Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

❆❆❆

“Ahh, December!” Daniel wondered aloud, standing behind the timber desk of the chalet’s lobby. “The busiest month of the year.”

“Man, what are you on about?” Max grumbled, looking up from the computer at the desk. “Why are you talking like you’re narrating a voiceover in a cheesy Christmas movie?”

“Because, my delightful Dutch brother,” Daniel continued, quipping a typical ‘Daniel nickname’. “I choose to live my life with joy and whimsy, like the lead character in a Hallmark movie; it is the only way.”

“Suit yourself,” Max mumbled, rolling his eyes and looking back to the computer, which was open to an Excel spreadsheet showing the day's check-ins and check-outs.

“You should try it some day,” Daniel laughed, playfully slapping Max across the shoulder. “It’d do you some good.”

At that moment, a young man with curly hair appeared, pushing a large cleaning cart laden with mops, buckets and brightly-coloured bottles.

“Whoa!” Daniel called out, stepping in the direction of the cleaning cart, grabbing a precariously wobbling pile of bedsheets before they fell over. “Almost had a catastrophe there, didn’t we, Gabsters?”

The young man, Gabi, quickly took the pile of bedsheets and hastily began rearranging the cart so it’s less likely to collapse.

“Yes, sorry, Danny,” he apologised profusely. “It won't happen again.”

“Not to fret, my Brazilian amigo,” Daniel laughed. “Now, why are we in such a rush? Is Alex giving you a hard time?”

“Oh, no, not Alex,” Gabi mumbled. “Mr. Stroll, the VIP in the mountain view suite, is being a little particular.”

“Big Stroll or Little Stroll?”

“Big Stroll, of course.”

“Ahh, I thought so. I’ll have a little conversation with him tonight, over a glass of whisky, of course, can’t have my VIP guests thinking they’re the boss of my staff,” Daniel said, patting Gabi on the back, who began to wheel the trolley across the lobby in the direction of the staff-only corridor leading to the laundry room.

Daniel turned, facing back towards Max, who was now on the phone, muttering something about deliveries.

“Oh, never mind,” Daniel mumbled. “I’ll go annoy Georgie instead.”

Daniel threw Max a cheeky wink, to which the Dutchman rolled his eyes and continued talking into the phone.

❆❆❆

George was, of course, in the office. Poring over a stack of papers, he flicked through them, looking between them and a laptop, which was open to a rather hideous-looking spreadsheet tracking the chalet’s expenses. As Daniel entered the room, George paid little attention to the Australian, keeping his attention firmly on the work laid out in front of him.

“Ahh, George,” Daniel said, collapsing onto the sofa in the corner of the room. “How are things in the mysterious land that is the back office going today?”

“Good,” George said curtly, not looking up from the papers in front of him. “We’re looking good. I’m projecting that profits this Christmas season are going to be higher than last year.”

“Excellent,” Daniel said. “Especially given I’ve got 19 little compadres on the payroll this year. How’s the day looking?”

“Good, the weather is calm, so there will be lots of activity on the slopes. Both Fernando and Jack are already out, and Liam is preparing the shuttle for the first tour at ten. Carlos is taking a group up to the summit of Mount Louda. We’ve got three new parties arriving today, the Wolff package is checking in at three, the Vowles’ at three-thirty and then this evening, Charles’ family and friends are arriving. I’ve asked Alex to get housekeeping to give the spa a full clean over today, and-”

“Whoa, easy tiger,” Daniel said, his eyebrows raised. “This is supposed to be a relaxing winter retreat, not the navy, no need to micromanage everything down to the shape of the snowflakes!”

George let out a quick sigh.

“Sorry, boss,” he said. “I’m getting carried away again, aren’t I?”

“Yes, my beautiful British bauble, you are,” Daniel laughed. “Though it’s no wonder how we’ve been able to become the top chalet this side of the Alps, all thanks to you and your Georgeness.”

“Thank you?” George responded, not quite sure whether to take Daniel’s comment as a compliment or not.

At that moment, the door popped open, and a curly-haired man wearing an elf hat popped his head in.

“Ahh, Lando, what’s up?” Daniel asked, clocking the slightly flustered look on Lando’s face. “How are things over on Kids’ Island?”

“Not good…” Lando mumbled, looking at the floor. “One of the kiddos has spewed all over the place; it doesn’t smell good, then another spewed as well, and the ball pit is now a no-go zone.”

George let out a groan.

