Tuesday suggested they try some of the wine and smoke a bit while they waited.
That turned into drinking about half the wine and smoking two bowls, which led to raiding the fridge for snacks when the munchies hit.
They brought their feast out to the couch so they could cuddle and watch television, and Ozzie was thrilled to have thehonor of being the first person to show Tuesday the holiday classic,Die Hard.
Whenever the timer went off for the orange slices, they’d pause the movie and get up together to go flip them.
They’d also get more wine, of course.
TheDie Hardmarathon continued, and by the time they started the third one the orange slices were ready. Their spicy scent filled the whole house, and Tuesday and Ozzie both burned their fingers trying to get them off the cookie sheet and onto a plate. Back out on the couch, they strung the slices with red ribbon, drank more wine, and then Ozzie got an idea.
Remembering that Tuesday had mentioned the Sluth drink tasted like orange and smelled like cranberries, or at least a cranberry scented candle, he quickly mixed up a vodka cranberry cocktail. He didn’t have vodka, so it was actually a white rum cranberry, but Tuesday had been so happy after tasting it that he didn’t stop kissing Ozzie until the credits rolled.
They rewound the movie so Tuesday could see the parts he’d missed, and Ozzie could not stop smiling. He’d never been able to share this special day with anyone before, and he was ecstatic that it was Tuesday.
Yes, Derrick would have been okay, but Tuesday seemed genuinely interested and could relate since his own culture was so similar.
Plus, Derrick couldn’t cook like Tuesday did.
For their Yule meal, Tuesday made a roast turkey breast with a rich ginger scallion sauce, roasted brussels sprouts with cranberries and walnuts, stewed spiced apples, twice-baked mashed potatoes, and somehow managed to even pull off an entire cake with a creamy icing that tasted faintly of cinnamon.
Snickerdoodle inspired, of course.
While Tuesday cooked, Ozzie hung the sun wheels across his altar and put a few on the Yule log. Tuesday insisted ontreating one of the sun wheels like it was mistletoe and used it to summon Ozzie over for kisses. Ozzie helped with the cooking where he could, though he mostly felt like he was in the way.
Tuesday insisted he wasn’t, and Ozzie thought it was very sweet of him to lie like that.
Ozzie cleared off his breakfast table so they’d have somewhere to sit and eat together, and Tuesday suggested bringing some of the candles from the altar over. Ozzie quickly set up a little centerpiece with a candle, the fake holly, and some of the sun wheels they’d made together. There wasn’t enough room on the small table to lay out all the food, so Tuesday set it up across the counter like a buffet.
They made their plates, Ozzie lit the candles, and they sat down to eat.
For a few seconds, all Ozzie could do was stare.
Tuesday reached across to take Ozzie’s hand, asking quietly, “Hey, are you okay, baby?”
“Yeah!” Ozzie smiled, his eyes stinging. “This is, uh… This is something I’ve always wanted. Someone to share this with. And now you’re here, so… Yeah.” He laughed and shook his head. “Sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Tuesday squeezed Ozzie’s hand. “This means a lot to me too. I haven’t been back home in a really long time, so I haven’t gotten to celebrate much of anything. Heh. I’ve missed holidays, weddings, births, everything.”
“The perils of dating a world-conquering douche?” Ozzie recalled.
“Yup.” Tuesday snorted. “So trust me when I say this is special.”
“I didn’t do that much.”
“You made me Sluth juice!” Tuesday argued. “You actually listen when I tell you things. You listen to what I want. I knowthat should be, like, the first rule of any relationship, but I… I wasn’t always this lucky.”
Ozzie rubbed his thumb over Tuesday’s knuckles. “I’ll always listen. I may not always understand, but I want to try. I care about you a lot. I… I feel like a different person when I’m with you. I’m not anxious or grumpy or anything. I feel seen and I’m—” He took a deep breath. “I’ve never been this happy.”
“Aw, baby,” Tuesday gushed, his eyes bright and gleaming with tears. “You’re amazing, do you know that? Like, really. So fucking amazing.”
Ozzie gave Tuesday’s hand a little tug, but it was oddly soft. He looked down and laughed when he saw that part of Tuesday had turned to slime. “Make you melt, huh?”
“You sure do.” Tuesday laughed, flexing his slime tentacle and wrapping it around Ozzie’s wrist. “In all the best ways, baby.” He pulled his tentacle back and gave it a shake until he had a hand again. “Now come on! We gotta eat. Someone promised me a fire.”
“That I did.” Ozzie nodded solemnly. “I would hate to disappoint you.”
“Don’t think you could if you tried, but I guess it depends on the size of this fire. Will we have marshmallows? Hot dogs to roast?”
