The Spirit Of Christmas [Event/Percy/Leon]

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Together, Leon and Percy managed to get through the entire song without too much trouble. The crowd couldn't help but join in for most of the song, their Christmas cheer rising into booming, chaotic crescendo at each verse and shamelessly bad high-notes, Leon casually holding the tune, and Percy who followed after him with less anxiety than before. Mediocre as their performance was, everyone seemed to be having fun.

Even after those famous four minutes of music, the merriment seemed to persist as the crowd broke into jolly cheers and thunderous applause. As fun as it was, Leon could only release an exhausted sigh at the end of the singing. Yeah, karaoke wasn't really his thing after all, but he got what he came there for—Percy's reaction. That guy wasn't nearly as tough as he made himself out to be in the ring, resembling more of... well, Leon wasn't sure what Percy resembled, but he was much softer than he thought.

Leon didn't even get the chance to say anything after the song ended, with Percy immediately grabbing his wrist and leading them off the stage with haste. The rugged woman nearly tripped as he was pulled across the stage, but let himself be pulled regardless. Speedily, they walked and walked until the pair had finally found themselves on a pathway closer to where they had decorated the trees, both of them pausing to catch their breaths as they came to a stop.

"Yeah... haa... it was," Leon replied with a pleasant, rugged smile, his head facing the sky as he chuckled breathlessly into the atmosphere. It was pretty bad, huh? They had just done it, but the memory of their duet was already entertaining him again. He let the chilliness of the gentle breeze blow against his face and weave through his short, black hair until Percy had said something—something that caught him off-guard. He told him that he had a nice voice, and to that, Leon looked down from the sky and met eyes with Percy. He was a little wide-eyed when he heard that, his cheeks tinted with that ever-so-slight blush as he let the comment sink it. It wasn't just a comment, either. It was a compliment, no matter how small. For his entire life, he was so used to his skills and talents either being degraded or ignored that he was left speechless at the compliment, only managing to say something after a few moments to process what was said. "Thanks..."

There wasn't much time to say anything else after that since there was an overhead announcement of the results of the Tree Decorating contest finally coming in. Both of the boys seemed to perk up at the voice, and looked at each other.

"Did you seriously name it?" Leon chuckled again, looking down at Percy with a playful smirk. "So, are they a boy or a girl?"


When they arrived at the booth for Tree Decorating, the three best trees were given ribbons, and their decorators were given festive rewards. But when they arrived at Pineki's spot, there was no surprise that it hadn't received anything but laughter and pointed fingers. Maybe Leon and Percy weren't cut out to make beautiful things—just ugly stuff, like their sweaters. They really knocked that one out of the park.

"Nothing, huh? No surprise there," Leon smiled quizzically, hands stuffed in pockets. Well, it looked better this way. No amount of ribbons could possibly add to their monstrosity, nor improve the catastrophe that already was. It gave Pineki some character.

After a few moments of staring, Leon's awe was interrupted by the wet chill of something landing on the scalp of his head. When he looked up into the dark sky, he saw specks of white fall into his vision. It was snowing, and although it was a gentle downcast right now, Rose Garden would surely be caked in a new layer of white soon enough.

"Wanna head back soon? I'unno if I can drive home if it gets too thick," Leon continued to look at the snowfall before letting his marigolds wander down to Percy. The semi-redhead lived in town, so he didn't have to worry about the roads later on tonight, but Leon had to. He really didn't want to have to ask for a favor.

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Leon didn't say anything when he saw that Percy was occupied on his phone, scrolling through it as if he were looking for something. While it was true that he could probably drive him home, he'd have to leave his motorbike at Percy's place, and that brought up the question of how he'd drive back for work. It was too problematic for Leon's liking, so he decided to make arrangements to stay at an inn or something if the roads were too bad to drive on.

