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Snow trickled lightly to the ground, illuminated by the soft glow of Christmas lights that proudly flashed their colors throughout the neighborhood. The flakes danced as the wind shifted, before falling softly onto the snow-glazed ground below. You've been sitting there all morning, nursing a warm cup of hot chocolate with your blanket tugged tightly around your shoulders. The fireplace is crackling with bright flames behind you, and somewhere upstairs you can just barely here the sounds of someone waking up.
It's still a strange feeling, having the house that was once so full of life with all the objects of the house, now feel so much quieter, and dull at times. There is no more animals made out of yarn and thread and wires all clamoring for attention at your feet, no more loud arguments coming from the laundry room, no more plays being hosted in your kitchen.
It makes loneliness seem into your heart far more often then it did a few months ago, before a pair of glasses changed your life forever. And for the better.
If it weren't for Eddie and Volt, who chose to find their purpose a lot more close to home than most other objects did, you're half sure you would have gone mad from all the silence. But thankfully, your boyfriends are never more than a call away from your side. They both made themselves at home with you the moment you were realized, and made sure you were included in every aspect of their lives. Taking you with them to scope out new properties, help with remodeling, or help to close a deal on a house.
It was amazing, but it wasn't a permanent cure for the emptiness you felt when the house felt too quiet, or too dull with out the rose pink sheen that used to warm your vision when you put your glasses on. Or too bright from the glow of your neighbor's stupid lights.
You took one last sip of your drink, which tasted slightly bitter as downed the last remnants of the chocolate power that hadn't quite blended in with the milk, and set the mug down on the table as you focused your eyes on the bright green and red lights on your neighbor's house until they spread out into bright ribbons that almost hurt your eyes to look at.
Your own house in comparison to the rest of your street was much less cheery in comparison to the elaborate displays that flanked your home. While most of the neighborhood sported blow up Santa's and movie characters, lights in every shape and color imaginable, sleighs, wire light up animals, and that one neighbor who went all out with a freaking Christmas village in their yard, your house, well… gets drowned out by all the other flashy lights.
There were a few rainbow Christmas lights that Eddie had helped you string up outside, the fake tree that you had been reusing for years, with essential oils that made it smell real, and some minimal ornaments and tinsel, but than that, it looked a little pathetic.
Volt had even attempted to make some paper snowflakes just to fill out the room a bit more, but Eddie only let him hang what he deemed, the least offensive of the bunch, over the mantle, while you hung up the rest on the fridge so they wouldn't go to waste. You can often catch Volt blushing furiously whenever he goes to grab something from the fridge.
Still, even with the small warm feeling you get every time you catch sight of the snowflakes, or remember the day you hung up the ornaments on the tree, with Eddie bracing the latter as you put the star on the tree, you couldn't help but stare at the other houses from your window side perch, embraced by the cold silence of your home before the boys were awake, and feel…
Well, like Doug was about to pop up any minute. And that just made the empty feeling worse.
You eventually pull yourself away from the window once you hear the door upstairs opening, grabbing your mug and rinsing it off in the sink just as Eddie and Volt enter the kitchen. Despite the obvious exhaustion on Eddie's face, he was dressed and ready for the day, his dark red vest hugging his body perfectly, and his hair styled in his typical, "As long as I can get to work faster I'm not going to do anything with my hair" fashion.
Meanwhile Volt, in contrast, still hadn't changed out of his night wear- pajamas with snowflakes and reindeer plastered liberally on the soft fabric, and his hair was throw up in a messy ponytail, draping over his shoulder like a much taller, more muscular version of Elsa.
He gave you a lazy smile as he caught sight of you, his words distorted by a yawn. "Good morning, Livewire."
"Morning boys, you're both up early." Normally, since the three of you started your official holiday break, the absolute earliest any of you would be up was ten. The only exception to that rule being today, when you had been woken up by the Christmas lights behind your house early in the morning and couldn't fall back asleep.
Eddie snorted. "You're one to talk." He pointed out, and you raise your hands defensively.
"I was in the mood for hot chocolate and couldn't go back to sleep, sue me." You joke, moving to the coffee maker to start making their usual drinks.
"Oh, none for me today, Livewire. I have an errand I need to run." Eddie stopped you just as you grabbed the mugs out of the cupboard.
Your eyebrow quirks up. "What do you mean by 'errand?" You study him carefully as you put away his mug and work on brewing Volt's drink, while Eddie grabbed his wallet off the counter.
"Dirk called me. Apparently the power's out at his shop and no other mechanic was open for the holidays. I won't be too long though. Besides, you and Volt can keep each other company." He shoved his wallet into his back pocket, leaning over to kiss your cheek.
