my name," Yeyette said, not thrilled with the idea of more junk mail.

"It is fine to put it in my name," Palcë said.

"First name?" The salesman's fingers hovered above the keypad.

"Palcë. P, A, L, C, E."

The salesman's lips quirked. "Is that French?"

"Yes," Yeyette said before Palcë could deny it.

The salesman typed it in. "Last name?"

Yeyette was going to let Palcë use her surname of Arnaud, but before she could say so, Palcë said, "L'..." and Yeyette wondered if he was going to say "l'Aigle," like Victor's surname only without the "de"... and then Palcë finished with, "Angy. L'Angy."

The salesman was completely deadpan as he typed the name in; Sören and Anthony were both shaking with silent laughter, trying not to completely lose it.

The salesman put in the address, charged Yeyette's card, and began to bag up the clothing. From a few feet away Yeyette heard whispers, and then a woman's voice. "Look - the Witcher!" The woman, who was with an unhappy-looking middle-aged man, started waving her arms frantically. "Can I have your autograph?"

Palcë took the navy cashmere sweater away from the pile, and a pair of dark blue jeans, before the salesman could bag it up. "I will be wearing these out of the store." Before the salesman could say yes or no, Palcë was walking towards the dressing room to put on the new outfit.


_


While the bags of clothing were heavy, a few pairs of hands made it easier to carry around. Instead of heading out to where the minivan was parked, Yeyette took them in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" Anthony asked.

Yeyette smirked. "You'll see."

Sören's face lit up when Yeyette stopped in front of Build-A-Bear Workshop. Yeyette turned to Sören and said, "This is an early Christmas present. My heart couldn't take it after what you told me about Juniper..."

Sören swallowed hard, eyes misting. "Jæja. I... takk." Sören dropped his bag on the floor, went right to Yeyette, and hugged her hard. Maglor took the bag from her so she could hug him back, squeezing him tight, her own eyes tearing up as she remembered the story of how Juniper had trashed their apartment. Her fists clenched as she thought about how Juniper had stalked him.

You're safe now. They rocked each other for a moment; Yeyette tousled his curls. You're with your family.

They walked into Build-A-Bear and a sales associate let them check their bags so they could have their hands free while browsing. Sören was like a big kid, picking stuffed animals up off the shelves and hugging them, playing with them for a minute before putting them back on the shelf, trying to decide.

At last Sören settled on a rainbow-tie-dye bunny with floppy ears and a sweet smile. "This one," he said.

"You can get him an outfit, too." Yeyette quickly added, "Her. Them. Ah..."

"You were right the first time," Sören said. "Him. No reason why boys can't be fabulous."

Sören picked out glittery fairy wings for his bunny, and a small crown and magic wand. Yeyette smiled - that was so very him. Then Sören did something even more himself. He turned to Anthony and said, "I'll pay if you pick out a friend for Finn, too."

"Finn?" Yeyette raised an eyebrow.

"My... lion." Anthony's cheeks flushed pink. "I've had him since I was four."

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww -"

"Yeah." Anthony glanced off to the side, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"There's no shame in that," Sören said. "Everyone needs a soft friend to snuggle with." Sören turned to Maglor and Palcë. "That means you too. Pick out whatever you want, I'll pay."

Palcë declined with a simple headshake, but after a brief hesitation, Maglor started looking around, deep in thought. "You have any suggestions?" Maglor asked.

"Well..." Sören rubbed his beard. "Seems something mythical would be fitting for you, so maybe..." Sören picked up a purple unicorn with a teal, yellow, and pink mane, and a sparkly pink horn and hooves. "A unicorn?"

"Sure," Maglor said, laughing softly.

Anthony got a plush shark. Then Palcë finally gave in and chose a fluffy white wolf for himself.

"You getting anything?" Sören asked Yeyette.

"I have enough Hello Kitty and Pusheen memorabilia to start a museum," Yeyette said half-jokingly. "Maybe you should bring back something for Nicholas, though."

