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"This is ridiculous. Is there even a point anymore? Christmas is practically over already."
"Kaeya, it's December first."
"Exactly. We're so tragically late, we might as well not bother. Starbucks had their decorations up almost two weeks ago."
"Are you seriously comparing us to Starbucks right now?"
"They're our competition, Luc, that's the whole point. We have to compare ourselves to them. What will our customers think of us putting our decorations up so late?"
"Maybe they'll be relieved to see a business that actually celebrates Christmas in the proper timeframe rather than milking it for profit."
"Or maybe they'll just think we're a bunch of Scrooges."
"Have you even read A Christmas Carol?"
"If he's not a duck in it, I don't want it."
"I'm ashamed to call you my brother."
"Why? Because I make you look bad?"
"Will you just shut up and help me put up these lights?"
"Are you sure you shouldn't be going around stealing them off of people's houses instead? All you need is some green fur and you're the Grinch. It'd probably be an improvement for your looks too."
"Dad."
Crepus didn't even bother turning around to look at his sons, his voice a flat monotone. "Kaeya, stop complaining and help your brother decorate."
Diluc shot Kaeya a self-satisfied smirk, receiving a stuck out tongue in response.
"I bet Adelinde would agree with me if she were here," Kaeya said with a huff as he dragged a chair over to the window and climbed up next to Diluc, who passed him part of the string of lights.
"No she wouldn't. She'd tell you it's ridiculous to be complaining about a tradition we've had for over a decade."
"No, she'd tell you that just because it's a tradition doesn't mean it can't be changed. We could be doing this exact same thing, say, the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas brings joy. Why keep that locked up behind some arbitrary date?"
"It's not an arbitrary date. Christmas is in December, and this is the first day of December. If you celebrated Christmas all year round, it would lose it's magic and then it wouldn't bring joy to anyone."
"I'm not saying we should celebrate is all year round. I just don't see why we can't start celebrating it as soon as Thanksgiving is over. Actually, no, I do see why. It's because you don't want anyone else to be happy. You'd rather suck the joy out of everyone's lives like a Dementor."
"Do you just say things to hear the sound of your own voice?"
"You would too, if you had been blessed with a voice like mine."
Diluc rolled his eyes and secured his end of the lights in place and stepping down from his chair to join Crepus by the Christmas tree he was setting up near the front counter. "Is it too late to give him back up for adoption?"
The older man chuckled and shook his head, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "If I remember correctly, you were the one that begged to keep him."
"I also begged for a pet dolphin, that doesn't mean anything."
Kaeya gave an exaggerated gasp from behind them. "I can't believe I'm hearing such words from my own family. Perhaps I should just run away and join the circus. They might appreciate me."
"As long as you take that stupid busker with you while you're at it."
Someone giggled by the staircase at the back of the cafe, causing Diluc to startle slightly and whip around to glare at its source. "Aw, come on now, Mister Diluc, you know you'd miss me too much. And what would the Angel's Share do without its mascot?"
"Good morning Venti," Crepus said, giving Diluc a stern look before he could retaliate.
"Good morning, Crepus," Venti replied cheerily, swinging his guitar case slightly as he made his way towards the front of the store. "Glad to see we're finally putting up the Christmas decorations."
"Finally," Kaeya emphasized, finishing up with his end of the lights and taking his place by the tree and grabbing an ornament from the box. "You see? It's not just me."
"Don't worry, I'm sure the clowns get to celebrate Christmas as early as they want," Diluc deadpanned, earning an amused snort from Crepus that was quickly covered up with a cough and a shoulder from Kaeya.
"Hey, don't knock the circus until you try it," Venti chimed in. "It's quite a respectable career. Of course, it pales in comparison to performing outside of this lovely cafe."
"Does it now?" Diluc asked sarcastically, getting an enthusiastic nod from Venti, who seemed unfazed by his tone of voice.
