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Karone hesitated but nodded. “...Honestly, anything would be better than my couch, ah...I can seriously stay?” She felt...very warm and gave a smile, trying to hide the small bit of uncertainty that filled her. “Yeah, sure. I’d love that. I’ll stay in your bed, Yu. Even if we have to cuddle.”

Giving a little laugh, she walked out of the kitchen, going to look for Oreo. Honestly, she hadn’t expected such an offer...and idly wondered how long the offer would stand. Would...this become her home? Evan had also offered her one so…

Regardless, she was covered.

...God that felt nice.

Sterling snorted and took Yu’s hand, squeezing it. “Bunk with someone else? I hope you mean you’re going to spend the night in the middle of a Sterling and Priam sandwich, and that’s how it’s going to be for a good long while...it’s been awful sleeping without you, and obviously...obviously I need sleep in order to feel better, ah, Priam. Before you call them, let’s go get your present, then we can deal with the house being full of people.”

Not that it would be a bad thing, in fact...it sounded really nice.

“I’m going to need you to open that closet that’s across from your room, okay? The present is in there, and I think that you’ll like it.”

He hoped that Priam would like it. There were almost a hundred books in the little library, and he had worked so hard, refinishing the shelving and having it put in...it was wonderful.

Priam didn't want to split up, even if it was just for a moment. Even if it was just to get his gift for Yu. He looked at the group for just a moment longer and then nodded, determined to go fast.

He was afraid if he let them out of his sight, something bad might happen.

"It'll be all right," he assured. "We'll have him come over. We can always do it under the guise of taking the dogs out and he can bring your clothes over--but you have plenty here. I'm--I'm just glad he was able to look after you. I can't wait to hold you tonight. I'll be back, soon," he promised.

When he went to fetch what he thought would be just a small present, he opened the room--the room Sterling had told him to avoid, and Priam hadn't asked why but simply complied.

And now he could see why. He opened the door and was hit with such surprise that he didn't really know what to make of it. A little room that he couldn't understand what it had been before Sterling had worked on it--nor did he understand when--with more books than his eyes could glance over.

He wanted to pluck them off the shelves, wanted to read each and every one of them and--oh.

Oh, some of them recognized.

Priam had not mourned his house, or the loss of his material possession much, if only because there was always too much more to go on. He entered the room with timid steps, fingers reaching to glide over the spines of books he recognized.

Books he knew.

Books he thought had gone up in flames.

He wondered how long Yu and Sterling had been stealing his books, if they had meant to find some way to make him fall in love with this house. It wasn't his little fairy tale cottage, not like he'd dreamed of, but something out this was different. It was intimate.

In all that they had done for him, they had taken his treasures and hidden them away, saved, them, and encased them in this little room.

He couldn't cry, he couldn't go back to them with misty eyes. He'd shed his emotions, process them, in the steaming hot waters of the shower later tonight when he didn't have to worry about looking like a sap.

He wanted to stay in the room almost as much as he wanted to grab Yu's present, but his need to see Yu smiled outweighed the desire to admire every book in this new room. From his closet, he pulled out a neatly wrapped gift, in shiny black wrapping paper and silver ribbons and bows. There were strips of red ribbon, curled slightly, because he had to make it look a little like Christmas. The second box was much smaller, and for Sterling, wrapped with a subtle iridescent write wrapping paper, and silver ribbons and bow.

He returned to the kitchen quickly and nearly threw himself at Sterling just to kiss his cheek. "It's beautiful, I love it. Here, this is yours. I would have redone your bathroom for you if I'd known you were going so big." He handed the small box to him where, neatly wrapped inside, was a carefully assembled bracelet.

He'd spent a lot of time on his Wonder of late, healing, and in one of the cool pools of water he'd sat by, there were an array of what Priam might have guess to be pearls, were it not for their pastel, iridescent gleam. Naturally, he'd thought of Sterling, and now they'd been carefully drilled, carefully wrapped in gold, in the form of a bracelet. There was one large gem attached in the center of the bracelet, and it looked like an opal--only, when the light hit it just right, it seemed to reflect little stars.

