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ais-for-alex · 1 year

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Peppermint Kisses and Christmas Wishes

Hi hello, this was a Cubs Christmas WIP I was working on forever ago and I’ve come to the conclusion I probably won’t finish it but it’s still cute so I wanted to share it. I believe the concept came from the lovely @veryspacecowboy and as always the characters belong to @lumosinlove

Logan always loved watching the snowfall. He wasn't sure why, but something in the way those fluffy flakes drifted down slowly from dark clouds overhead, made him feel so incredibly at peace in any given moment. The way each unique ice crystal would float through the air only to gather in a plush blanket over the frozen earth, muffling every sound, turning the world into a quiet frosted haven. Watching the delicate flakes fall and swirl through the air with each gentle breeze Logan could almost forget that everything else exists.

Closing his eyes he took a deep breath of crisp polar air and just let himself get lost in the silence. He loved it, the only thing that could possibly make this moment better would be if- suddenly warm arms were encircling his waist and pulling Logan back against a strong chest.

“Whatcha doing out here Sugar? It’s freezin’,” the words were mumbled against his ear, his partner's voice low and gravely from sleep.

Logan chuckled softly and leaned back into Leo’s arms letting the warmth of his body soak into him and chase away the icy chill of the air.

“I know,” he whispered back, “it’s nice isn't it?” Logan tilted his head up to press soft little kisses underneath his jaw.

Leo made an amused sound at that, “Only a Canadian would consider sub zero temperatures as ‘nice.’”

Logan rolled his eyes and breathed in another deep breath of snowy air this time carried with it was the scent of soap and clean laundry and just a hint of peppermint. It was a smell he would know anywhere, it was the smell of Leo, and with those strong arms wrapped around him Logan felt like he was enveloped in it.

“Where’s Finn?” he asked so very softly he was afraid his voice might get lost, absorbed by the growing snowbanks.

“He’s still sleepin’,” Leo answered, his lips pressed warm against Logan's ear. “It was cute, when I woke up he was all curled up around your pillow and chewing at the corner of his blanket.”

“Mmm, Fishy’s always so freaking adorable when he’s asleep,” Logan replied, his voice still hushed not wanting to disturb the peaceful silence as he let his gaze settle back on the falling snow. Leo just hummed softly in agreement, he tightened his arms around Logan's body and let them drift just as softly into the muffled quiet as the frozen flakes.

“Hey Knutty?” Logan asked, not looking away from the snow.

“Hmm?” he hummed, pressing his lips to Logan’s temple.

“Do you remember when we first met Finn?”

A laugh rumbled through Leo’s chest, “Of course I do, how could I forget?”

Logan chuckled a little himself, a little smile curled at his lips as he remembered that night. It had been a week or so before Christmas break in his and Leo’s sophomore year in college. Holiday parties and Christmas themed bar crawls were happening all over the town but Leo and Logan had stayed in that night far too distracted by each other to give a fuck about their friends getting wasted and passing out in a snowbank. The thing between them was still so very new and fragile, they had only been together for a month or two even though they had been friends since they had begun rooming together their freshman year.

That night they were tangled up on Leo’s bed, it was all slow kisses and warm hands exploring under loose clothes. Logan was nearly lightheaded from the intensity of Leo’s lips, his strong body pressing him into that hard mattress when suddenly the door banged open. Leo startled and nearly jumped off of him and when they looked up they found standing in their doorway a mouthwateringly gorgeous man looking at them with his face pinched in confusion.

Leo and Logan had just sat there blinking in stunned silence as the man took a step farther into their room, as he looked around his brows furrowed even further like he was trying to figure out where he was.

“Well this doesn't seem quite right?” he said, his words were slurred and he seemed to sway a bit on his feet, he’d obviously been drinking.

“Umm, dude?” Leo said and for the first time since he stepped into the room the man's eyes found where they were sitting on Leo’s bed.

“Wow!” he sighed, his eyes going wide, “you two are pretty.”

Leo burst out laughing at that, he practically fell into the pillows.

“Um… thanks,” Logan said through his own laughter, “what are you doing in here man? And- aren't you freezing like that?”

