Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates Christmas!

"Kieran," Cristina said as they lay together in the bed in Kieran's cottage, "Mark and I have a question for you."

"I will grant your any wish, if it is within my power to grant it," Kieran replied immediately, his pale blue hair splayed out across the pillow like waves.

"Well," Mark began, "we know you can't come to the mortal world too often, because it weakens your kingdom."

"But," Cristina continued, "we were hoping you would come for Christmas."

"Christmas?" Kieran repeated. "I know not what it is, although the name sounds familiar. Did you mention it in our time with the Hunt, Mark?"

"Most likely," Mark replied. "Christmas is a holiday, a time of giving and family. This is the first year in a long time that my family will be able to celebrate it together, and we had hoped you might join."

Kieran looked a little stunned. "You wish me to join you for your family holiday?"

"Of course we do," Cristina said, smoothing Kieran's hair away from his forehead. "You are our family, Kier."

Kieran looked from Cristina to Mark, bicolored eyes wide. "Truly?"

"Don't be a fool, Kier," Mark said fondly. "What else would you be?"

"And your family will not mind?"

"Helen already asked if we were going to invite you," Mark said. "I think everyone expects you to be there. Helen will have Aline, of course, and Julian will have Emma, and I think Diana was even going to ask Gwyn if he could come."

Kieran's eyebrows shot up. "Gwyn will be there?"

"If Diana gets her way," Cristina said. "And she normally does tend to get her way with Gwyn."

"And you wish me to be there too?"

"I swear to you on the Angel, we want you to come," Cristina said. "Now, will you?"

There was still a hint of wonder on Kieran's face, the same wonder that sometimes still showed up when Cristina and Mark were tender with him. Even though their relationship had been going strong for a few months, Kieran still seemed like he was just waiting for the moment when it would shatter. Given his past, Cristina supposed it made sense that he was wary of love, but she hoped someday he would stop waiting for theirs to end.

But if she had to prove it to him a hundred times over, she would.

"I will come," Kieran said after a moment. "The Court can do without me for a few days."

"Perfect," Mark said, leaning down to kiss Kieran. "Thank you."

"It is I who ought to be grateful," Kieran said, lifting one hand to trace Mark's jawline. "Thank you for including me with your family."

"Always," Cristina said, nestling into Kieran's side. "Always, Kieran."

"Always," Mark agreed, curling into Kieran's other side.

"I love you with my whole heart," Kieran whispered.

Cristina pressed a kiss to his cheek. "We love you too."

On Christmas morning, just past dawn, there was a knock on the door. Mark, who was already awake, went to open the door and found Kieran standing on the other side, a large bag slung over his shoulder.

"You look like Santa," was the first stupid thing that came out of Mark's mouth.

"Santa?" Kieran repeated, his brow furrowing. "Is that some mortal figure?"

"It's nothing," Mark said quickly. "Come on in."

Kieran stepped into the Institute, letting Mark pull the door shut behind him. "Is there somewhere I can put my bag?" he asked.

"Of course," Mark replied automatically. "Why do you have the bag anyway?"

Kieran's brow furrowed. "I was told that Christmas is a gift-giving holiday," he said, sounding a little unsure. "So I brought gifts. Was that incorrect?"

Mark took Kieran's bag and set it down, then he grabbed Kieran and kissed him. "That wasn't incorrect at all," he said when he pulled away. "Come on, let's go wake up Cristina."

Cristina was, unsurprisingly, not particularly enthusiastic about being awoken so early, but between kisses from Kieran and coffee from Mark, she gradually came around. "Is anyone else awake?" she asked.

"Tavvy's not allowed to wake people up until seven-thirty," Mark replied. "Which is in about five minutes, so he's probably awake and waiting."

"Did you put your presents under the tree yet?" Cristina asked.

Kieran frowned. "Which tree are the gifts supposed to be under? I can put mine there as well."

"You brought gifts?" Cristina asked, looking surprised.

"Christmas is a gift-giving holiday, is it not?"

Cristina leaned forward and kissed Kieran. "I love you."

Kieran kissed her back tenderly, then he leaned back and looked at Mark. "Where is the gift tree?"

"In the living room."

Kieran's brow furrowed. "The living room?"

"It's a Christmas tradition," Cristina said. "People cut down pine trees and bring them inside to decorate."

Kieran looked even more helplessly confused. "Decorate?"

"We'll show you," Mark said. "I need to bring my gifts down anyway. Cristina, what about you?"

"Mine are already down there," she said. "Bring Kieran down. I'm going to finish my coffee before Tavvy comes in."

Mark stood and offered a hand to Kieran. "I just need to grab my presents from my room, then we can go down."

Kieran followed him to his room, where Mark started digging presents out of his closet. "I've got a lot this year," he said, half buried in the closet. "Will you help me carry them down?"

"What are they covered in?" Kieran asked curiously. Mark pulled his head out of the closet to see that Kieran had picked up one of the presents and was turning it slowly, examining the wrapping paper from all angles. "Or is this part of the case for whatever's inside?"