You frown at him, rasing your eyebrow suspiciously. The explanation felt more like a defense for any follow up question you might have asked. Eddie must see that you're not fully sold by his story, so he leans in and whispers, "I need to pick up a present for Volt." Your mouth opens into a small, oh. The man was standing by the back window when you glanced over at him, watching the snowfall as he yawned loudly.
With that, you make a show of zipping up your lips and winking at him. "Well then, have fun a 'Dirk's'"
"You want me to pick up anything while I'm out?" Eddie asks as you set Volt's mug on the table, getting a tired mumble of "thanks," and grab a hat and coat for him that he begrudgingly takes under your insistent glare.
"Hmm, Think you could pick up more cocoa power from the store? We're almost out." He nods while he shoves your hands away from wrapping a scarf around his neck.
"Alright, you sure you don't just want the stuff that goes in the coffee maker?" He asks, tugging the scarf out of your hands and begrudgingly wrapping it around his neck, after several attempts from you to whip it around his neck.
"Don't insult me. That stuff barely passes as warm chocolate water and I'd just pour in cocoa power anyway, just so it actually tastes like the drink that it is abysmally trying to imitate." You say with the conviction of someone who is very much willing to die on this hill and resurrect yourself again just to prove a point.
Eddie snorts. "Alright then, I'll see you soon, Livewire. Make sure Volt doesn't burn the house down while I'm gone." He says, shoving the gloves you try to force into his hands into his pockets, making a face as if to say, 'are you happy, now?"
You raise an eyebrow at him. "Isn't that Volt's line?"
"Shut it." He says, sticking his finger out at you while you stick your tongue out, before you two hug goodbye, and he drives off. You stand there until the only trace that he was there is the light tire tracks in the snow that turned the thin blanket of white into a gray looking mush, and then shut the door so the cold air doesn't get in.
It took two more cups of coffee for Volt to actually wake up, the latter of which you switched to decaf without him noticing, plus the breakfast you managed to scrape together from what was left in the fridge. You ended up texting Eddie to pick up more food while he was out, because at this point you guys would be eating cereal for Christmas dinner.
Once Volt was fully functioning again, the two of you attempted to find a decent Christmas movie that you both haven't already watched with Eddie, and ended up with a trashy romance movie where half the characters seemed incapable of talking like a normal human. You inevitably loose track of who the main character is, and what ever the heck her goals are supposed to be halfway through the movie, instead turning your phone one and off as you check for texts from Eddie. There was still no response from your earlier text, and you were starting to get a bit worried.
Just as you were checking your phone again in the middle of the main character's confession of her undying love, Volt stood up abruptly and paused the movie.
"Alright, enough of that. I was going to wait until Eddie got back to show you this, but you're stressing me out just sitting next to you and I am not suffering through another moment of this movie alone." Volt declared, grabbing your phone out of your hands and pulling you up on your feet, dragging you to the office.
"Volt! What are you-" Your protests die in your throat the moment the door opens. A giant box sits on top of your cluttered desk, with all your office supplies pushed carefully off to the side. There were a few other boxes scattered on the floor, but the one on the desk was the one drawing your attention.
It was practically overflowing with cards, and when you picked one up to observe it, you were greeted to the faces of Chance and Parker, with Chance sporting reindeer antlers and a bright red nose, and Parker with a crooked elf hat and ears. They were both smiling brightly at the camera, with "Merry Crit-mas" plastered proudly at the top of the card in bright red cursive. Your look up at Volt in confusion, who just gives you a small smile and nod.
You gently put that one aside, picking up the next one to see a similar photo, with Mateo's face smiling at you as he cuddles his pets, each one of them sporting a different costume. Sprite had tiny string lights wrapped around her body, and a little star headband that made one of her ears flop forward. Davy had his tassel collar replaced by a fluffy wreath, and was smiling as much as dogs are capable of. And Stitch had on a patchwork ugly sweater, and looked as if he was about to sprint out of frame at any second.
As you search through the box, you quickly realize that every single former object that had lived in your house had sent you one. The Hanks, Dorian, Kopi, Betty, Damien, Arma, and even Lux, who had sent a picture that looked suspiciously like an Instagram screenshot, had all taken the time to send you one, each themed around whatever holiday they chose to celebrate. (Including Friar Errol, which you didn't even want to question the card they had sent you, which was just a picture of him posing with an air fryer.)
You were nearly in tears by the time you got to the bottom of the box, and the last card was the one that actually made the tears slip down your face.
It was a picture of You, Volt, and Eddie hanging up the ornaments on the tree, with Volt smiling while he plugged in the lights, and Eddie with an iron grip on the latter as you carefully placed the star on the tree. At the bottom of the card was loopy white script, which read, "An electrifying Christmas." A laugh slipped past your lips as you read the joke that was very clearly Volt's addition to the card, and placed it carefully back on the desk.