Logan let his gaze trail slowly up and down the man standing in the middle of their dorm. He was dressed in just a pair of loose satin boxers in candy cane stripes and fluffy white faux fur trimmed around the legs, attached to the boxers were evergreen suspenders that were held snugly over strong pale shoulders dusted in cinnamon freckles. The man had knee high fuzzy socks but his feet were in a pair of old beat up birkenstocks, tying the entire look together was a bright red santa hat on his head with little tufts of auburn hair fluffing out from underneath.

“I was… lookin’ for my friend's dorm, coulda sworn this was it,” he said as he glanced down to look at himself, seeming to finally realize that he’d been wandering around in just his festive underwear in the cold, the man looked back up at them and shivered.

Leo chuckled again, “I’ll get you a shirt.” He gave Logan's leg a little pat before reaching over the end of his bed to rifle around in his drawers. Pulling out an old but warm flannel Leo tossed it to the man, in his inebriated state he tried to catch it but stumbled forward only to land in Leo and Logans laps with a flop. Almost immediately he started giggling hysterically and snuggling down into the warm space between them.

“What on earth is happening right now?” Logan laughed, and looked over at Leo who just shrugged.

“I guess the drunk guy is a cuddler?”

Between them the man wrapped his arms around Logan's waist and tugged him closer, “Come’re mister french man, you’re incredibly warm and toasty.”

“I’m… I’m not- I’m Canadian,” Logan said before turning to Leo, “Le? What are we supposed to do with him? Should we kick him out?”

Leo let his eyes drift down to the man who currently had his face buried against his partner's hip, the silly santa hat had been knocked off in his fall and fluffy red hair was sticking in every direction. He felt a little warmth bloom in his chest at the sight but when he thought about making the man leave he felt his stomach twist unhappily.

“I- I honestly don't mind him staying here, but if you do Lo then we can definitely kick him out,” between them the man made a grumble of protest. “I just kinda hate the idea of him going back out in the cold like this. But it’s up to you.”

Logan thought for a moment his eyes darted from the man curled up against him to Leo and back down, “You know, I don't think I mind either.”

“Well, then I guess he can stay.”

“Mmh, get in here blondie,” the man said, reaching over to pull Leo down against him. There was a bit more laughing over the absurdity of the situation as Leo and Logan settled down, the redhead tugged them in close so that he was practically squished between them. Leo just simply rolled his eyes and pulled a blanket over the three of them.

The next morning Leo and Logan were startled awake by the man suddenly sitting bolt upright with a gasp, a groan quickly followed as he looked down to see that he was tucked between two complete strangers.

“You guys aren’t June?” he said all groggily, “who are you and where am I?”

“Mmm,” Logan groaned, still half asleep, “‘Who are you?’ asks the random drunk man that decided to make himself at home in our bed.”

“D- did I? Oh gosh I’m sorry,” he groaned again and rubbed at his temples, “I’m Finn, and I suppose I overdid it a bit too much at that party last night.”

“Yep, I’d say that's a bit of an understatement,” Leo said as he sat up and began crawling out of the bed, “I’m Leo by the way and that's Logan,” he nodded towards his partner who was trying to smother himself with a pillow in protest of being awake so early.

“I should probably go home now,” Finn mumbled as he too climbed out of the bed, a bright blotchy blush burned to life in his cheeks and down his pale neck when he realized he was still just wearing those candy cane fur lined boxers. “Um… do you think I could borrow something to wear?”

Leo chuckled and snagged the flannel he had grabbed the night before and tossed it at him, this time Finn caught it easily.

“Thanks, I appreciate you guys taking care of me last night,” he said pulling on the soft flannel, “I guess I’ll- I’ll see you around.” Cheeks still burning a bit Finn quickly slipped out the door presumably heading back to wherever he called home.

Once the door clicked shut Leo chuckled softly, he easily kneeled onto his bed straddling Logan's lap, he reached out and pulled the pillow away from his partner's face to find pretty moss colored eyes still a bit hazy and blinking away the sleep.

“You know, he was actually pretty dang cute,” Leo whispered before leaning down to give Logan a sweet kiss.

