(A/Ns: secret santa for pandora hearts discord server. and yes, the lyrics and title are from the All Time Low song. enjoy!)

Fool's Holiday

Wrap me up like a present and put me away
And when it gets cold, I'll be yours

It was their 6th Christmas together.

But their first alone.

When they first established an official relationship, at the mere age of 16, the two had obviously spent Christmas at their families'. (Well, Elliot's at his family, and Leo at the orphanage, as per usual.) Once they left for university, they travelled uptown each year to Elliot's parents.

Unfortunately, at that point, they hadn't actually known Elliot and Leo were together. That had only come to light this year, and needless to say, they weren't invited for Christmas because of it.

It was their first year at this particular university together, as well, Elliot studying for his PhD in music, and Leo studying for a PhD in modern literature after they each obtained their master's degrees. It was up in the north of the country, and they were still getting used to the area.

When they woke up Christmas morning, it felt lonely.

Lonely, but tranquil.

It was enough.

"Elliot…" Leo grunted, tilting his head towards the other. Slowly, he nestled in closer, and buried his face in Elliot's shoulder. "Why did you leave the window open?"

"… -wasn't me…" Elliot said, clearly still half-asleep. Exhaustedly, he turned over, threw more of the covers over the two of them, and cradled an arm around Leo's shoulder, pulling him closer. "Is that better?"

"The window is still open," Leo whispered bluntly, he words muffled by Elliot's shoulder. "But it'll suffice."

"Good to know you're satisfied…" Elliot muttered sarcastically, as he peeled his eyes open for the first time that morning and noted that the window was, in fact, open. Not only that, but the light from outside was damn near blinding, just through the crack in the curtains.

It had snowed.

"Merry Christmas," he said with a soft tone, his breath tickling the helix of the noirette's ear.

Leo shuffled, and smiled. "You too, dumbass."

Silence befell them once again; only briefly.

"What did you want to do today?" Leo asked, discreetly wrapping a leg around Elliot's waist, and placing a hand on his chest. And he was strangely content with simply laying there, and feeling Elliot's chest rise and fall in rhythm with his breathing.

Elliot, considering the question for a few moments, slowly slid a hand down Leo's thigh, avoiding the other's amused stare. He'd just blush if their gazes met. "Er, we said we'd cook?"

"Do you trust me to touch the oven?" Leo chuckled.

"No," Elliot said bluntly in response, furrowing his eyebrow slightly. "Not considering you're the one who blew up our microwave."

"You can entrust the pudding to me."

"Deal."

For a second time, silence intercepted their conversation.

The loneliness dwelled. It didn't feel right for Christmas morning. But really, the warmth they shared was enough. Just enough for them.

Really, Leo could tell that – deep down – Elliot wished he could spend this Christmas with his parents, like he'd always done.

"Here, let me cheer you up." Leo let out a low chuckle, before dragging a delicate finger over Elliot's jawline. Then, he leant up, intricately raking his fingers through Elliot's hair and planting his lips onto his.

Allowing Leo to take control of the kiss, Elliot could only melt into the embrace, focusing on the way Leo's hand was surreptitiously slipping down towards his crotch. And from the mischievous, suggestive grin Leo subsequently flashed at him, he knew exactly where this was going.

If this was how they'd spend their Christmas, who was he to complain?

…

After their rather active morning, Elliot and Leo had eventually gotten up only an hour before the clock struck midday.

Once they'd exchanged presents, the two had gone for a short walk, just around the block a few times. Albeit Elliot had soon discovered (the hard way) that the pretext for Leo's idea of a walk was an excuse to push him over into the snow. Multiple times.

But it was Christmas. It was just about acceptable.

By the time they got back to the house, it was time for lunch, and then soon after, time to begin preparation for dinner. Dinner for just the two of them, but that wouldn't stop them from being unnecessarily extra about it.

Cringey couple cooking was essential for Christmas, right?

As Leo had promised, the pudding had been his area of expertise. Elliot played absolutely no part in its preparation at all, and in total honesty, that concerned him slightly.

Currently, the two had just finished eating the main Christmas meal, and had successfully gotten through a bottle and a half of wine already.

"Do you want me to serve the pudding?" Elliot asked, observing the fact Leo had yet to finish his meal. He'd been strangely slow at eating, but Elliot had brushed it aside fairly quickly.

The moment he voiced the question, however, Leo instantly placed his cutlery down, and nudged the half-full plate towards the centre of the table. "I can do it."

"You're not having some yourself?" Elliot questioned after watching Leo pull out only one bowl – much to his confusion.

"Nope," Leo said simply. "You can taste first. And I'll watch your reaction."

Leo was acting weird. Really weird, but Elliot could not bring himself to speak up about it. Instead, he let his worry grow and grow.

Particularly when Leo placed the bowl down in front of him, placed his lightly trembling hands on the table, and stared directly at Elliot. His glasses masked the expression which Elliot desperately wished he could see.

"Okay…" Elliot said, tentatively picking up the spoon placed before him, and scooping himself a generously sized serving.

The taste seemed normal.

And then he bit down.

There was something hard. Hard, metallic, and circular-

No. There's…

This is…

Given the slight smile which began to tug at the sides of Leo's lips, Elliot guessed his expression wasn't exactly discreet.

Stunned into speechlessness, he shakily pulled it from his mouth, sure enough revealing a ring. A ring, silver-plated lined with tiny translucent crystals.

When he locked eyes with Leo, Elliot was sure he could see tears behind those glasses.

"Is this…?"

"Yes," Leo smiled. That smile, which was such a rarity. That smile, which made him melt inside whenever he saw it. "Yes it is."

Elliot felt himself trembling, but internally, he was beaming. Words could not convey the feeling of joy he felt, especially when he stood up with shaky legs, and felt Leo's arms wrap around him.

Tears poured down his face. Nonetheless, in the moment, he still pulled Leo's face up towards him, their lips connecting in an instant as if they knew that was what each other wanted.

Parting for a few seconds, Leo let out a soft chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes then?"

"Oh my god yes," Elliot sighed, turning away for a moment as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He couldn't, however, wipe that beaming smile off his face. "Yes, dumbass, o-of course I'll marry you!"

"Good." Leo grinned wider, resuming the kiss.

And, with the ring still held tightly in the palm of his hand, Elliot intertwined his fingers within Leo's.

Do not open until you've got forever to spend
With me, on a Fool's Holiday