It took Sören a little while, and with some consultation from Anthony, they picked out a blue dragon. The thought of Nicholas cuddling with a stuffed dragon made Yeyette laugh, especially the idea of him trying to maintain dignity and decorum while doing so.

Sören seemed to be thinking about that too, his face lit up again as he paid for Maglor, Palcë, Anthony, and Nicholas's toys. When they were all finished paying, Sören gave Yeyette another hug.

"I hope Santa is watching and puts you on the Nice list for this," Sören said.

Yeyette snickered. "Oh come on, a girl has a reputation to uphold. We can't have the world thinking I've gone soft." She put on her best bitchface before laughing, and gave Sören a noogie.


_


After dinner at the farmhouse, Sören, Nicholas and Anthony got into their pajamas, and Palcë took that as his cue to get into nightclothes as well. When Palcë came down in a set of blue-and-green plaid flannel pajamas, it was so different from what Yeyette was used to that she stopped in the middle of making hot chocolate and leaned against the counter in hysterics.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to catch her breath. "I'm -"

Palcë frowned.

"I know I look ludicrous," Palcë said.

"Awwwww, Dad," Sören said. "It's not that bad, really. It could be worse."

"How could it be worse?"

Sören got out the Snuggie and used the Force to put it on Palcë before Palcë took a seat. The combination of the scowl and the blue plaid Snuggie made Yeyette laugh even harder. The very idea of Palcë, one of the Unbegotten, wearing pajamas and a Snuggie was just too much.

"It is truly a frightening sight," Nicholas said.

"That's the effect we're going for, right? To put fear in the hearts of our enemies?" Anthony grinned.

"And this way the Yule Cat won't eat you," Sören said.

"I know something even scarier than that... getup," Maglor said. "And it involves the Yule Cat."

All eyes were on him.

"Let me tell you a story." Maglor went to the kitchen to get a flashlight then hit the lights on his way back into the living room, shining the flashlight on his face for dramatic effect as he sat down. The hearth fire burned, creating an eerie play of light and shadow. "You know the legend of Grýla and Leppalúði, and their cat, but you don't know the legend behind the legend. The little grain of truth that was distorted over time, like a game of telephone, and became the folklore of the Yule Cat."

"And you do?" Sören cocked his head to one side. "Well, I suppose you're old enough..."

"There once was a brother and sister," Maglor said, "who were so close everyone thought they were married."

Sören and Yeyette looked at each other across the room, in the shadows and firelight.

"They were both known for their terrible wrath. And between the two of them they had many, many children, who were known far and wide as mischief makers, starting trouble wherever they went."

OK, that hits a little too close to home. A shiver went through Yeyette, her memories as Náriel resurfacing.

Maglor continued, "The woman had a cat who went everywhere with her, even into battle. And after he passed on, their bond had been such that sometimes, her foes would see the apparition of a ghost-cat... as the last thing they saw."

Definitely hits too close to home. Yeyette looked down and instinctively reached for Eugène. Mau.

"Because the Dark Lord could only make Orcs of those with evil already in their hearts, parents warned their children that if they were bad, the huntress would get them before the Dark Lord did. And because one of the signs of Orc transformation was refusing one's clothing and going about naked, even in winter weather, it was said that the huntress's cat would eat those who did not receive new clothing at the winter solstice, the darkest night of the year when the Dark Lord's power was at its peak."

Yeyette remembered the toxicology cases at the emergency room, the people on meth who were showing signs of being changed. Two-thirds of them had been brought in naked. Another chill went through her.

"So you see," Maglor concluded, "that legend is a bit more real than you think." Maglor turned off the flashlight and used the Force to put the lights back on.

"I need a drink," Sören said. Victor nodded and got up to head to the liquor cabinet - nobody drank often, but they were still stocked for special occasions. This was... special.