"We like to wrap presents in special decorative paper," Mark explained. "Then you don't know what'll be inside. It makes it a surprise."

Kieran frowned slightly. "I did not wrap my gifts."

"It's okay," Mark said quickly. "You can just keep them in the bag and take them out as you go. That'll be fine." After a moment, he added, "What sort of gifts did you bring, anyway?"

A shadow of a smirk crossed Kieran's face. "You said mortals like to keep their gifts a surprise."

Mark laughed. "Fair enough. I'll figure it out soon anyway. Come on, help me carry these downstairs."

They had barely gotten all of the presents downstairs when they heard the sound of someone running upstairs. Mark laughed. "That's Tavvy, I bet. Everyone will be waking up soon."

"Do the gifts have to be under the tree when they come down?" Kieran asked.

"Yeah, that would be good," Mark said. "Come on, this way."

He led Kieran into the living room, which was decorated with sparkling witchlights and, of course, a prominently-displayed Christmas tree. Kieran studied it with undisguised curiosity. "How strange," he murmured, circling the tree slowly. "It is dead, is it not?"

"It was chopped down, yeah."

"And you display it… why?"

"It's just a tradition," Mark said as he set his presents under the tree. "I don't really know why. It's just something we do."

"And these decorations…" Kieran peered at them. "Are they handmade?"

"Some of them," Mark said, taking the armful of presents that Kieran was carrying and setting them under the tree as well. Kieran hardly seemed to notice. "We bought other ones. Julian made a bunch of them."

"Mortals are so strange."

Mark did his best not to grin. "Should we go get your bag?"

Kieran seemed to return to reality as he ducked into the hall for his sack, which he set down next to the tree. He opened his mouth, clearly about to ask Mark something, when a herd of children stampeded down the stairs.

"It's Christmas!" Tavvy yelled at the top of his lungs.

Mark laughed, picking his little brother up and spinning him around. "It's Christmas!" he agreed joyfully. "Merry Christmas, Tavvy!"

Cristina, he noticed, sidled up to Kieran and leaned against his side. Around them, the rest of the Blackthorns filled the room: Jules and Emma, Helen and Aline, Drusilla, Ty… Diana hadn't arrived yet, but she'd said not to expect her until early afternoon. Mark wondered if missing the early present rush was purposeful or not.

"Do people want breakfast first, or presents first?" Helen asked.

"Presents!" Tavvy cried. No one contradicted him, although Mark saw Ty fiddle with the hem of his shirt a little. Holidays always tended to be a bit stressful for Ty, given that they always represented a large change to his usual schedule, but he was still a child, and so he enjoyed Christmas anyway.

Everyone sat down, half on the floor and half on couches, to begin passing out presents. Tavvy, as the youngest, handed them out, then he sat down behind his massive pile and began to tear into the gifts with glee.

"Should I pass out my gifts?" Kieran asked Mark quietly. He and Mark were both sitting on the floor, leaning against the chair Cristina was sitting in.

"No, you don't have to do it yet," Mark replied. "This isn't everything. Some people brought down their gifts with them, and they haven't passed them out yet."

"Nothing from you, Mark?" Cristina asked, leaning down to smirk at Mark.

"I'll give you two my presents in private," Mark replied with a wink.

"Ew," Emma said, kicking Mark in the thigh. "Keep it PG there, buddy."

"You were very much in support of my hot faerie threesome before," Cristina said. "Why not now?"

"Wait a second," Mark cut in, "your what?"

"Hot faerie threesome," Kieran provided. "I assume hot is meant to indicate something other than temperature, although sometimes-"

"Don't need to hear it!" Emma said, kicking at Kieran this time. Her toes just barely made contact. "Just keep it down, okay?"

Kieran looked at his leg, bemusement on his face. "Did you just… kick me?"

"She does that," Mark said. "Don't take it personally."

"Kieran?" Drusilla said, standing in front of them and clearly holding something behind her back. "I, um, I got you a present."

"A gift?" Kieran repeated. "For me? Thank you, Lady Drusilla, this is a kindness I did not dare dream of."

Drusilla's cheeks went a little pink. "I thought you would like it," she said, handing Kieran a small, wrapped present.

"Ah, this is more of the special paper, yes?" Kieran said, looking at Mark. "How do I remove it?"

"Like this," Tavvy said, having already decimated his pile. He grabbed the gift from Kieran and tore the wrapping paper off.

"Tavvy, ask next time," Helen scolded.

"No, Lady Helen, this was most helpful," Kieran said quickly. "Thank you, Lord Octavian."

Tavvy giggled and handed the box back to Kieran. Kieran frowned at it, then looked up at Drusilla.

"What is a 365 day calendar?"

"There's a separate page for each day," Drusilla said, sitting down next to Kieran. "Here, let me show you." She took the box and opened it, then pulled out the little calendar and its plastic stand. "You rip off a page every day, and there's a new one for the next day underneath. And this one has kitty pictures."

Kieran's eyes went wide. "This is full of pictures of kittens?"

"New pictures for every day of the year," Drusilla replied.