“I’ll ask Alex to send someone down. In the meantime, try to keep things in some semblance of normality, okay?”

“Rightyo, no fires!” Lando giggled, popping his head behind the door and madly dashing away.

❆❆❆

Meanwhile, in the kitchens, the kitchen staff were clearing away after breakfast and preparing for the next load of work - lunch.

Yuki, the head chef, was already busy with a skillet, cooking up a fancy dish for the VIP guests, a craft he took incredibly seriously. His subordinates, Kimi and Isack, were considerably less busy, scraping and cleaning up a pile of dirty plates and bowls. As Kimi loaded items into a large industrial dishwasher, Isack sprayed them with the large hose-like sink (and, of course, threw the occasional spray in Kimi’s direction).

The other side of the kitchen was a much quieter and calmer zone, where Ollie was hard at work icing cakes. As the chalet’s baker, it was his responsibility for all things bread, cake and cookie.

An oven alarm began to beep loudly, which spooked Kimi and Isack, who ended up creating a total mess, Kimi accidentally kicking over a bin and Isack spraying water all over the place like an out-of-control cartoon fireman’s hose. Ollie laughed, checking some cookies in the oven, then turned his attention back to the cakes, which he decorated with small snowflakes and green pine trees.

“They’re sick,” Kimi commented as he passed, looking at the cakes over Ollie’s shoulder.

“Oh, thanks,” Ollie responded, quickly blushing a shade of red that matched that of his Christmas-themed apron. “They’re not my best work.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” the Italian blabbered with a feverish smile. “They look brilliant, and I’ll bet they taste just as good as they look!”

“Oh, you’re too kind,” Ollie responded back, a giddy grin on his face.

At that point, Yuki appeared behind them, as if he’d teleported over.

“Ehem,” Yuki loudly interrupted, spooking both Ollie and Kimi. “You are being pad to work, not chit-chat!”

Both Ollie and Kimi giggled and then quickly fumbled about, trying to get back to work as quickly as possible, while Yuki walked away muttering to himself.

“You still good for tonight?” Kimi asked, trying his very best to look inconspicuous (he was failing).

“Yes, meet me in the restaurant after we finish,” Ollie whispered back, smiling as he looked to the floor earnestly.

“Of course,” Kimi responded. “I’ll be there at nine-thirty, on the dot.”

❆❆❆

In the lobby, Max was bored, waiting for the next party of arrivals to appear. Looking over the spreadsheet on the computer screen, he noted that the next arrival was a Mr. Wolff, an Austrian businessman and his wife, who were here for a luxury Christmas retreat. To be perfectly honest, Max didn’t get the whole deal of Christmas; he never liked it. Though that was in part because of his childhood, and the less said about that, the better.

So, Max let his mind wander, taking in the soft twinkle of ambient piano music coming from across the lobby. Daniel had decided, like all luxury mountainside ski lodges should, that his lodge would have a grand piano in the lobby. And, of course, that meant that he needed someone to play said piano. The person for that job turned out to be none other than Charles Leclerc, a Monegasque musical prodigy whom seemed perfectly content to simply sit and play the piano all day as people toed and froed around him, perhaps carrying out skis and snowboards for an exciting day on the slopes. Max would be perfectly fine to listen to the music all day, it certainly beat out listening to the radio, which was now firmly into the time of the year where they played the same six Christmas songs on a loop.

“Enjoying the view, are we?” came a voice from behind, almost causing Max to jump out of his skin. Turning around, he found that the voice was Daniel, because of course it was.

“Huh?” Max honked, maybe a little too loudly, which attracted the attention of a passing guest, who eyed them suspiciously as she dragged a pair of skates towards the front door.

“I said, enjoying the view?” Daniel repeated himself, smirking.

“I don’t get what you’re talking about, man,” Max huffed, trying to make himself look busy in the hopes Daniel would go away.

“Love is a funny thing, don’t you think?” Daniel whispered, mysteriously. ‘Great,’ Max thought to himself. ‘He’s being all… Daniel today.’

“Daniel, what are you on about?” Max shot back.

“You know, I hear that musicians are all the rage nowadays, which is lucky since you might have noticed we have a beautiful, young, talented and rather dashing pianist here with us.”

“Daniel, for the last time! I… I do not… ugh, just go away!” Max responded, his ears flushing red.