“Yeah he was,” Logan whispered back as he reached his hands over his head to stretch his body out, still pinned between Leo’s thighs, “too bad we’ll probably never see him again.”

A couple days later there was a soft little knock at their door, Leo set down the book he had been reading and Logan's hand stilled on the strings of his guitar.

“I’ve got it,” he said, setting the instrument aside and making his way to the door. When he pulled it open though Logan blinked in surprise to find Finn standing in their doorway. This time he was fully clothed and somehow was almost more attractive in his soft looking creamy knit sweater, a pair of dark burgundy corduroy pants, and comfy brown loafers. He was bundled up for the cold in a brown peacoat and a homemade looking scarf wrapped around his neck, topping it all off was a matching burgundy santa hat on his head.

“Hi,” Finn said, that blotchy blush of his returned to his cheeks at the surprised look on Logan's face.

“Finn?” Leo said, coming up behind Logan to see who was at their door.

“Hi,” he repeated, as his blush deepened, “I uh… I brought this back.” Finn held out the flannel Leo had lent him all clean and neatly folded.

“Oh, thanks,” Leo took the shirt, “I appreciate you bringing it back.”

“Yeah, of course,” Finn nodded and grinned at them. For a moment it looked like he was about to turn and leave now that his excuse to be there was gone but at the last moment he stopped. “Do you mind if I ask why you guys chose to not decorate for Christmas? If that’s rude or invasive at all you don't have to answer. I was just kinda curious.”

Logan huffed a laugh, “Nah, it’s not rude at least to us. It wasn't exactly that we chose not to decorate, it was more that neither of us could really be bothered to do it this year.”

Finn nodded in understanding, he bit at his bottom lip like he was trying to stop himself from saying something until he suddenly couldn't hold it back anymore.

“Can I do it for you?” he asked, “I mean if that's weird I understand. I just think it's nice to have lights and decorations up, it always seems to make people a bit happier, and I love doing it. And I just want to say thank you for being so nice to me the other night and this is the best way I know how, and I hope I'm not being weird, sometimes I come off a little weird. I’m sorry I’m rambling at this point, I’m gonna shut up now.” Finn bit down on his lip again to finally stop himself from continuing to talk as he waited for Leo and Logan to answer.

Logan couldn’t stop himself from grinning at the sweet flustered man in their doorway, “You know what, why not. If you want to decorate for us you are welcome to do it.”

At Logan’s words Finn's entire face lit up with happiness, “Really? I can?” Logan just nodded at him. “Awesome! I’m gonna go grab some things from my car?” With that Finn nearly skipped down the hall away from their dorm.

“Logan,” Leo whispered low against his ear as he wrapped his arms around his partner.

“What?” he asked, letting the door click shut as he leaned back into Leo’s hold.

“You hate Christmas decorations, If I recall correctly you said they were ‘a tacky waste of time and money,’” there was just a hint of lighthearted teasing in Leo’s voice as he tightened his hold on his partner.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing it’s neither my time nor money being wasted then isn't it.”

“Awe Sugar, you made him happy,” Logan could feel the smile on Leo’s lips where they were pressed to his ear.

Logan made a soft little sound in the back of his throat, “I had to Knutty! Did you see how adorably excited he was? How could I say no to that?”

“You’re such a sweetheart Lo,” Leo murmured and pressed a kiss to his ear, “even if you try to play it grumpy.”

—

“Hey Leo?” Logan whispered, he finally looked away from the falling snow to tilt his head back and look up at his partner.

“Hmm?”

“Back then, back when Finn just became a part of our lives, did you ever think we would end up here?”

Leo huffed a laugh, “Do you mean ‘here’ as in the three of us together? Or ‘here’ as in freezing our butts off watching the snowfall at the North Pole?”

“Both,” Logan grinned and nuzzled a little into Leo’s neck, pressing his cold nose against warm skin.

He couldn't see it but he knew with one hundred percent certainty that Leo rolled his eyes before kissing the top of Logan's head and whispering his answer into soft curls.

