Au: None
Word Count: ~3.1k 

Every special I make will be with the same ships and in the same timeline for consistency. Happy December everyone! (Also friendly reminder that I headcanon Zed as shorter than Impulse and Tango because Short Zedaph Supremacy)

-

 Xisuma stood up. He looked around the long table in the meeting room which was located in Town Hall for all of the hermits to meet. As Admin, he was at one head of the table, and Scar was at the other since he was the mayor. "Because Christmas and New Years' are so close, I will be announcing both hosts today as per usual. Our host of the Christmas celebration this year will be Wels. And the host for the New Years' party will be Mayor Scar. At least, that's if you two want the jobs."

Everyone looked either to the mayor, or the knight, who was sitting to Xisuma's left. "I'd be honored to host the Christmas party," Wels grinned.

"And I'd be more than happy to host the New Years' celebration!" Scar added, a smile on his face.

"Then it's settled! Just remember; don't forget to ask for help!"

-

The freckled hermit shivered lightly as he stood outside the Town Hall. He watched the other hermits walk down the stairs and go their separate ways. Some through the communal portals, some walking around the shopping district, and others flying off.

"I told you you should've brought an actual coat and not a light sweater," Doc scolded, appearing next to him. "It's December 1st, not September 1st." Despite having a harsh tone, he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend and pulled him close to help warm him up.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Bdubs giggled, reaching up to give him a peck on the cheek. "Now c'mon, I need to buy a couple of things from the Barge." Gripping the taller hermit's hand, he pulled him down the Town Hall's front steps.

-

"You sure you don't mind coming along?" the knight asked again as they walked through the shopping district. Jevin simply laughed and squeezed his hand.

"Of course not! I want to help in any way that I can," he assured him. Smiling under his helmet Wels leaned his head against the slime boy's shoulder until they reached the lamp store. A blanket of warm air soothed the two hermits as they entered the shop.

-

Xisuma blinked as he stared out into the nether from the hub False had built.

"Everything okay?" Hypno quietly asked, leaning on the wall next to him. The admin let out a heavy sigh and his shoulders slumped.

"My sibling is out here somewhere. And as worried as I am as to what they might do next, they're still family. I'm still concerned about their safety. Is it weird that I just want to know if they're okay?" he asked, turning to his fellow hermit.

"Why would it be weird? Like you said; they're family. Of course you're going to be concerned for them. It's only natural to worry for your family, regardless of what they've done," the shorter male pointed out.

X smiled and turned around, leaning his back against the window. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Hypno," he said with a genuine smile on his face. He gave the hermit's shoulder a light squeeze before heading off.

Hypno gazed out at the nether. He seems so stressed. I need to find him a gift that'll help him calm down.

-

"Joe, stop pacing," Cleo laughed. She'll admit, the hermit in glasses looked a little cute pacing under the glass rainbow.

"Honey, this is very serious! How am I supposed to top the beans from Halloween?" He was half-joking as he desperately cried out his concerns. Yes, he did want to top the past celebrations' greatest food served, but he wasn't as worried as he let on.

The zombie decided to toss out ideas, in hopes they would help calm him. "A fruitcake shaped like someone's face? What about a giant bowl of yellow shaved ice? We could make gingerbread men and decorate them like all of the hermits?"

"Those are all wonderful ideas- but the question is which one?"

Moving over to him, she cupped his cheeks and stopped him from pacing anymore. "Don't overthink it, okay? Just relax," she said, squishing his cheeks. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, placing his hands over hers.

-

Grian wrinkled his nose as he stared at the sweater Mumbo held up. "Don't get me wrong; I know I can pull off anything, but do you seriously want to wear matching ugly Christmas sweaters to the party?" he asked, lightly tugging at the gaudy sweater.

"Aw c'mon, it'll be fun! Plus I'm sure we won't be the only ones," Mumbo pleaded.

The sweaters were a few shades brighter than Grian's classic look. It was white at the hem, collar, and end of the sleeves. White pom poms dangled in a row above the chest and at the midriff. In the middle, neon green and red presents alternated with strings of colorful lights above and below the presents, along with directly under the collar and right above the hem.

The short blonde exhaled. His mustached-boyfriend was gazing at him with big, sparkly eyes. "Fine, fine," he said, caving. He snatched the smaller of the two and threw it over his shoulder. "Now I gotta run, I need to drop this off at my base before doing some shopping for everyone."

"We can go shopping together," the taller hermit offered. In return, he got a boop to the nose.

"As much as I would love to, I really need to shop for you too." Mumbo pouted but understood. After all, he had to find something for Grian too, and he figured the builder wouldn't be too happy with more Challenge Chickens for Christmas.

-

When everyone else had left the Town Hall, Scar had stayed behind to get some work done in his office. He had two lists in front of him; one for gift ideas for his friends and the other a list of decorations for New Years'. Leaning back in his seat, he smiled at the cat curled up in his lap. He stroked Jellie, quietly cooing over her purrs. There was a soft knock at his open door and he looked up as Cub walked in and around his desk. He pressed a kiss to Scar's forehead and gave Jellie a little scratch behind the ear.