You turned to Volt, teary eyed and smiling, and before he could get a word out, you flung yourself at him, embracing him tightly and planting a kiss on his temple.
"Thank you." You breath into his chest, and his arms wrap around you slowly.
"It was my pleasure, Livewire. Now, what do you say we hang all these up?" He suggests, and you nod, but neither of you let go for a long time.
When you finally free each other from the embrace, you both get to work, hanging each card on the bulletin board with care, and placing the Polaroids in a box for safe keeping. You and Volt both make sure to hang them in the exact order that the Polaroids were hung in, which takes a while to figure out with all the pairings that weren't kept in mind prior to organizing the original wall. Miraculously, you both make it work, even with the fact that each Hank took it upon himself to send an individual card with a different design and pose on it.
And just when you thought you were done, Volt picked up one of the boxes from the floor, and suddenly you were hanging up tinsel and mistletoe around the bulletin board, and Volt was wearing the tinsel like a boa around his neck, and you were adding a new picture of him to the board.
You and Volt stepped behind the desk to admire your work, and the chaotic display of your friends pictures hanging proudly on the wall. You were pretty sure you were crying again, but you didn't really care, because Volt's arm was wrapped around your shoulders, and the snow was dancing in the corner of your eye.
You wiped your face with your sleeve, and then smile up at Volt. "You want to finish the movie now?"
Volt smiles at you the same way he did the night you met him, and happily replies in his best impression of the male protagonist. "Oh Livewire, I would want nothing less."
And you both burst out laughing as you go to do exactly that.
You and Volt suffer through at least three low budget Christmas movies before Eddie gets home. The only good part about any of those movies was when the main character started doing a British accent, and Volt looked so offended every time that you had gotten hiccups from laughing so much.
When the door swung open to reveal a pink faced and shivering Eddie, who practically slammed the door shut behind him and sank to the ground in relief, you had to take a few moments before greeting him.
"Bet you're glad you have that coat right now, huh Eddie?" You smile brightly at him as a hiccup escapes your lips.
"Not. Another word." Eddie breathed, walking over to the couch and plopping himself between you and Volt, to which you both lean into him to help him warm up faster. You gently pull away his hat and scarf, both damp from the melted snow, and gently run your hands through his hair as he sighs softly, and Volt pulls the blanket up to his shoulders.
"How'd your errand go?" You ask after a while, electing a long sigh from Eddie.
"The snow got worse on the way back, and the freeway was practically in grid lock. I took the long way home to try and avoid it, but the car kept stalling, so I got to spend half an hour trying to fix it."
Both you and Volt quickly sport twin looks of concern. "Eddie!" Volt scolds, with no real heart in it. "Why didn't you call us?"
"I didn't want you guys to worry, besides, I was f-"
"Eddie, if I hear the f word leave your lips I am locking you in the bedroom until further notice." Volt threatens Eddie with a pointed finger, who sighs.
"Fine, I won't say it." Eddie relents.
"You just did." You point out with a grin, and he playfully shoves you away.
"Anyways," Eddie continues, "I'm okay now, just a bit tired. I'll be fine after a little rest. And we can move on to the thing we have planned, right Volt?"
Volt rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, about that…"
Eddie leveled Volt with a deadpanned stare. "You already did it, didn't you." Eddie asked, more a statement than an actual question.
"I wanted to cheer them up! And you were taking forever to get home!" Volt defended, pouting at Eddie. "Besides, I didn't show them everything we had planned."
You instantly perk up at that. "There's more?"
Eddie slowly turned his head to glare Volt again, who mouthed, "oops," and then mimed zipping his lips to Eddie. Eddie sighed in exasperated fondness, and shrugged the blanket off his shoulders before standing.
"Right then, I'll just get the rest of the stuff out of the car, and then we can see what Volt left us with." Eddie said, walking toward the door before being pulled back by Volt.
"Absolutely not." You both say in unison, while Volt tugged Eddie into a tight embrace against his chest.
"Guys-"
"I'll hold him, you go get the bags." Volt cuts him off, while you quickly tug on a jacket and boots.
"On it."
"Is this really necessary?" Eddie protests, trying briefly to escape, but ultimately resigning himself to his fate in Volt's arms.
"Yes." You and Volt chorus, as you bolt out the door and into the cold to retrieve the bags. Your feet immediately sink halfway into the snow, and Eddie wasn't kidding about the snow getting bad. It was honestly a shame you weren't still in school, cause you'd probably get at least another two days off with it this bad.
You quickly shake yourself out of those thoughts and practically hop through the snow to get to the car, and bring the bags two at a time to the porch. After you finish lugging in the excessive amount of bags to the porch, you open the door and basically just grab as many as your hands can carry and shimmy the rest in awkwardly using your feet.