Sören and Yeyette's eyes met, and locked as Victor brought him a shot of Brennivín imported from Iceland. Eugène climbed onto Yeyette with a "Prrrp?"

Chapter Text

It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and lightly snowing. Anthony watched Sören watching from the window, and put an arm around him.

"It's pretty," Sören said. "It reminds me of Christmas in Iceland."

Anthony kissed the tip of Sören's nose, feeling Sören's nostalgia across their Force bond, aching for him. What was meant to be a three-month vacation had unexpectedly become a lot longer - they weren't leaving Indiana anytime soon. Sören had hoped to visit Iceland for Christmas this year, but of course, that wasn't happening now. They had no idea when, or if, such a trip would be possible.

Anthony gently tried to redirect Sören to happier thoughts. "What was your favorite thing about Christmas in Iceland? You know... besides teasing everyone about the Yule Cat."

Sören grinned. "When I was a kid, I used to play in the snow. It got me out of my aunt and uncle's house for hours and I never really gave it up, even when I was a teenager and people thought I was too old for that. I miss it."

Anthony would walk through fire to cheer Sören up when he was down, but now here was something he could do that was far less of a hassle. "Do you want to go out and play in it?"

Sören threw his arms around him and gave a happy yelp.

"Did I hear playing in the snow?" Ryu had a big smile on his face too. "Can I come along?"

"Sure, if we're going," Anthony said. Hiro yipped. Anthony turned and looked around the room. "Anyone else?"

"I could use some air," DeKalb said.

Yeyette nodded. "It'll be fun." She tugged on Palcë's sleeve. "You should come along."

"I don't... do fun," Palcë said.

Maglor chuckled. "I'll come along for moral support, if that helps?"

Palcë frowned, and gave a resigned little nod.

"You do fun," Sören said to Maglor. "If there had been snow in Valinor, apart from what little bit we could magic up ourselves, you boys would have had a blast. I guess we're making up for it now."

"Shhh, you'll ruin our reputation as bloodthirsty maniacs," Maglor said, laughing harder.

"Oh, fuck that shit." Sören scowled; Anthony thought there was a strong resemblance between Sören and Palcë when Sören frowned like that. "Canon got a lot of things wrong. The Celegorm I remember was a total cinnamon roll, not a villain at all."

"I am very sure Ronald Tolkien was the reincarnation of Beren, and was rather jealous of my brother," Maglor said. "Thought there was competition for Lúthien, never forgave him for it, decided to demonize him. Meanwhile, Celegorm was much more interested in his dog. Er... not like that." He facepalmed, then quickly went on, "He liked hunting, fishing, hiking. Wasn't really room in his life for girls. Married to the outdoors, I guess you could call it. And he was a bit of a good Samaritan, helping travelers in need. I'm guessing he probably rescued Lúthien and it got spun as capturing her."

"He was a good kid," Sören said, looking sad again. He glanced at Dara then. "My sister has good kids, too. Whatcha say, are you coming with us?"

"I thought I would do some last-minute Christmas shopping," Dara said.

"As you know, nearly everyone else has that idea," Nicholas said. "Good luck not getting trampled, let alone finding anything you'd want to buy."

"I make my own luck," Dara said.

Sören snorted. "So like... did one of the Yule Lads hop over to Ireland, and did he start the leprechaun thing? Because..."

"Sounds like you want a snowball fight." Dara narrowed his eyes.

Sören nodded eagerly, a big grin on his face. "Bring it." Sören looked over at Nicholas and Victor. "You guys coming along?"

"I am not much of an outdoors person," Victor confessed. "And Eugène will throw a fit if all the people are gone for long."

"Oof, yeah," Anthony said, remembering the squalling he'd heard when they came back from looking at the Christmas lights around town a few days ago. "Poor thing."

"I'll stay behind as well," Nicholas said, "both to keep you company..." He looked at Victor, who nodded in acknowledgment. "And also because my arthritis acts up out in the cold."

