[Prompt] Time of Togetherness

Another year has gone by in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it felt long, sometimes it felt short. There were struggles and hardships, some tears were shed, but there were also moments of joy and genuine smiles. As December marches on towards its end and the curtains for the year begin to draw to a close, Lavish takes the time to look back on it all as well as immerse himself in the new holiday.

Although Cherubmas itself was completely new to Burrowgatory, the values it promoted were very familiar and struck a personal chord with Lavi. He had always done his very best to show the buns most important to him just how much he loved and cared about them. Whether it was being intimate with them, outright telling them that he loved them, spoiling them rotten, or even taking it upon himself to personally see to their daily grooming, Lavi did it all with the utmost sincerity.

Admittedly, however, he was skeptical of just how much that sincerity actually got through to them. Perhaps because he was a lust bun or perhaps because they simply didn’t understand, they never seemed to take him seriously when he told them that he loved them... He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness in his heart whenever he thought about it. He didn’t need anyone to love him back. He just wanted to return even a fraction of the happiness that they gave him.

A wistful, barely audible sigh escaped Lavi’s lips as Pepper helped him put on the final accessories to fully coordinate his outfit.

“Sir, you’re... breathtaking..!” Pepper gasped, awestruck by Lavi’s appearance.

“Oh, you really think so~?” Lavi said, playfully batting his eyelashes and feigning ignorance.

Putting his hands on his hips, Pepper puffed out his chest and stated with the utmost confidence, “Absolutely!! Even Velveteen pales in comparison to your radiance!”

“My! You are always so sweet, dear.” Delighted at having received such a compliment, Lavi placed a tender kiss on Pepper’s forehead as a reward.

However, when he looked himself over in the mirror he couldn’t help but think that, despite Pepper’s high praise, such extravagance was wasted on him. Somehow he’d manage to trick everyone else into thinking he was pretty, but no matter how much makeup, no matter how many expensive clothes and accessories, he could never trick himself. He was plain. Unspecial. ...Ugly. The only thing separating him from, say, a hick like Akira, was his money. ...And his impeccable taste. ...And his graceful, elegant personality. ...And his- Ahh, forget it! Perhaps there was no reason to worry after all~!

Despite his reservations about his appearance, this outfit would have to do for now as he was running out of time to get ready. Tonight was the hotel’s Cherubmas party that would be hosted in the lobby in service to all of the esteemed guests that couldn’t be home with their loved ones. Normally Lavi hated anything to do with work. Even his closest friends always say that had he not grown up to be a lust bun sloth was the next most likely outcome. But parties were the exception to that rule and he always put such care and effort into planning them. Admittedly that effort was mostly fueled by the endless praise and compliments he always received from the staff and attendees.

The one regret he had about this party was that his husband wouldn’t be attending. This wasn’t unusual, however. Rikki always seemed to be busy these days, either cooking up some new silly scheme, working off his debt, or..... being with Akira.

“Haha..” Lavi let out a low, despairing chuckle. Even on the day of the party that he had extensively planned and pored over for two weeks, Rikki was probably spending it with Aki. Of course, he wasn’t at all jealous that his husband was being seduced by some uncultured redneck. After all, the contract between Rikki and himself explicitly states that Rikki can be with whoever he wants. If that means he’d rather be off with Aki than at home celebrating Cherubmas with his own husband then so be it.

Lavi had a party to attend and he was going to socialize, get drunk, and have a good time. In spite of his husband’s absence!

It was nearly 11 PM by the time Lavi had managed to finally escape from the party and return to his private chambers. Some of the more talkative guests really did enjoy droning on and on with their boring stories with no regard for any other bun’s feelings on the matter. Thanks to that it was well past his usual bedtime and he was absolutely exhausted.

Pepper, being the dear that he was, helped Lavi change out of his outfit and into his evening attire. Although Lavi thought to himself that he really should be getting to bed soon, it was already too late to get to sleep on time. Thus, in the spirit of Cherubmas, he’d decided to stay up a little longer and spend some private time with Pepper whom he also loved dearly. Just as the two had begun to make themselves comfortable however, they heard a knock on the door. Not just any door, but the one that connected Lavi’s room to Rikki’s room, meaning that it could only be one particular bun.