"You can just leave that there, I can get it later." Eddie offered, and you didn't have to be told twice as you dropped everything unceremoniously on the ground and slammed the door shut.
"When I told you we needed more food, I didn't mean we were doomsday prepping." You pant, stepping around the bags as best you can, and almost tripping on one as you attempt to jump over them.
Eddie just sighs, and ignores the question entirely. "Why don't we just go see what Volt graciously, decided to leave for until I got home?" He asks pointedly, while Volt giggles nervously behind him.
You follow the boys back into the office, and when all of you are in the room, Eddie stops at the center, staring at the decorated board. Turning his head at as slow and condescending a pace Eddie can manage, Eddie stares at Volt. "Volt."
"Eddie?"
"If I hear a single complaint from you about me and Livewire meeting up without you for the rest of the year, you are sleeping on the couch." Eddie deadpanned, and Volt nodded meekly in defeat. You snort loudly, jumping up on the desk and kicking your legs, and attempting to peak into the rest of the boxes on the floor.
Eddie hauls one of the boxes onto the desk next to you, and tilts it away from you when he catches you looking. "No peaking." He affirms, to which you instantly start pouting.
"Seriously? Volt didn't care if I peaked when I was in here."
"Are you seriously dragging me back into this?" Volt whines.
"As long as I can exploit it, yes." You say with a Cheshire grin. Volt huffs in mock indignation, while Eddie fights off a grin.
"Settle down children." Eddie chided lightheartedly, before chucking a small piece of fabric at your face. You fumble to grab at it for a bit before you spread it out in your hands, and instantly pout at Eddie.
"A blind fold?" You whine making both boys snicker. "Is this really necessary?"
"Do you want to see what's in this box?" Eddie asks with an unimpressed raise of his eyebrow.
"How am I supposed to see it if I have a blindfold on?" You counter.
"Just put the blindfold on, smart-ass." Eddie chides, and you reluctantly oblige. You hear the sounds of Eddie riffling through the box, and the sound of Volt cursing as something hits him in the face. There's a faint rustle of fabric being pulled on, and the temptation to peek is increasing by the minute.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Eddie tells you to take the blind fold off, you rip it off quickly, and just as you catch sight of the boys, another piece of fabric, this time much heavier hits you in the face.
"Eddie!" You shout in indignation, tearing the fabric away from your face to see Volt and Eddie smiling brightly at you, although Eddie's was suspiciously more like a smirk. Your about to throw back whatever Eddie just hit you with back in his face, when your brain registers what your boyfriends are now wearing, and you suddenly feel like your heart might explode.
The boys were both sporting a pair of reindeer antlers, with Volt's having a tiny, sparkling Santa hat sitting lop-sided on top of wear one of the ears should be, while Eddie's had a small piece of mistletoe stuck under the opposite ear. When your eyes drifted down to their chests, you took in the sight of their adorable sweaters.
Eddie's sweater had a picture of what was supposed to be Clark Griswald hanging with Christmas lights in each hand, with sparks coming out from either side, but looked suspiciously like Eddie, with wired hair and an indifferent look on his face. And Volt's sweater sported a chi-bi version of himself wrapped up in Christmas lights with a lopsided star on his head, holding out a present in his hands.
A smile was rapidly splitting your face in two, and you brought a hand up to your mouth when you saw Eddie's face turn bright pink from embarrassment.
"Are you going to put on yours too, or are you just going to admire how enchanting we look in these? Because I'm fine with either." Volt quipped, and your eyes immediately widen as you go to grab the thing Eddie threw at you, which you now realize with glee is a sweater with a similar theme. This one featured your face on it, in the same chi-bi style as Volt's, except in this one, you have on a little elf outfit, and have a reindeer on either side of you. The reindeer on your left has a long flowing white mane, and a cream colored coat, while the one to your right side has a small mop of black and red hair with a small piece of mistletoe tied in, and a soft brown coat. Both of them are cuddled into your side, with little hearts floating above all of your heads.
You're left speechless as you stare at it, and tears of joy trail down your face. Before either of the boys can say anything, you wrap them both in a tight hug, making them both stumble back, and plant a kiss on each of their faces. You pull away just as quickly, leaving them startled and blushing as you exclaim over it, and tug it on over your clothes.
"Thank you both so much!." You tell the boys, wrapping them in another hug, this time long enough for them to return the gesture.
"Eh, it was mostly Volt's idea." Eddie deflects the praise.
"Hey, you're the one who found someone who made these! Don't sell yourself short, Eddison." Volt chides as you pull away to wipe the joyful tears off your face.
"I told you not to call me that." Eddie grumbles, despite the blush creeping up his face.