"How's planning?" he asked.

"Going pretty well, actually," the mayor said, gesturing to his lists. He purposely left Cub out of the gift list- he already knew what he was getting him.

"Oh, those cat-themed ugly Christmas sweaters you wanted? They'll be here tomorrow!" The brunette reached up to kiss his jaw.

"Thank you so much! Now, I just have a couple more things to do around here so I guess I'll see you later!" He turned back to his work, expecting his boyfriend to leave his office, but was surprised to see him sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

"I'll stay with you until you're done," Cub explained with a small smile on his face. Scar didn't bother to try and hide the blushing on his face as he went back to his work.

-

Zedaph was silent as he patted the snow into his snowman. He glanced up at Impulse and Tango, who were both doing the same. They wanted to build a mini-army atop of his Cave of Contraptions, and so that's how they decided to spend their afternoon. Finally, he broke his silence, interrupting the quiet playful bickering between his friends. "What do you two want for Christmas?" he asked. It had been a couple of days since the meeting, and he still hadn't thought of anything.

The two looked up at him, to each other, and then back to him. They shrugged in sync. "I don't know," Impulse admitted.

"Anything you give us will be perfect," Tango assured him. Feeling aggravated, Zed picked up two fistfuls of snow and flung them, smacking Impulse in the shoulder and Tango on the forehead.

"Give me actual ideas!" he whined. He immediately yelped and ducked as the two hermits threw snowballs back in retaliation. Hearing the crunching of snow approaching, he sat down and flopped onto his back. The two stood over him, the brunette crouching down first.

"We don't need anything. Whatever you give us we'll love because you gave it to us," he promised.

"Stop being so nice and give me gift ideas!" Zed pouted as he reached a hand up to poke his cheek. The taller blonde took his hand and helped him to his feet.

"How about something small and cute, like you?" he teased, brushing snow out of his hair.

"I'm like, two inches shorter than you but okay." He rolled his eyes, refusing to acknowledge the small grin on his face.

-

False jumped as she felt her girlfriend launch herself onto her back, wrapping an arm around her to hold herself up.

"What're you doing?" she laughed. The blonde felt something tickle the top of her head and looked up. She laughed again at the sight of the mistletoe.

"Look what I found!" the brunette sang. Hopping off her girlfriend, she gave her a soft kiss. Humming, False adjusted Stress' flower crown.

"Alright, ready to do some building now?" she asked.

"'Course! This farm is gonna look amazing!"

-

"Hold on, you got a little flour on your nose!" xB laughed. He cupped Keralis' cheek and used his thumb to wipe the flour. Giggling, Keralis continued to mix the dry ingredients.

"Alrighty, now to slowly mix the two," he instructed.

Little by little, the shorter builder would add the mixture to xB's bowl. They continued to work on the cookie batter, each hermit occasionally stealing a little. Finally, they put the first two sheets of sugar cookies into the oven.

xB hesitated a moment, before sitting next to his boyfriend in front of the oven. "Thanks for agreeing to come over and make homemade cookies with me," he mumbled. The other leaned against his shoulder, flashing a smile.

"Of course! I always love spending time with you!" He raised his head to kiss his cheek. Snaking his arm around the other brunette's, he leaned into him again.

Now that the first batch of cookies was done, and the second and final batch was in the oven, they began to decorate. Keralis held up a finished cookie, which he frosted with light blue icing and detailed with dark blue. White and blue sprinkles were used as a final touch to make the diamond cookie pop.

"Ta-da! What do you think?" he asked.

"It looks great! What about mine?" xB revealed his; a cookie with Keralis' face. In response he laughed, copying the surprised expression on the cookie.

-

The knight took a deep breath before plugging in the Christmas lights. Jevin cheered as the white lights all lit up. They were weaved around the house- from the stair railings to curtain rails and hooks on the walls. The two walked around, making sure every strip was lit until they reached the loft.

"Great," the blue slime groaned as he found a line of lights out. He traced the line until he found the first unlit light, and messed with it. After twisting, flicking, and hitting it, the light came on the others followed suit.

"All set up there?" Wels called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yup!" He made his way back down and into the dining room, where he found the dirty blonde fixing the decorations in the middle of the table. He stepped back and looked around.

"And that's all of the Christmas decorations done with!" he declared, clapping his hands together.

"You sure about that one?" Jevin asked. When Wels raised an eyebrow, he laughed and tugged his arm, guiding him to the main entrance. There stood a tall, full evergreen tree. Colored lights and garland draped across the green ferns. A bright, golden star rested at the top, and ornaments of all sides were sprinkled around. The slime hermit gestured to the boxes at the foot of the tree. "We still have some ornaments to put up, remember?"

"Right, right," Wels chuckled, crouching to look through the ornaments.

-

The weeks flew by for the hermits. But after countless nights of snowball fights, cuddling by the fireplace, wrapping gifts, and decorating, Christmas Eve was upon them. Wels had suggested if people wanted to give gifts during the party to just bring them to his house whenever they were all wrapped to avoid the chaos that would unfold if everyone brought them at the party. So now he and his boyfriend were organizing all of the brightly wrapped gifts under his tree, while Christmas music played in the background.