It was set on a flat gold back, and the back was carved to read, 'You are loved. Everything will be all right.'

Sterling could buy anything he wanted, probably. Priam had to get creative. He just hoped it was enough.

For Yu, he had spent time thinking about what he might need, what he'd want, what he could use. In the end, Priam thought that he wanted something to remind him that he was always loved, and something that would protect him, too.

He had picked a black jacket that screamed 'Yu' to him. It wasn't just the edgy style that drew him to it, it was the fact that it was leather, and the fact that it had a second layer of extra dense fabric marketed as slash resistant, he hoped it would help protect him. But the jacket alone wasn't enough; inside, discreetly sewn into the fabric lining, just over the left breast, was a small, heart shaped patch. In it, 'You are loved', and two little golden stars which, now that Priam thought about it, was probably a dead giveaway that they were Cosmos Knights, but it was too late to take it back--and the sentiment still stood, regardless.

He waited for Yu to return, ready to pass him his box.

Yu came wandering back in, with…. the sheets from his bed.
Clearly, they were hiding things, but he hadn’t had the chance to wrap them, as he’d been too busy - he reminded himself- being an idiot.

“Umm… The… top one is Priam’s and the bottom one is Sterling, and um… yeah. It… started as something else and they - well, I kinda sucked at that, and then I … was trying to make them without…spending as much and I’m not at all sure that worked and I’m sorry. But I hope to…you like them.” He stammered waiting for them to take the bundles before being able to take the black box all silver and red from Priam.

it had -weight to it, which surprised him, his arm dipping under the box. He wasn’t sure what he expected but…
He carefully pulled away from the ribbons and picked the tape away almost afraid to damage the paper or the pretty ribbons.

He thought his jaw was going to crack off the floor when he saw the gift.

The oven…and THIS. He could barely process the idea of it.
“I… It’s… god damn, that’s …” He stammered.

It was the coolest jacket, he had ever seen. He picked it up with shaking hands to really feel it before immediately pulling it over his shoulders and pressing his nose into the leather to breathe in the smell of it. It wasn’t even used, it just smelled like fresh leather and a touch of Priam.

“You guys….” He said almost in a whisper.

He pulled it open to investigate it for inside pockets, and found the heart, and the two little stars, and felt again like he couldn’t breathe. The flush spreading from his ears to his cheeks.

“I… really, don’t deserve you guys.” He whispered before dragging them both into a hug again.

Sterling picked up Yu’s gift and held it close, giving a smile and then moving to hug the both of them, sighing softly. “Yeah yeah. We get it. We all think that we don’t deserve each other, and we know that...that we’re the happiest when we’re with each other...I think...and this is from you know. My vast reservoir of knowledge and my future profession.” He took a moment to wrap the blanket around himself, sighing at how good it felt to have Yu’s gift around his shoulders and Priam’s around his wrists.

“...But, maybe if we all acknowledge that we’re happiest when we’re together...we should work on saying that more often, rather than saying that we don’t deserve this happiness...You know...so um. Misunderstandings like this don’t happen ah...often. Or um. Ever.”

Ever again, at least. But...this was...this was wonderful.

“I love you both, I am also the happiest when I’m with you...and um. Merry Christmas, my hearts. My um…” He flushed after a moment and kissed Yu’s lips lightly, and then Priam’s. “My soul mates. You are my everything.”

He was still tired, still a little shaken...but that would go away. It would all heal. They would all heal. So long as they were together.

Priam just laughed softly, and it was too easy to imagine Yu working so hard, using his arms. "If you make more, you can do it with the door open," he encouraged. "...Unless you're trying to keep the dogs out, but I'm sure you know that I will always smell like dog. But now that I can function again, I promise they'll get more baths."

Yu and Sterling had never complained about the dogs, but he didn't want to give them a reason to start.

They'd been kind enough even when they were barking like maniacs, though, so he wondered if they'd even tell him if something was wrong.

"Merry Christmas," he said, and managed to give Karone an appreciative look as he embraced them once more. "Maybe next year will be kinder to our family. But whatever happens, let's stick together through it, all right? We're better, and stronger, together."