"Say, now that the cafe is officially getting into the holiday spirit, are there any Christmas song requests? I'll be playing near the fireplace now so you should be able to hear me from inside."
A sly grin crossed Kaeya's face, and he paused in his decorating to swing an arm around Diluc's shoulder and turn him to face Venti. "Personally, I love all Christmas music. But I know Diluc here just loves Mariah Carey."
"Kaeya," Diluc started warningly, but Venti piped up before he could begin to protest.
"Ah, yes, what a talented woman. She was rather proud of that one Christmas song in particular. Hm, what was its name?"
"All I Want For Christmas is You?" Kaeya offered.
Venti snapped his fingers and nodded. "Yes, that's the one. Such incredible vocals too, really made our lyrics come to life. I'll have to give it a shot today, see what the customers think. Thanks Kaeya!"
"Fifteen times." Diluc said, pressing his fingers into his temples. "He has played that song fifteen times in the last three hours."
"Hey, it's bringing in business, isn't it?" Kaeya said, his voice muffled by the chocolate pastry in his mouth as he dangled his legs off the counter he perched on.
Outside, the song came to an end once again and the group of teenagers that had been circled around Venti, singing along at the top of their lungs, swung open the door and stepped inside to look at the menu.
"If I have to hear that song one more time, I'm calling the police."
"You? Let the police handle something? You might just give Chief Varka a heart attack."
Diluc turned to give Kaeya a look, finally noticing his brother's position. "You weren't raised in a barn, get off the counter. And I thought I told you to stop eating all our pastries."
Kaeya shrugged nonchalantly, pushing himself off the counter and joining Diluc by the register. "I was hungry. Don't you think our top barista deserves a treat every now and then?" He gestured to their overflowing tip jar and Diluc scoffed.
"That was hardly all you. And charming our customers into tipping you absurd amounts doesn't mean you're a good barista. Some of us actually work for our tips."
"Now, now, Diluc, there's no need to get jealous. After all, I can hardly compete with your loyal fanbase." The bell above the the door jingled and Kaeya glanced over with a smirk as a group of preteen girls walked in. "Speaking of whom..." He swung a towel over his shoulder and stepped into the lobby, leaving Diluc alone at the front counter. The girls smiled and waved to him as he passed, excitedly gesturing to something blocked from Diluc's view. Kaeya gave them a thumbs up, flashing a quick grin at his brother before busying himself with wiping down tables.
"Good afternoon, ladies," Diluc said as they approached the counter. "What can I get for you today?"
The girls froze in place for a moment, frantically whispering to each other before one of them got shoved forward, holding a tall gift bag in her hands.
"Actually, we wanted to give you this," she said, nervously holding out the bag to him. "You've been super nice to us this year even when we're kind of weird and we just thought we should do something nice for you for a change and..." One of her friends nudged her shoulder, and she trailed off before she could ramble any further. "Yeah."
Diluc blinked at them in surprise and took the bag, carefully removing the tissue paper and pulling out a bottle of sparkling grape juice and a set of stemmed glasses with intricate patterns etched on the rims."
Kaeya said you liked grape juice and the glasses sorta reminded us of you," another one of the girls offered. "Y'know, kinda serious looking but really pretty, like a cool piece of art." Her friends gave her odd looks and she shrugged awkwardly. "If that makes sense."
Diluc cleared his throat and a soft smile slipped onto his face. "I, um... thank you. That was very kind of you all. How about a round of hot chocolates? On the house."
Kaeya sauntered back to the counter, a smug look on his face as he watched the girls made their way to a booth, cups of hot chocolate in hand and excitedly chattering. "Weren't you just scolding me for eating our pastries? And now you're just giving out drinks for free? I'm sensing some double standards happening here."
Diluc said nothing, remaining carefully silent as he cleaned off one of the machines, his face flushed an embarrassed light pink.