"And I ignored you." Volt said cheerily, his smile softening as he looks at you.
You smile back at them, your heart warming so much that it's practically overheating. "Seriously guys, this one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever gotten. Thank you both so much."
"Oh just you wait, Livewire, we might just have a few more surprises up our sleeves." Volt said with a wide grin.
Your eyes widen in curiosity and excitement. "How could you guys possibly top this?" You ask, looking between the boys who both have shit eating grins on their faces.
Eddie shrugs. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."
"You guys are jerks." You say, shaking you head slightly with a laugh.
"We know." Eddie responds, and leans down to press a light kiss to your lips. And you return the favor to both the boys twice over.
You pester the boys for information as you leave the office, but neither of them spill any details. Eventually, you settle back on the couch with Volt, meanwhile Eddie unloads the groceries in the kitchen. Any offer to help him was quickly shut down with Eddie insisting that you weren't allowed to look yet. You tried to focus on the shitty rom-com in from of you, but your mind kept wandering to the bags in the kitchen, and your patience was running thin the more times you heard something clang onto the counter, or a bag rustle in the distance.
At this point, Volt had positioned himself between you and the slight view you had of the kitchen, and was hugging you tightly to his side so that you couldn't escape. The latter you didn't mind at all, but still, the curiosity was eating at you, and Eddie was taking way too long in your opinion.
After an agonizing thirty seven minutes (yes, you were counting), Eddie's voice finally rang out into the living room. "Okay, you can come in now!"
Volt had to catch your arm before you could topple over onto the floor, making you blush furiously as you stood up carefully.
"Careful there, Livewire, we wouldn't want me to have to carry you there, now would we?" That visual made it worse.
You give Volt a slight nod, and walk slowly to the kitchen this time, with Volt hot on your heels, chuckling quietly behind you.
When your eyes settle on the scene before you, all the embarrassment quickly vacates your body. Spread across your table was an array of candy, frosting, and three large gingerbread houses at the center. Your mouth immediately splits into a massive grin, and you barely waste any time in tackling Eddie with another hug.
Eddie grunts loudly as he stumbles back a bit, and chuckles when he stabilizes. "Why do you always have to tackle me and not Volt?" He asks playfully.
"'Cause Volt is unfairly strong and doesn't get as caught off guard as you."
Eddie snorts. "Are we talking about the same Volt? Because I remember that time on Halloween with the kid in the bunny costume-"
Volt hastily cut him off. "Now, now. I thought we agreed to stop talking about that."
"You agreed, we didn't." You point out, pulling away from Eddie and snatching a gumdrop off the table, smugly popping it into your mouth.
"Hey, those are for decorating, not eating." Eddie chides, to which you shrug.
"Well we're going to eat it one way or another." You counter quickly grabbing a small handful of m&m's.
"Alright then, I think we should get started before someone eats everything before we can decorate." Volt suggests, taking a seat at the table and pulling one of the houses towards his spot.
You and Eddie quickly follow suit, and you all start grabbing your respective supplies. After the three of you start, it is quickly apparent that you and Volt are horrifically out skilled by Eddie. While your house looks good on its own, like the type of house you would see on the side of the box a gingerbread house came in, next to Eddie's work of art, it's like comparing a cabin to a castle.
The house that Eddie constructed is a near perfect miniature of your house in candy, with not a single splotch of frosting peeking out from behind anything unless purely intentional, everything was perfectly to scale, and looked as though it was meant to be there, and you're half sure that if Eddie had the equipment and time it would have plumbing and lights in it.
Meanwhile Volt's house, on the other hand… At the very least it looked edible. Almost half of the candy Volt had tried to stick on the roof had slipped down halfway, leaving a trail of smeared icing in its wake, which Volt tried to sell as an intentional choice, claiming it to be snow. Almost everything on it was lopsided, and the wreath that Volt had tried to make on the front had slipped down, and was only still hanging on by the door.
The moment that Volt saw that Eddie had finished, he immediately claimed that he had cheated.
"It's a gingerbread house, Volt. How the heck would I have cheated? Plus it wasn't even a competition." Eddie retorted as he placed his creation on the counter.
You just munched happily on the left over candy as you watched the two bicker back and fourth, until it got late enough that you needed to start on dinner.
After cleaning up from both dinner and the mess that was the remains of the gingerbread house supplies, the three of you decided to call it a night, heading upstairs and collapsing on the bed as soon as the door was closed. It was way later than the three of you had grown used to, and you were all completely spent. You were asleep within minutes, and as soon as Eddie and Volt were sure you wouldn't notice, they slipped out of bed and into the hallway, shutting the door quietly behind them.
"Exactly how bad do you think the roads are going to be tomorrow?" Volt rounded on Eddie the moment it shut, making sure to keep his voice as low as possible.