Meanwhile, the nether wasn't nearly as festive. With nothing better to do, Hels and Xavion had found a new bastion and decided to raid it.

"Hey, it's Christmas Eve, isn't it?" Hels asked after barricading the entrance to the small room. His partner shrugged and opened the chest.

"Maybe?" They rummaged through the chest, pocketing the loot.

"Would you want to do something special?"

"Well, here's a little gift," Xavion joked, handing over a disc.

Hels scoffed. "Do we even have a jukebox?"

"I think so? Anyways, this is the last of this place, let's get out of here." The two climbed out the window behind them and jumped down to the striders below. As they rode over the lava, the knight turned to his partner again.

"I'm serious, y'know? This your first Christmas back- I want to make it special for you," he admitted while his voice grew quieter with each word. Slowing down, Xavion reached over and pecked his cheek.

"Thank you," they murmured. "I think I'd like that, actually,"

Once the two were back at their base - a small castle built of blackstone, blackstone bricks, and basalt with soul lanterns scattered around - Hels hunted down a jukebox and was rather surprised to find one.

"I know we can't do much," he slowly said as he popped in the music disc. "But I'm sure we can find ways to decorate!"

-

Ren sighed as he buried his face in the back of Iskall's neck. He squeezed them a little tighter. The smell of cinnamon, a balsam fir scented candle and oak practically suffocated him. He smiled as he heard his partner giggle as they pulled the blanket over them. The warmth of the bed made up for how cold the rest of the tree was.

"Have you ever considered installing some heaters around here?" Ren teased.

"Yes, but then I wouldn't get these wonderful cuddles from you!" they teased back. "If the tree was warmer then we wouldn't have an excuse to be lazy all day."

The brunette male kissed them again. "We don't need an excuse," he murmured. "Happy Christmas Eve, babe,"

Iskall pulled away just enough to turn around and return the favor by kissing his nose. In all honesty, they almost did build some heaters for the tree, but after Ren came over earlier in the winter and asked for cuddles to keep warm, they just couldn't bring themself to make some.

-

As the afternoon shifted into the evening, with the sun slowly sinking and the server growing colder, Etho was chilling in Beef's base, helping him start a fire.

In the fireplace, of course.

"I say another log should do the trick," the white-haired hermit suggested. He crumpled up another piece of paper and tucked it next to one of the logs. Beef came up behind him and handed him the wood. Once it was in a good spot Etho lit the balls of paper with his trusty lighter. He placed it on the mantle and backed up to sit down on the couch. The fire quickly roared to life and a cup of a rooibos caramel tea was offered to him.

"This is really nice," Beef sighed, sipping his tea. The cosplayer leaned his head on his shoulder, gazing at the fire. His mask was pulled down to his chin so he could drink his tea.

A kiss was pressed to his head.

He peeled his eyes away from the flames and glanced up, a small smile forming on his face.

"You're so cute, Etho," his boyfriend murmured. Chuckling at the comment, he responded by burying his face in the crook of his neck.

-

It seemed like the only two who weren't having a peaceful Christmas Eve were Bdubs and Doc. Well, they were, but it didn't last too long.

"Are you serious right now?" Bdubs crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. He stood in the kitchen doorway, having caught Doc eating more of his golden apples.

"What? It's not like you don't have dozens of these," the hybrid pointed out, taking another bite.

"Actually, I'm running pretty low on them. You know how much I like them," he whined.

"They're just apples, Bdubs," Doc scoffed. He finished the apple in his hand and matched his boyfriend's stance- crossing his arms and standing up straight.

"But we've talked about this. We've talked about how I feel about you stealing them from me. Sometimes I wonder if you even take what I say seriously," he snapped.

"Well, I didn't realize you were serious about the apples," the taller hermit protested, shrugging.

"So you're just not going to apologize?"

Doc sighed. "Fine. Sorry for eating your golden apples. I'll try to remember not to do it again."

"You could've at least tried to sound sincere," Bdubs scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"What more do you want from me?"

"Just-" he took a deep breath. "Y'know what? I don't want to deal with this right now. I'm going to bed," turning around, he gave a small wave, not bothering to look at Doc. "Stay if you want. I'll just see you tomorrow at the party."

He hadn't even closed the door to his bedroom before he heard his front door close. Bdubs immediately felt regret bubble in his stomach and clenched his doorframe. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up.

-

Hypno was staring at his ceiling, too nervous to fall asleep. He had spent weeks staying up late working on Xisuma's gifts. He spent a lot of time just practicing but even still, when it came to actually making the gifts he wasn't sure he did it correctly. Ironic isn't it, he realized. They're supposed to destress X but they're stressing me. 

Eventually, he drifted off.

And finally, it was Christmas morning. 

Did you really think I could make this without having some Bdoc angst? C'mon you know I'm addicted and no, I refuse to go to rehab.

I know most of the pairings only got short bits for part one, but I promise part two will be longer and give all of the pairings more time to show off their gorgeous selves! See y'all again on Christmas!