"I am proud of you though," Kaeya said, his voice dropping slightly. Diluc looked up with a confused expression and he shrugged. "I'm serious. It's a rare privilege, being a young girl's first crush, let alone a whole group of them. Not everyone handles it very well, and that can be really damaging to a kid. Thanks to you, those girls are going to grow up more confident and mature." Diluc shifted uncomfortably on his feet and Kaeya laughed and lightly punched his arm. "Wow, just a little bit of sincerity and you're all flustered. You're too easy sometimes, Luc."
"Yeah, yeah," Diluc grumbled, shoving Kaeya away and moving to help the next customers in line instead.
"Kaeya, sweetheart, that says three teaspoons of cinnamon, not tablespoons."
"Ah. Right. I knew that. Just testing you, Addie."
"Stop trying to ruin Christmas, Kae."
"Hey, you didn't even know we had to let the dough rise. If we left it up to you our cinnamon rolls would be denser than your head."
"Kaeya." Adelinde fixed the blue haired man with a warning look as he froze with his hand in the flour container, prepared to flick it at Diluc's face. "Either act like an adult or I'll send you to room like a child." She returned to rolling out the dough on the counter in front of her, and without even turning around added, "And Diluc, stop making faces at your brother, it's unbecoming of a young man."
"Yes, Adelinde," both boys said in unison, sheepishly turning back to their given tasks.
"I'll never stop being amazed at your ability to shut them up so quickly," Crepus said amusedly as he entered the kitchen, settling onto a stool by the island to watch the three of them work.
"I consider it a gift," she replied, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth as both brothers gave her an offended look.
Crepus watched them work in a comfortable silence for a few minutes longer until Adelinde had finished rolling up the dough and arranging it neatly in the pan to stick in the fridge. She moved to start putting things away and wash the dishes, but he shook his head and gave her a dismissive wave. "It's Christmas Eve, Adelinde, you should go relax. The boys and I can handle cleanup ourselves."
Adelinde glanced apprehensively between Crepus and his sons, who nodded in agreement before sighing and untying her apron. "If you insist. Just don't cause any trouble, alright?"
"We wouldn't dream of it," Crepus said with a smile, watching as she disappeared around the corner. As Diluc turned his back to begin cleaning, Crepus hopped off his stool to swing an arm around Kaeya's shoulder and whisper in his ear. "You know, you should never throw flour in the kitchen. It's not quite the right texture, doesn't coat things properly. Powdered sugar, on the other hand..." As quietly as possible, Crepus pried the lid off the container of powdered sugar still sitting on the counter and grabbed a small handful, tossing it at the back of Diluc's head.
Without missing a beat, Diluc whirled around on his heel and tossed a handful right into Kaeya's face, who made an indignant sound and made a shot at Crepus.
Within a few minutes, the kitchen was a battleground, covered in white dust and echoing with laughter. It wasn't until the container of powdered sugar had been emptied and the three of them were coated head to toe that they stopped, faces lit up with matching grins.
"Adelinde's gonna kill us when she sees this," Diluc said, leaning against a counter and trying to catch his breath.
Crepus laughed and attempted to shake out his hair. "Guess we'll have to clean it up before she finds out."
"Knowing her she probably already knows and is staying out of here for her own sanity," Kaeya said.
"You're probably right," Crepus replied, stretching out and putting an arm around both of them, pulling them into either of his sides. "But it's Christmas, so she'll have to forgive us. And quite frankly there's no mess I'd rather be cleaning up right now."
"Alright, alright, don't get all sappy on us," Kaeya said, wrinkling his nose and trying to squirm out from under Crepus' arm.
"Just wait until you're a father and see what you say then," Crepus said, tightening his grip around Kaeya's shoulder to block his escape attempt. "I want you both to know how much I love you and how grateful I am to have you around. I couldn't be more proud of either of you."
"We love you too, Dad," Diluc said, giving Kaeya a pointed look.
Kaeya stopped struggling and leaned into Crepus' side instead, reveling in the warmth. "Yeah, we do."
Crepus smiled and planted a kiss on top of each of their heads. "Merry Christmas, my boys."