"If they didn't leave by the time I got home, there's no way they're getting here tomorrow." Eddie said somberly.
"Shit." Volt cursed.
"I know."
"And you're sure you tried. Everyone?"
"Yes, and I mean everyone. Not even Lux picked up their damn phone and they're hands are glued to that thing twenty-four seven." Eddie groaned, and Volt ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
"For amps sake!" Volt curses. "What are we supposed to do now?"
Eddie blew out a long breath of air. "Wait, I guess. And hope they all got their asses on the road in time."
"You're sure we have everything we need regardless?" Volt asks, to which Eddie scoffs.
"Naturally."
Volt sighs in relief. "Well that's one thing we have sorted. Now to pray that the rest of it goes according to plan."
The two stay up for as long as they can, prepping anything that could be done the night before, and willing for everything to work out in their favor.
On Christmas morning, the snow had trickled down enough that only a few scattered snowflakes would drift through the wind at a time. A snow plow had managed to make its way through your neighborhood, leaving only a thin layer of icy slush on the road, while all of the yards were drowning in snow.
Most of the neighbors decorations were buried at least halfway under, and any cars that had been parked in the driveways were not going anywhere any time soon.
You woke up late that morning to find yourself alone in bed, and half your window blocked by a mound of snow. You get up slowly, tugging your sweater on over your clothes and grabbing your slippers from under your bed, and trudge your way down the stairs.
When you get downstairs, the smell of cinnamon and bacon hits you, and a warm smile stretches across your face as you rush the rest of the way to the kitchen.
Eddie is sliding a piece of bacon off onto a plate when you catch sight of him, while Volt is downing a cup of coffee. You're about to greet them, when your eyes catch on the plates on the counter, and your jaw drops.
Volt sets down his cup on the counter, giving you a tired smile. "Hey there, Livewire, Merry Christmas."
You gape at him. "Why are there ten plates of bacon on the counter?" You ask in lieu of greeting.
"Eleven actually." Eddie says with a sly grin as he turns off the stove, and goes to put his spatula in the sink.
"That's- that-" You stutter, struggling to come up with an appropriate response for this. "Why? Just… Why?" You ask, too stunned to come up with anything better to say in response to the excessive amount of food that is now piled on your counter.
"Well the first ten are all normal bacon, but we thought there should be a vegetarian option as well." Eddie explains, somehow managing to baffle you even more.
"For three people?" You ask incredulously, glancing between the two of them to figure out if this was some sort of weird joke.
"Fuck I hope not." Volt mutters with a deep sigh.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Volt and Eddie say in unison.
You stare at them for a moment, before resigning yourself to accepting the bizarre situation.
"It's too early for this." You mutter, grabbing a piece of bacon off one of the plates and munching on it as you make yourself a cup of hot chocolate.
You glance around the room in confusion as you watch Volt stare intently at his phone, tapping his foot in impatience, while Eddie bites his lip and glances at the door every ten seconds. After a few minutes your eyes drift to the table, which is flooded with cinnamon rolls, a few bowls of chips, and five bottles of apple cider.
You consider questioning the boys again, but quickly decide against it, instead walking over and snagging a roll for yourself, along with a fistful of chips, and snack on them until the doorbell rings.
Eddie and Volt both instantly stop what they're doing and glance between each other, before sprinting to the door and leaving you in the kitchen confused out of your mind as to what the heck is going on.
When you hear the boys talking with someone at the door, you slowly walk out of the kitchen, peeking your head around the wall and freezing the moment you see him.
"Amir?!" You exclaim, rushing over to the door to hug him.
The former mirror laughs lightly, returning your embrace with one arm. "It is good to see you too, azizam."
"What are you doing here? I thought you were in Hollywood?" You ask in confusion.
Amir shrugged with a false innocent smile on his face. "Well, I thought I could come surprise you, and maybe have a delayed celebration of Shab e Yalda." Amir explains, and you blink wided eyed at him.
"The what?"
Amir giggles at your confusion. "The rebirth of the sun. It's a holiday from It's supposed to be celebrated on the winter solstice, surround by loved ones. You eat fruits that are available in this time of year, and drink tea and Sharbat." He explains.
"Sharbat?" You ask.
"It is a drink made of fruit syrup, herbs, and water." Amir explained, holding out the bowl of bright pink liquid he had brought with him.
"Wow, that sounds good." You nod at him, smiling confusedly at the three men in your house, who all had matching grins on their faces, like they knew something you didn't.
"Let me take that for you." Eddie offered, grabbing the bowl from Amir and bringing it to the kitchen, making room on the table for it.
"We have some snacks in the kitchen, and fruit in the fridge for later." Volt tells Amir, who smiles gratefully, and trails after Eddie.