While Leon deliberated on what he'd do tonight, Percy had something else in mind after all. Without a word, the Dagger went over to the tree decorating organizer and began to speak to him while Leon waited and watched from a distance. There was a lot of talking and hand gestures, but Leon couldn't understand anything they were saying from here. What were they talking about and why? It was hard to make a guess when Percy darted off so abruptly, but after a few minutes of discussion, the semi-redhead returned to his side with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"What? You mean..." Leon perked up with a look of surprise, turning to look at the organizer who was walking away with a quivering smile on his face. Suddenly, it all made sense after seeing that, and Leon's expression lingered between shock and amusement when he realized what Percy had done for Pineki. It was funny how he could get so awkward and flustered with so much else, and yet go the extra mile for their Christmas disaster of a tree. Leon returned a small and entertained smirk back to him. He was about to say something after that before he was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of pink magic. Poof! The spell cast on him from earlier ran out, just as promised, and Leon's notably masculine features returned to him. His short, messy black hair and his flat and solid chest. More importantly, he suddenly felt more familiar with what was down below, too. He didn't say anything—just standing there with a look of irritation on his face. It was about time.

After that, they began to make their way out of the heart of town and back to Percy's home, walking down one of the narrower side paths as their feet crunched into the snow beneath them. Leon was a few strides behind Percy for the most part, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his face looking downward as he watched his feet trudge through the freshly fallen snow. His fingertips began to ache from the chilly winter air, and the sweater was made of cheap wool, so he could begin to feel the fluffy white snowflakes melt past the fabric. But despite how cold it was beginning to get after their evening began to come to an end, that warm feeling in his chest remained. Back at home, it wasn't like he wasn't allowed to go to holiday festivals like this—a lot of the celebrations that happened in his city were actually a lot more showy and extravagant than this—but he just... couldn't. It was so much easier for his siblings to go off and have fun in the city because they were already meeting their parents' expectations, but everything was an uphill battle for Leon. The magically inept Hoffman spending his days goofing off in town instead of working tooth and nail to obtain his magic? His father always said he was allowed to go out with his siblings, but Leon knew what he really meant by that—"Go on. Go out and mess around instead of trying to live up to the Hoffman standard. Disappoint me even more." No matter how much Leon yearned for fun things like festivals, he knew that he couldn't.

But this felt different. For the entire evening, Leon didn't feel the pressure of his family's judgemental, off-hand comments, or what his siblings might say if he so much as smiled. He laughed and smiled more than he had for years, and festivals like this were every bit as merry as he imagined it'd be... and that realization suddenly made his good spirits sink a little.

Honestly, was he even allowed to feel this happy? Leon had been holding onto the idea that his family would summon him back sooner or later, so he'd have to go back at some point, right? Back to that on-edge life of his, where he'd be ridiculed for so much as entertaining the idea of going out like this. He stopped following Percy as the thought dawned on him, his eyes downcast and the delight quietly draining from his rugged features. He liked how his evening turned out and how he ended up spending it, and he wanted to continue to have fun like this—to try new things like this. But an indescribable tinge of anxiety came over him, like how he'd have to steel himself for the scolding he'd receive when he'd return home after making any mistake. He saw the face of his father and grandfather flash in his head, and the condescending stares of his siblings. The slight twist in his chest kept him from walking forward again as thoughts of doubt and regret clouded his thoughts, and all he could see were those faces of his family. But just as Leon began to fall deep into his mental sinkhole, Percy called out to him.

Right, he was here with Percy. He was his boss, his mentor, and his friend, and just one look at him in that beautiful scenery was enough to dispel Leon's qualms. He felt eager and at ease when he looked at him in all of that falling snow, surrounded by calm, colorful lights and several displays of winter roses in the background and a small bunch of mistletoe underneath the elegant arch he was standing underneath. Leon looked a little lost when he looked up to meet Percy's gaze, like he didn't really realize where he was, and then he sighed with a rough smile. Why was he even thinking about home right now? It'd happen sooner or later, but he didn't have to worry about it right now. Or, at least for tonight.