Kieran looked down at the box in his hands. "Lady Drusilla," he said softly, "this is one of the most beautiful things I have ever beheld."

"Love you too, Kier," Mark muttered, causing Cristina to giggle.

"Your mortal world is truly full of blessings," Kieran added. "Thank you for gifting one to me."

Drusilla looked like she wasn't quite sure what to do about the King of the Unseelie Court thanking her so profusely for a kitty calendar, but she was a Shadowhunter and a Blackthorn, so she played it cool. "Merry Christmas."

"A merry Christmas indeed," Kieran agreed.

"Kier," Mark said, nudging Kieran lightly in the side, "what did you get for everyone?"

"Ah!" Kieran said, perking up a little. He reached behind him and grabbed his bag.

"You got us gifts?" Emma said, looking surprised. "Uh, I don't think most of us got you anything."

"I am unoffended," Kieran assured her. "I simply hope you enjoy the gifts I give to you."

And then, he started pulling weapons out of the bag.

There were knives, and a few bows, and even a quiver of faerie-made arrows. Mark watched with no small amount of wonder as Kieran pulled out far more weapons than should have fit in a bag that size.

"Faerie-made weapons are highly durable and work well against most creatures, but they are rarely given to anyone not of faerie blood," Kieran explained. "But I thought you might enjoy them."

"These are so cool," Emma said immediately, cooing over the weapons. "These are so cool."

"Kier," Mark said in an undertone, "is one of these weapons for Tavvy?" He'd noticed Tavvy eyeing them with a mix of awe and jealousy. He wasn't sure what answer he hoped for; Tavvy would feel left out if he didn't get anything, but Mark wasn't sure he was quite ready for weapons quite this sharp.

"No," Kieran said, reaching deeper into the bag, "I brought this for your youngest brother."

He pulled out a book, hand-bound in leather and embossed with gold leaf. "This is my gift for you," he told Tavvy, holding it out to him. "It is a collection of stories told among my people, illustrated by some of the most talented artists to ever visit my court. I thought it might be of some interest to you."

Shyly, Tavvy took the book out of Kieran's hands. "Wow," he said softly. "This is heavy."

"What do we say to Kieran?" Helen prompted.

Tavvy set the book down and gave Kieran a hug he was quite clearly unprepared for. "Thank you."

"You are… welcome?" Kieran said hesitantly. "Is that not what you mortals say?" He shot Mark a look that was half "am I saying the right thing?" and half "please get your brother off me."

"That's right," Mark said, lifting Tavvy off of Kieran. "Tavvy, has everyone opened all their presents?"

"I think so," Tavvy said, looking around.

"So do you know what that means?"

Tavvy frowned a little. "Time for more presents?"

Julian laughed. "Time for breakfast, Tavvy. I'm making pancakes."

"Pancakes!" Tavvy cried excitedly, running over to Julian.

"Your gifts seemed well received," Cristina said to Kieran softly as the rest of the Blackthorns followed Julian into the kitchen.

"I am glad they were," Kieran replied. "I had worried about what to get, but I assumed Shadowhunters would always appreciate weapons."

"They're very nice," Mark said. "Thanks, Kier."

"Now," Cristina said, "do we want to have pancakes, or should we go up to my room to give each other more… private gifts?"

Kieran and Mark looked at each other. "I would like to try pancakes," Kieran admitted after a moment. "I have heard them much praised in the mortal world, but I have never tasted them before."

"Julian's pancakes are really good," Mark agreed. "We'll go upstairs after, okay, Tina?"

Cristina let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the Angel," she said. "I wanted to give the offer, but I'm starving. Let's eat. Our gifts to each other can wait."

"We have as much time as we desire, after all," Kieran added.

"We have all the time in the world," Mark agreed.

"Did you enjoy Christmas?" Mark asked that night, when he and Kieran and Cristina were all lying in his bed. Kieran knew he had to return to Faerie, but he didn't want to leave yet.

"It was a nice Christmas," Cristina said. "Much more wild than Christmases back home. I liked it."

"What about you, Kier?" Mark asked, sounding a little worried. "What did you think?"

"You know I would love anything that I could do with you," Kieran replied easily. "But I did enjoy your Christmas. It was a time of family, as you said, and I do not often have those. And a time of giving, and I was gifted one of the most wonderful presents I have ever received."

"Your calendar?" Cristina asked playfully.

"No," Kieran replied, "although it was an incredible gift. No, I meant the gift you two gave to me. The gifts of your hearts."

Mark and Cristina looked at each other, apparently sharing some sentiment Kieran wasn't privy to, then they both leaned over and kissed his cheeks. "We love you," Cristina said.

"So much," Mark added.

"I love you too," Kieran promised.

"Merry Christmas," Cristina said, curling into Kieran's side.

"Merry Christmas," Mark added, doing the same on Kieran's other side.

"Merry Christmas," Kieran parroted, relaxing onto the bed. He'd have to leave eventually, but… Well, he didn't have to leave quite yet.

After all, Christmas was a time for family, and with Mark on one side and Cristina on the other, Kieran knew he was with his.