Nicholas took good care of himself, he was very active for a senior - he worked out, he walked, he fenced - but the arthritis had become more of an issue since moving to Indiana, which was significantly colder than London. Anthony felt for him, and gave a sympathetic little frown.

"Perhaps we could play a game of chess," Victor said.

"Yes, a game of chess would be quite welcome," Nicholas said, with a look on his face that said save me from these people wanting me to do silly, undignified things.

"OK, well... remember it gets dark out earlier, so if we're gonna go have a family snow outing, we'd better leave soon," DeKalb said, looking at the clock. "Like, everyone-start-putting-on-your-outerwear-right-now soon."

"Yes, sir," Anthony said, ribbing his friend a little with a mock salute. "We had better hop to it before you get out that megaphone."

"Watch it, Posh Spice."

Sören giggled - Anthony knew he'd walked into that - and Sören was still laughing as they went over to their outerwear. As Sören stooped down to pick up a boot his eyebrows shot up. "What the FUCK?"

Sören showed the boot to Anthony, then they looked at the other boot. Both of Sören's snow boots were filled to the brim with baby potatoes.

Across the room, Dara was shaking with silent laughter and now Yeyette let out a snicker, before she clapped her hand over her mouth. Sören put a hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow.

"You did say that the Yule Lads will put a potato in your shoe if you've been naughty this year," Dara said. "Seems like they think you making all those Irish jokes about me is pretty naughty -"

"You're not exactly disproving your Irishness by putting potatoes in my boots, laddie," Sören said, taking his boots to the kitchen to get the potatoes out.


_


While much of Indiana was flat, parts of Terre Haute and Beauregard were quite hilly. Anthony could feel Sören's wonder across their Force bond as they climbed to the top of a hill and looked down.

"It's almost like Akureyri," Sören said. "Hills... not a lot of forest. Just, you know, no fjords."

Anthony had to. "Are you pining for the fjords?"

Sören elbowed him and nodded.

They'd stopped at a sporting goods store to buy inner tubes and "family size" toboggans which were better suited for one tall adult rather than two average-sized adults or one average-sized adult and a couple kids. DeKalb, in his line of work as a self-described "nature cop" following his departure from the military, knew where the best areas were to play in the snow without being disturbed by onlookers. They were at an abandoned property - a rundown farmhouse in the distance, a patch of frosted bare trees up ahead.

That meant they could use the Force out here, without having to worry about another incident with the Feds. Ryu and Hiro were already using the Force to build a snowman together. Sören and Anthony both smiled at the sight of the young man and his happy dog, in the old-gold glow of late afternoon. DeKalb and Maglor joined Ryu to help build the snowman; Palcë stood off to the side, taking it all in.

Just before Sören could put down his inner tube and climb in it, snowballs hit them both in the back. "HEY!" Sören and Anthony looked over their shoulders and saw Dara, whistling innocently as he rolled a snowball by hand and the Force packed together two more. They went flying in the air without being thrown; Anthony ducked Sören down just in time before a snowball could hit him in the face.

Sören and Anthony went to war against Dara and Yeyette, building snowballs as fast as they could, the snowballs flying fast and furious. Sometimes they dodged, and sometimes they got hit. Then they all got hit, and DeKalb let out a loud whistle.

"If we didn't buy this equipment for nothing, you should use it before it gets dark," DeKalb said, rolling up his coat sleeve a little to tap his watch.

Anthony gave another mock salute and DeKalb gave him the finger before another snowball flew up at him; Anthony ducked and it hit Sören by accident, right in the face.

"Oh no." Anthony felt bad, but he also couldn't help laughing at the grumpy look on Sören's face. He began to brush away the snow. "Are you OK? Are you -"

Suddenly Anthony was Force thrown into an inner tube and he was going downhill, backwards. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA -"

Sören followed, coasting downhill in his inner tube, arms in the air. "WOOHOO!"