"What is going on?" You ask Volt, who shrugs, just as the doorbell rings again.
Volt quickly rushes to open it, and standing on the other side is Rainey, Tony, and Keyes, each one holding their own dish.
"Hello ladies, Tony. So glad you could make it!" Volt greets them warmly.
"Of course! We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Rainey declares happily.
"I brought jollof rice." Keyes adds, holding up a bowl of delicious looking orange rice.
"And I made plum puddn'" Rainey said happily.
"And I got some cinnamon rolls! Was kind of hard to find the rolled kind, but if it tastes half as good as it smells, it will be amazing!" Tony cheers, holding up a tube of cinnamon sticks.
"For the record we tried to explain it to him." Beverly says as she pushes her way out behind the group, holding a giant bowl of eggnog. You were gaping like a fish at them as the attention was turned to you.
"Hey you!" Beverly exclaims, almost attempting a hug, but instead just bumping you accidentally with the bowl. "Woops, sorry! Let me just put this on the table." She apologizes, pacing the big bowl down and wrapping you in an embrace, which the others are quick to do the same.
"Happy holidays, sugar!" Rainey exclaims, and the four of them quickly file out of the living room as someone else knocks on the door.
"Lux! What a pleasure for you to join us!" Volt declares, while the influncer stepped into the house.
"I know right! It is such a pleasure for you isn't it?" Lux says, quickly typing something in their phone before going to greet you 'properly'.
"Hiiiiiii! It's so good to see you again! We should really do stuff like this more often. Hold on just- one second so I can grab a few pics for my followers. And maybe do a live. And update my page. And then I am all yours, I promise. Ok byeeee!" Lux says, before whipping their phone out to take pictures.
The second they leave, you take the opportunity to corner Volt before anyone else can show up.
"Okay, what is actually going on right now , Volt?" You ask firmly, crossing your arms. "I could suspend my disbelief if it were just Amir who flew out to see us, but there is no way this many people just happened to show up randomly on Christmas, so spill. What scheme is this?"
"Scheme?" Eddie asks as he walks back into the room, interrupting your interigation. " Is that what you call surprise parties these days?"
You stare at them wide eyed for a few seconds. "Surprise party?" You ask, confused.
"Surprise!" Volt cheers quietly with a grin, with small jazz hands for added affect.
You blink at them. "But- why? It's Christmas, not my birthday." You say slowly, while the boys both smile gently at you.
"Well, you arn't exactly as good at hiding your feelings as you think you are. Especially not from someone who's been dealing with Eddie for his entire life." Volt said with a grin.
"Volt-." Eddie grumbled, which Volt elected to ignore.
"We could tell how much you've been missing everyone, so we decided to get everyone back together as a little Christmas gift." Volt says softly, and you can feel your heart melting at the gesture.
"Really? You guys did that for me?" You ask quietly, your voice cracking a bit. They both nod, Eddie rubbing the back of his head and blushing, and Volt smiling warmly at you. Without warning, you barrel into them, embracing them both tightly, and both the boys quickly returning the gesture. "Thank you both, so much." You whisper quietly into their chests, tearing up a bit.
"Any time, Livewire." They tell you, and the three of you hold each other until the doorbell rings again.
It took barely any time at all before your house was packed almost wall to wall with the former objects and concepts that once occupied your home, and the party was in full swing. There were delicious dishes from almost every corner of the world that filled every available table, and you insisted on trying every single one that you came across, from latkes, to fried whitings, to jollof rice. all of which were equally delicious. Some had brought a dreidel, and a group sat around in a circle in your floor learning how to play.
You managed to win a decent amount of the chocolate coins that you used to bet with, while Chance and Parker unsurprisingly wiped the floor with everyone, but decided to split their winnings with everyone who played.
About halfway through the night, Reggie burst through the door in a grinch inspired outfit, with a bottle of wine and a grinch themed board game in hand and yelled, "Bah Humbug, Bitches!" To which you burst out laughing.
It was shortly after that that Eddie banned both you and Volt from any more alcoholic holiday drinks, taking away Volt's third glass of eggnog from his hand and replacing it with glasses of water and cookies.
A little while later, Keyes, Rainey, and Miranada all gathered around the piano and started an impromptu karaoke session, where every holiday song you had every heard of was sung, to varying levels of skill. You and Volt even managed to drag Eddie into singing Jingle Bell Rock, and a three person rendition of Baby it's Cold Outside.
And to wrap up the night, everyone gathered into the living room as best they could, and watched what you and Volt had deemed, the least offensive Christmas romcom that Netflix had to offer. All the while Telly held his hand firmly to Reggie's mouth for almost the entirty of the movie. When it got to the part where the two guys finally kissed, almost everyone in the room cheered, except for Doug and Reggie, the later of which had managed to escape Telly's wrath, and the former who just wanted to "stir shit up," as he put it.