“Come in, dear.” Letting out a sigh, Lavi granted him permission to enter. He’d really hoped that Rikki wouldn’t make an appearance at this point. He was already quite annoyed with him and didn’t want to accidentally end up saying something that he’d regret.

Letting himself in, Rikki strode across the room towards them in full confidence

looking particularly proud of himself. He didn’t seem to realize what a foul mood Lavi was currently in. This only served to sour Lavi’s mood even more, but despite that he waited patiently for Rikki to say what was on his mind.

“So.....—” Rikki stopped whatever he was about to say, having finally noticed the unamused look on Lavi’s face. Now he awkwardly and looked away, hands hidden behind his back. Now Lavi was becoming doubly annoyed. Spit it out already! Even though he wanted to yell, he kept it inside.

“Uh—” Seemingly unable to find any words, let alone the correct ones, Rikki instead thrust a small box into Lavi’s hands. Taking a moment to process what just happened, Lavi opened the box to find a beautifully embroidered flower accessory inside. Admittedly the craftsmanship was a bit shoddy, but it was still very pretty. With a little bit of fixing up he was sure he could find a use for it. After all, embroidery was one of his hobbies. He’d even done the embroidery on the side of Rikki’s vest that he always wore.

“Sorry it’s so late, I spent all day trying to finish it. I thought maybe you could wear it at the Cherubmas party tomorrow..?” Rikki looked up at Lavi with a pleading face that said, ‘please don’t be mad at me.’ Upon hearing this Lavi’s eyes widened in shock.

“Tomorr—!?” Taking in a deep breath, Lavi then let out a long sigh that he felt like he’d been holding in forever. And with that, his bad mood faded into the air. He effortlessly shifted to a very calm, very amused demeanor. Rikki swallowed anxiously. Pepper looked on in anticipation.

“Rikki, honey. The party was today. It’s already over.”

Rikki quickly pulled out his phone and checked the calendar. Then, as if struck by lightning, let his phone fall to the floor and collapsed to his knees. Both Lavi and Pepper tried their best not to laugh, but Pepper wasn’t totally successful and had to cover his mouth to stifle a giggle that had escaped his lips. Rikki looked away out of shame and embarrassment. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes.

Lavi hopped up off the sofa and cuddled up to the slumped form of his husband to comfort him. He stroked Rikki’s silky black hair and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. While rubbing Rikki’s back Lavi cooed, “It’s alright, my love. Instead of the party, why don’t we spend tomorrow together? All three of us. And I can wear that lovely embroidery you worked so hard on. Wouldn’t that be nice?” Rikki nodded, but was still silent.

Noticing that his husband was uncharacteristically sad Lavi inquired, “What’s the matter, dear? Are you upset that you didn’t get to go to the party?” Rikki shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I wanna make you happy ‘cuz I really really like you. Sniff— But I all I ever do is mess things up and disappoint you. Sob—”

“Oh! Rikki, that’s not true at all! I love you, dear. Just being with you makes me so happy. In fact, the only thing that does disappoint me is not being able to be with you. I wish you would spend more of your time with me.”

“Snjff— But you’re always busy... I don’t wanna bother you.”

“Oh, I don’t care about those boring meetings and appointments dear. I’d much rather spend time with you and Pepper any day. The two of you mean so much more to me than you could possibly know and every day I’m so thankful to have you here. I truly wish that you could feel even a modicum of the happiness that you give to me. So please. Don’t ever think that you disappoint me or that I don’t want to be with you, my love.”

Blushing a bit after hearing Lavi’s speech, Rikki calmed down and the two lovingly embraced. For the rest of the evening and into the next day the three buns delighted in each other’s company. While December may end, and Cherubmas ends along with it, their bond would continue into the next year and hopefully far into the future as well.