“Honestly, I don't really know. I wouldn't say I knew the three of us would end up together like this but I think somewhere inside me I did know that the two of you were very special and I hoped we would get to be together. I hoped we would get to be happy and spend our lives with each other in some capacity. And as for being here, at the North Pole, never in a million years could I have seen this coming.”

“Right,” Logan agreed, “You know we’ve been coming up here for years now and sometimes it still feels as impossible as that first time Finn brought us here. I know its a little silly after this long but it’s still kinda a mind fuck, I mean Finn’s dad is Santa? We’ve literally met the man and it’s still hard to wrap my brain around.”

“I Know,” Leo pressed his cheek to the top of Logan's head and let his eyes fall back on the drifting snow, “I didn’t believe him at first. I thought he was just joking with us or pulling some sort of prank.”

Logan chuckled, “Yeah, I remember that.”

It felt like forever ago now. After that night Finn had drunkenly stumbled into their lives; it wasn't long before he had found his place with them. The three of them settled into an easy friendship that quickly evolved into something more. But it wasn't until after Leo and Logan graduated, Finn had finished school the year before, that he finally shared the secret that had been eating away at him his entire life.

The three of them had decided to finally move in together now that they were all done with school.

“Guys,” Finn said softly, “I need to talk to you about something.”

Logan glanced over from where he was sitting on the floor opening moving boxes and organizing the content to see Finn set his own large cardboard box down. He looked tense, his shoulders held tight and his face pinched in that look that always meant he had something important on his mind.

After a moment Leo wandered out of the kitchen from where he had been unwrapping their mugs and dishes to put up in the cabinet.

“What’s up Fishy?” he asked, coming up to press a quick kiss to Finn's cheek.

“I- um…” Finn twisted his hands together and bounced a little on his feet, “I’m not entirely sure how to say this, I’m gonna sound like a crazy person.”

“Hey, Finn it’s ok baby,” Logan looked up at him, “I’m sure you won't sound crazy, just tell us. What’s going on?”

“I- I know I should have told you guys this a long time ago but… I just never felt like it was the right time,” he was chewing at his bottom lip anxiously.

Finn took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Alright, here it goes… So I know I've never really talked to you guys about my parents and there’s a reason for that. My dad is… well he’s kinda a unique guy,” Leo and Logan waited patiently for him to continue. “My dad he’s… Santa.”

There was a beat of silence as Finn waited for their reactions.

“Umm? What are you talking about Fish?” Leo asked his brows furrowed in confusion, “Is this a joke? You were scaring me for a moment there.”

“N-no, Le I’m not joking. I know it sounds stupid, but I’m being one hundred percent serious My dad is Santa, I grew up in the North Pole, I have my own bench in his workshop.” As he spoke Finn began pacing back and forth amongst the boxes, “My entire life I’ve never been allowed to tell anyone that. But you two,” he looked from Leo over to Logan still watching from the floor and back up, “you two are so fucking important to me and I had to finally tell you who I am.”

“Finn,” Leo said softly and walked closer to his partner, he gently cupped his palms against Finn’s jaw, “Sugar look at me. I love you with my whole heart but right now this sounds insane. I haven't believed in Santa since I was six years old and now one of the men I love is trying to convince me that he’s Santa’s child?”

“I know it sounds crazy,” tears were gathering in Finn’s big brown eyes, Leo gently brushed away the ones that leaked down his cheeks with his thumbs. “I know it’s a lot to ask you to actually believe in a fairy tale,” Finn made a little sniffle, “but if you don't want to believe in Santa, just believe in me. Believe that I would never lie to you, believe that I wouldn’t make this joke or a prank. Just trust me.”

“We do trust you Finn, baby this is just… a lot.”

—

So… that��s all I had written the rest of the story was supposed to be them remembering the first time Finn brings them to the North Pole. He takes Leo into the shop and makes him a little carved alligator and he introduces Lo to all the reindeer. Eventually Finn was supposed to wander out and find LeLo out watching the snow and pull them back inside into the warmth of their little cottage. Just before he does through they see his dads sleigh shoot through the night sky bells jingling faintly in the quiet of their snow covered world.