From the bottom of the hill, Anthony and Sören watched as Maglor and Palcë each boarded a toboggan and zoomed down. Maglor threw the metal horns and yelled "WOOOOOOOO" and Palcë frowned, but once they crashed into the snowbank at the bottom of the hill, Palcë actually gave a small smile.

Yeyette used the Force to pull up one of the toboggans, and now it was her turn. Sören sent up his inner tube for Dara. Dara looked a little confused, like he wasn't sure it was for him, and Yeyette gave him a shove. "Come on, party pooper. If Palcë can do it..."

Dara smirked as he boarded the inner tube. "Race you."

Yeyette and Dara rode down, with Yeyette in the lead, then Dara pushing ahead. "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Dara screamed.

Anthony couldn't believe it. He and Sören started cracking up at the sight of ultra-serious, ex-Foreign-Legion Dara, yelling "WHEEEEEE!" in an inner tube. Dara crashed into the snowbank first and bounced up, arms raised in a victory pose.

"Rematch," Yeyette said. She gestured to Sören. "Come on, let's have another contestant."

And then Sören was dragging Anthony up and using the Force to push Anthony's inner tube uphill. Anthony didn't particularly mind, however. He hadn't played in the snow like this since he was a small child... and he hadn't had friends to play with. Neither had Sören, from what he could tell about Sören's background.

He had friends now. He had a family.

Ryu was looking for sticks to adorn the snowman with, and that got Hiro in the mood to play fetch. Anthony smiled, feeling warm fuzzies as he climbed back into the inner tube. He had a memory of Finarfin, giving a pup to Celegorm... walking with his nephew in the grove at his palace and teaching him about the different species of trees and shrubs and flowers, all the different birds Finarfin kept in his menagerie. Letting Celegorm feed the swans. Then, a vignette of Finarfin, Fingolfin and Fëanor taking their kids camping; Fëanor hiking in the woods with a small Celegorm riding piggyback on his shoulders.

Sören was seeing it too, across their bond. Sören reached out and took Anthony's gloved hand in his and squeezed... then once they let go, they dropped down.

They went barreling down the hill, faster, faster, and this time the crash into the snowbank was hard enough that Anthony went flying out of his inner tube... right into Hiro, who fell on top of him. Hiro was not a small dog, and even though Anthony's Force sensitivity made him a bit tougher than the average human, the weight still knocked the wind out of him.

Hiro let out a little whine, blinked, and licked Anthony's face. "Sorry," Hiro said, except it was in a Canadian accent. Sore-ree.

Now it was Anthony's turn to blink. "Wait, what?" Anthony pointed. "Have I gone mad, or..."

"I guess you've never heard a dog talk, eh?" Hiro narrowed his eyes at Anthony as if to say you should know better.

Sören sat there in the snow with his mouth hanging open, and then he tried to speak and could only make noises for a moment or two, which would have been hilarious if Anthony were not in such a state of shock. Finally Sören found his words. "I heard it too." Sören looked at Ryu. "You knew he could talk?"

"Well, of course, he's my dog," Ryu said. Hiro went over to Ryu for pets.

Sören and Anthony looked at each other - Anthony's hair stood on end, a frisson down his spine, and he could hear the unvoiced are you thinking what I'm thinking? Before Anthony could dare to ask, Sören cleared his throat and he said, "So, Ryu, ah... have you ever had, um... strange dreams?"

"I was waiting for the right time to talk to you about all of that." Ryu chuckled. "I guess the time presented itself. Yes, I remember things. Like camping with my father and uncles. We should go camping, you know, sometime this winter. I used to love to go camping in the winter in the woods in Canada -"

And then Maglor hug-tackled him and started giving Ryu noogies, both of them laughing wildly as Ryu thrashed around underneath him. "I had a feeling," Maglor said, hugging him again, fierce and tight, jaw trembling as he teared up - but he was smiling. "I didn't want to say anything, though, and be seen as trying to influence or manipulate you into identifying a certain way..."