When the credits rolled, you started to get up to thank everyone for coming, when Eddie's hand suddenly pulled you back. "Not so fast, Livewire, we still have one more surprise in store for you." Eddie said with a mischievous grin.
"Could everyone please follow us outside?" Volt asked as he stood in front of the room, where everyone followed him in confusion.
You quickly trail after the crowd, only to have a piece of fabric suddenly block your vision. "Really Eddie?" You groan, as he chuckles, taking your arm to guide you outside. Your feet crunch through the ice and snow that have accumulated on the driveway, sinking in with every step as Eddie leads you to what you presume is the side walk, and then stops, and turns you around.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah?" You answer in mild confusion.
"Okay, in three, two, one." Eddie counts down. Ah, not talking to me then, you thought, as the blind fold is ripped off of your face, and a bright burst of light temporarily blinds you.
When you're able to see again, your breath catches, and a massive smile over takes your face at the sight in front of you. Your house is adorned with thousands of lights, and Holly is standing cheerily in your yard, waving around her signature sparklers.
"Surprise!" She cheers.
Your smile only widens further as you take in the full measure of what your home has been transformed into. Thousands of eyesore blinking lights, a full on display of Santa's sleigh and all his reindeer, including Rudolph on your roof, and obnoxious giant inflatable characters that rival your neighbors' a thousand times over and more. It was perfect.
You take the opportunity of all attention being on your yard to locate Volt, who has his back turned to you, and tackle him into the snow in a hug. Volt yelps as he flops backwards into the icy white substance, and practically disappears beneath it, all while Eddie cackles behind you. He is quickly yanked down into the snow with you both, and a short snowball fight of a sort takes place between you three in your yard.
By the time you all stand up, you're all freezing, and your clothes are soaked, but it was worth it.
After you bid your goodbyes to everyone as they head back to their hotels for the night, you, Volt, and Eddie all change into your pajamas and finally sit down to open presents. The three of you sit there for a solid five minutes trying to decide who goes first, until you decide to break out a wheel to pick.
You and Volt both shove your presents into Eddie's lap, grinning as he picks up yours first. He slowly tears at the wrapping paper, and opens the the box with a small gasp. "Livewire…" Eddie says breath taken, as he slowly picks the present out of the box.
In his hands, he cradled a perfect glass replica of the first drink he made you, complete with a wire dangling out of it, and the Breaker Box logo on the side. "This is beautiful, Livewire, thank you so much." Eddie said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve and gently setting the sculpture back into its box as he pulled you in for a hug, kissing your forehead gently.
"Your welcome, Eddie." You say, cuddling into him and pushing Volt's present into his hands.
Eddie gave a light chuckle as he slowly pulled back the wrapping paper. "Alright, Volt, let's see if you can top that." He jokes as he opens the box, only to furrow his brow in confusion.
"Is this a dog tag?" Eddie asks, staring at Volt as he lifts up the shiny piece of metal.
"Nope." Volt says happily. "It's a cat tag."
It takes a second for what Volt said to register, but when it does, you and Eddie both gasp.
"We're getting a cat?!" You both ask in unison, to which Volt nods with a huge grin on his face.
"Technically its a gift for both of you, but Eddie's wanted a cat for the last year, so I talked to Matteo, and the adoption will go through a few days before we go back to business officially."
You and Eddie both share twin looks of excitement, and start discussing names and badgering Volt for details on what the cat looks like, and when you get to meet him. Volt also tells you to open your gift, which is full of cat toys and outfits, much to your excitement.
After you and Eddie reign in your excitement a bit, Eddie pushes your gift towards you, and you eagerly start unwrapping. In it is a box of snacks from Europe, which you immediately dig into, while when Volt opens his, he finds an identical box.
You both thank Eddie mid bite of food, when Eddie pulls out a smaller box from behind hid back with a sly grin. "How about you guys open this one together." He tells you, and you and Volt trade looks of confusion, before shrugging and tearing into the wrapping paper together.
When you see what's inside the box, you both drop it in shock, and stare up at Eddie who is grinning ear to ear. The three plane tickets fall onto the ground, each one bearing the words, Berlin, Germany.
"You didn't…" Volt says in shock, staring at Eddie.
"I did." He replies with a grin.
You and Volt both share a stunned look with each other, before tackling Eddie in a hug, peppering his face with kisses. The three of you laid on the ground, out of breath and all smiling at each other.
"I think it's safe to say Eddie won this one." You say with a small laugh.
"He cheated." Volt accuses, and the three of you burst out laughing, and eventually pass out right there, underneath the Christmas Tree.