#sweater weather #coast to coast #leo knut #logan tremblay #lumosinlove #coast to coast lumosinlove #o’knutzy #christmas #Santa #finn o'hara

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ais-for-alex · 1 year

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Sometimes people like to write things about florist’s shops. Here are two things you need to know, the most egregiously wrong things.

1. It makes no fucking sense to sketch out a bouquet before you make it. Every individual flower is different in a way that cannot really be adjusted the way other building materials can be adjusted, and each individual bouquet is unique. Just put the fucking flowers together.

2. No one — in months and months of working at the flower shop — has ever cared what the flower/color of the flower means. No one’s ever asked. It’s just not something people tend to care about outside of fiction and it’s certainly not something most florists know. You know what florists know? What looks good and is thematically appropriate.

Here’s an actual list of the symbology of flowers, as professionals use it:

Yellow – for friends, hospitals Pink – girls, girlfriends, babies, bridesmaids Red – love Purple – queens White – marriage and death (DO NOT SEND TO HOSPITALS) Pink and purple – ur mum Red, orange, and yellow – ur mum if she’s stylish Red, yellow, blue – dudes and small children Blue and white – rare, probably a wedding Red and white – love for fancy bitches

Here are what the flowers actually mean to a florist:

The Fill It Out flowers:

Carnations – fuck u these are meaningless filler-flowers, not even your administrative assistant likes them, show some creativity Alstroemeria – by and large very similar to carnations but I like them better Tea roses – cute and lil and come several to a stalk, a classy filler flower Moluccella laevis – filler flower but CHOICE Delphinium – not as interesting as moluccella but purple so okay I guess Blue thistle – FUCK YEAH, some fucking textural variety at last! you’re getting this for a dude, aren’t you? Chrysanthemums – barely better than carnations but better is still better Gladiolus – ooh, risky business, someone understands the use of the Y-axis, very good

Focal points:

Long-stem roses – yeah whatever Lilies – LBD, looks good with everything, get used as often as possible Hydrangeas – thirsty fuckers, divas of the flower world and rightly so, treat them right and they make you look good Gerbera daisies – the rose’s hippie cousin, hotter but no one admits it Peonies – CHA-CHING, everybody’s absolute favorite but you need guap Orchids – if this isn’t for a wedding you’re probably trying too hard but they’re expensive so keep ordering them

You know what matters? THE CUSTOMER’S BUDGET. THAT’S TELLING.

-$20 – if you’re not under 12, fuck off, get your sugar something else $30 – good for bouquets but an arrangement will be lame $40 – getting there, there’s something that can be done with that. you can get some gerbs or roses with that and not have them look stupidly solo. $50 to $70 – tolerable $80 – FINALLY. It sounds elitist but this really is the basic amount of money you should expect to spend on an arrangement that matters. That’s your Mother’s Day arrangement. You’re probably not going to spend $80 on a bouquet. $90 to $130 – THE GOOD SHIT, you’re likely to get some orchids $130+ – Weddings and death. This amount of money gets you a memorial arrangement or a handmade bridal bouquet. Don’t spend this on a Mother’s Day or a Babe I Love You arrangement, buy whosits a massage or something.

Miscellaneous:

Everything needs greening and if you don’t think that you’re an idiot.

As a new employee, when you start making arrangements, you can’t see the mistakes you’re making because you’re brand new and you’re learning an art form from the ground up.

With a few exceptions customers don’t have a clear plan in mind. They want you to develop the bouquet for them. They want something that will delight their little sweetbread but you’re lucky if they know that person’s favorite color, let alone flower.

Flower shops don’t typically have every kind of flower in every kind of color. Customers generally aren’t assed about that. Most people don’t care about the precise shade of the rose or having daffodils in July, because they’re not boning up on flower language before they buy. That would imply that they’ve got a clear bouquet in mind and, again, they don’t.

Being a florist is essentially a lot like what I imagine being a mortician is about. You’re basically keeping dead things looking good for as long as possible. You keep the product in the fridge so it doesn’t rot and look horrible by the time the family gets a whack at it, and in the meanwhile you put it in a nice container.

Anyway that’s flowers.

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