Ryu hugged him back. "It's OK, Káno. I understand. I... was hesitant to say something, too. Didn't want you guys to think I was some kind of impostor..."

Sören and Anthony got up and joined in the hug. Sören tried to make words again and now he could only cry, but Anthony knew it was happy tears. Anthony shed a few silent tears himself - Finarfin had loved his brothers' children like his own, and Celegorm saw him as being a second father.

"It's a Christmas miracle," Sören quipped, able to make words again. "I guess we're in a fucking Hallmark movie or something. Or maybe a Disney movie, with the talking dog."

"Yeah, a Disney movie about a guy who burned a lot of ships and whose sons took an oath to murder people if they got in the way of three jewels," Anthony snarked.

Sören used the Force to get him in the right shoulder with a snowball; Anthony laughed harder. "Disney Princess Finarfin over here. Besides, like Káno said earlier, canon demonized us. We had reasons for doing what we did. And my Turcafinwë was no murderer."

"The Cinnamonrollion," Anthony said, not able to resist the bad pun.

Maglor facepalmed, but was laughing too. "Hells, Ara, that's terrible."

"Cinnamon rolls?" Hiro came back over, tongue lolling, tail wagging. He yipped. "Will there be sausage rolls and popcorn balls, too?"


_


Victor and Nicholas were still playing chess when they got back. "I'll go fire up the grill," DeKalb said, taking off his outerwear. "Anyone want to join me?"

"I'd like to," Ryu said, then he gave Hiro a pointed look and said, "I don't think it's sausages."

Hiro gave a little whine.

Eugène was perched on the arm of Victor's chair like he was studying the match - after what Anthony had seen earlier, he wondered if Eugène was that way too.

There was, indeed, so much to wonder about now.

Anthony was temporarily distracted by dinner - grilled steak and vegetable skewers, not the most traditional Christmas Eve dinner but still delicious. He was further distracted by Ryu and Sören clamoring to watch Christmas movies. "Let's get in our pajamas and make a blanket fort for it to be extra cozy," Sören said.

Sören looked adorable in his Pusheen "Home is where my butt is" T-shirt and blue plaid pajama pants, with bunny slippers, carrying the rainbow tie-dye bunny he'd bought at Build-A-Bear. And Maglor looked more delicious than he had any right to, wearing a pair of black silk pajamas like Nicholas's. Anthony's cock stirred at the memories of the way Maglor, grown up, joined in his father's and uncles' fun. They had been keeping their distance since Maglor was rescued, but he was getting harder to resist. That seemed to be mutual, with Maglor stealing glances at Sören, Anthony and Nicholas every now and again.

There was popcorn to go with the movie, and every time Anthony's fingers brushed Maglor's in the bowl, a shiver went through him. After a few rounds of this, Anthony saw Sören crinkle his nose and bite his lower lip - a sign that Sören, too, was feeling the sexual tension in the air.

But they didn't want to make things weird in front of the others; Sören tapped Maglor on the shoulder and, in what Anthony could tell was an attempt to defuse the sexual tension, Sören asked, "Where's your unicorn? We can't have a proper blanket fort pajama party if you don't have your unicorn."

Maglor raised an eyebrow, then quietly got up. A few minutes later he came back with his purple stuffed unicorn - and Nicholas's blue stuffed dragon. Nicholas narrowed his eyes, but took the dragon from Maglor. Sören gave him an innocent smile that wasn't innocent at all. Anthony chuckled as he nibbled on popcorn.

A few minutes later Sören used the Force to make his bunny hop over to Maglor's unicorn. "Hi," Sören squeaked. "What's your name?"

"Er," Maglor said.

"Er isn't a name." Sören gave Maglor a look. "You didn't name him yet?"

"Well, no..."

"It's been days. He needs a name."

Maglor facepalmed, laughing. "People are trying to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol..."