"You walk too fast," Leon eventually replied, beginning to walk over to him again with that usual steely expression, but he looked a little more at ease this time. As he approached him, it came back to mind about what they were supposed to do when standing underneath the mistletoe, and Leon began to wonder whether or not he should. There was no doubt that Percy was probably unaware of where he was standing, and that only made the thought more amusing. It was nothing serious—just kind of funny.

Leon walked up to him, noticing the true disparity in their height now that he was so keen on intruding on his personal space. Was Percy short or was Leon just tall? Was this the sort of thing he should've been thinking as stopped in front of him? Was he being too cruel by messing with him like this? It didn't matter, because before Leon could decide to just walk under and past the arch, he was already leaning down and pushing his lips against Percy's cheek. His skin was smooth and soft, so his lips sunk into him even with such a light touch—not that Leon normally took account of those kinds of things, but it was hard not to notice. The sudden peck hadn't even lasted a second before Leon pulled away, hands pocketed and his face unfazed as he casually teased him, their bodies still relatively close to one another.

"You were under mistletoe," Leon said without smiling, patiently waiting for his reaction. Percy seemed to always make amusing faces and say amusing things with stuff that put him on the spot, after all.

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Oh, there it was. Those funny reactions that Leon seemed to enjoy so much. Percy reacted exactly how Leon thought he would, fumbling over his words and the blood rushing to his face as a blush took over his pale features. He even glanced up to see if the mistletoe Leon had mentioned was really there. It was so easy to tell that the semi-redhead was trying to cope with how flustered he was, and that's what made it so amusing. Percy looked at Leon, and Leon stared back with his straight face, but when Percy mustered up the strength to turn away and resume his walking, Leon's poker face broke into a small grin, quivering with suppressed laughter. Honestly, how funny was this? Percy really did make the best faces.

Percy marched on ahead, but Leon was trailing closer and closer behind this time instead of losing speed, that warmth returning to his chest now that all of his qualms seemed to be tucked away again. But no sooner had the two found their stride did something else come upon them. Percy suddenly buckled to the ground, too quick and abrupt for Leon to catch his arm and hold him up.

"Whoa—you alright?" Leon reached down to help him up, but Percy was back on his feet before he could. He was quick to turn his back and continue on their path, but Leon noticed the tint of red on his face before he did. Was he embarrassed? He said it was getting slick, but the ground didn't seem particularly slippery right now, though it was definitely getting there. Leon just walked closely behind him, a little surprised by it all but choosing to ignore it since it was clear that Percy wanted to as well. Instead, the conversation quickly transitioned to what Leon was wondering earlier—arrangements for the night, and with the snowfall picking up and a fresh blanket of snow piling up as they walked, it looked less and less likely that Leon was going to be able to drive home tonight.

Percy went ahead and offered a night in his home to his assistant, but Leon almost immediately declined. He absolutely hated being in someone's debt, even if it was out of kindness. He already owed a lot of people for giving him jobs and other stuff that helped keep his head above water, and that already made him feel pretty bad. Leon was about to decline, but then Percy mentioned staying in the lab, a place he hadn't thought about since he went to meet up with him there. His face became scrunched with a solid frown and a heated glare when he brought it up, remembering just how terribly chaotic and disorganized that place was. Leon stopped in his tracks and grabbed Percy's shoulders, turning him over so that his soft face would be in view of his much... more serious one, all of a sudden. He almost looked angry.

"I'll sleep in the lab. I insist," Leon stared him down. Although it might have come off as a guest not wanting to rob the host of their quarters, Leon just had something very specific in mind for when they arrived at Percy's home. He could repay his debt with what he was going to do to that atrociously organized lab, and all would be well. All of the anger and disgust that he felt when he first saw the place returned to him, and he wanted nothing more than a duster, some gloves, and a face mask.

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