"Jæja, and your critter doesn't have a fucking name, Kanafinwë."

Says the guy who named all his kids -finwë, Anthony snarked to himself, eating more popcorn.

I heard that, from the guy who named his kid Goldilocks. Sören's lips quirked with amusement, then he turned back to Maglor. "I'm waiting," he said in the bunny's high-pitched voice, using the Force to make the bunny tap its foot.

Maglor laughed harder. "Hells..."

"Hells!" Sören clapped his hands together. "That's a good name."

Maglor double facepalmed. Anthony almost sprayed his popcorn.

Then Sören leaned forward to look at Nicholas, and waved. Nicholas rolled his eyes.

"You need to name your dragon, too," Sören said.

Nicholas glared. "Shan't."

"Shan't is a weird name, but OK," Sören said. Then he grinned. "I suppose it's better than Hair Commander." He shoved popcorn in his mouth as Nicholas's glare intensified.

Nicholas looked at Anthony. "What are we going to do with him?"

"I have some ideas," Anthony said, smirking.

"I bet," Maglor muttered under his breath.

When A Muppet Christmas Carol was over and they were trying to decide what to watch next, Sören got up and said, "Bathroom." But he took a longer time than usual, and when Sören came back he had his hands behind his back, whistling innocently. Sören thrust a package at Maglor, that was wrapped in red paper with Santa-hat-wearing assorted dogs on it, with a red-and-green plaid bow. "I thought you should open one of your gifts early." Sören attempted a wink that was more of a clumsy blink. "For putting up with me, and all."

"Oh, Atya, I don't put up with you." Maglor grabbed Sören and gave him a hug, before shoving Sören down next to him. He planted a kiss on the top of Sören's head; Anthony got the sense that Maglor wanted to give him a proper kiss, but he was holding back. They all were. Maglor shook the package before he opened it.

Inside was a set of KISS action figures about half the height of the purple unicorn. "I know you like KISS," Sören said, "and I know you've lost a lot of things with... everything that happened, like some of your band memorabilia, so I got you KISS dolls..."

"Action figures," Maglor corrected. He hugged Sören again. "That was very sweet of you, thank you."

Maglor looked ready to cry, and that made Sören tear up too - Anthony found himself getting a little choked up as well. Maglor opened the box, and Sören took Ace Frehley and made him straddle the unicorn's back. Maglor rolled his eyes, but shook with laughter.

"They should go on adventures," Sören said. "Seems unfair to make your KISS dolls perform all the time..."

"You are not taking my KISS dolls on trips." Maglor corrected himself, looking sheepish. "Action figures."

Anthony snickered and Maglor gave him a look. Anthony winked.

Then Maglor paused, looking a bit troubled. That gave Anthony cause for concern - Maglor could feel things in the Song - but then Maglor looked at the cat, who was playing with the wrapping paper. "This wasn't clothing," Maglor said. "Is the Yule Cat going to eat me now?" His concerned look became a teasing smile.

Eugène came trotting over, tail high in the air, and looked Maglor up and down. Then he said, "I won't eat you, if I can eat the hard food instead."

The cat could talk too. The cat had a Parisian French accent, like Yeyette's. Anthony had seen a lot of strange things in his lifetime, and especially over the last four months, but this was insane.

"Yes," Yeyette said, nodding. "He can talk. I didn't say anything before now - though my partners knew about it - because, well..." Yeyette made a vague hand gesture. "It's one thing to say some of us are reincarnated elves, it's one thing to say meth heads are turning into Orcs out here, another thing to say 'my cat talks and he's bilingual.'"

"That's... that's nice." Anthony immediately facepalmed, feeling like an idiot; "nice" was not the word he was going for.

"I'm very nice," Eugène said, and began preening. "Or else you'd all be dead. Right, Maman?"

"Spoken like a true member of the family." Yeyette used the Force to bring over the cat's treat bag.