“Okay,” Daniel responded with a cheeky grin. “But just remember, the longer you wait for love, the more likely it is that Charles will move on. Which would be a shame, given how he clearly has the hots for you…”

Daniel began to sneak away, leaving a spluttering Max mumbling to himself.

“Daniel… that’s ridiculous, Charles doesn’t… I don’t…” Max spluttered, words failing him, much like how they did when Charles looked at him.

Oh, what was the point in lying to himself anymore?

❆❆❆

“So, how did it go?” Isack pressed Kimi, conveniently entering the large walk-in pantry while Kimi was retrieving a sack of flour.

“Heh, wha?” Kimi spluttered.

“You know, the date?” Isack continued, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“It was good,” Kimi mumbled. “Though I’m not sure it was really a date, we just had a meal together.”

“And then you went for a romantic walk together, and he gave you flowers! Mate, that’s a date if I’ve ever seen one!”

“I know, I know,” Kimi responded. “But we, you know, never said it was a date, like properly, I don’t want to rush it or anything, what if he gets scared off?”

“Kimi, relax!” Isack said, shaking Kimi. “Ollie’s, like, actually in love with you! He gets all giddy when you’re around, it’s so adorable.”

Kimi smiled.

“I guess he does. You know, it’s quite cute when he does that.”

Damn. He was down bad for the cute baker boy.

❆❆❆

That evening, as the snow outside began to fall heavier and heavier, Charles began to pace in circles around the lobby, anxiously looking up at the clock every few seconds.

Eventually, Max had had enough. He quite missed Charles’ piano, and it was quite distracting to have Charles pacing round and round in his peripheral vision.

“You okay, man?” The Dutchman asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Charles immediately responded, not at all convincingly.

“You sure, ‘cause you don’t look like it.”

“It’s just, my mother, and Arthur… they should have been here almost an hour ago, and it’s getting so bad out there, I just can’t stop thinking, what if something bad’s happened? What if they’ve-”

“Everything will be fine, Charles,” Max said, getting up from his chair and placing a hand on Charles’s shoulder, which seemed to soothe him a little. “They’re probably held up in traffic. I can’t imagine how bad it must be out there.”

Max steered Charles in the direction of one of the sofas, encouraging his… friend to sit down.

“Relax,” Max said. “There’s no point worrying, it won't do anyone any good.”

“You’re a really good friend, Max,” the Monegasque smiled at Max, his eyes sparkling.

As Max looked into Charles’s eyes, he couldn’t escape a nagging feeling that Daniel was right. No, scratch that, he was right, of course, Max was absolutely mad for Charles.

It was at that moment that the sound of wind whipped around the room in an icy chill as the doors to the chalet swung open, and four very cold-looking people scarpered in, slamming the door shut behind them.

“Maman!” Charles cried, jumping up and rushing over to the eldest of the four, his mother. He threw his arms around her tightly before turning to a tall man next to him. “Arthur, so good to see you… And Logan, oh, we’ve missed you!”

A man with blonde hair, who had his arm around Arthur, smiled and raised a fist, encouraging Charles to bump him.

“It’s good to be back in the madhouse,” he quipped, in an American accent.

The final person, a young man with neatly combed brown hair, stood aside, not trying to make a fuss, not that Charles would be having any of it.

“Ahh,” Charles said, turning to the mystery guest. “You must be Oscar, you’re Logan’s friend, aren’t you?”

“Oh, yeah, I am,” Oscar replied, nervously. “I must say, it’s very lovely here, Pascale. I can’t thank you enough for inviting me here this Christmas.”

“Oh, nonsense, as soon as I heard you’d be spending Christmas alone, I knew that I wouldn’t let that happen,” she responded, to which both Arthur and Logan nodded very feverishly.

At that moment, Lando entered the lobby, having heard the commotion from down the corridor.

“Oh, Mrs. Leclerc, lovely to see you!” Lando giddily shouted across the room before pausing upon sighting the newcomer. “Oh, hey, I haven’t met you before. Are you a friend of Charles’s?”

“I’m a friend of Logan’s, but Pascale very kindly invited me here with the family for Christmas.”

“Sweet, I’m Lando! I run the daycare here, and by night, I’m DJ Norris, on the ‘tunes.”

“Sounds fun, I’m Oscar, by the way.”

Lando smiled. Oscar smiled back. Meanwhile, everyone else exchanged glances. They had an idea where this was going…

❆❆❆

Chapter Text

❆❆❆

“So, we totally all saw that, right?” Logan asked, as he, Arthur and Charles sat by the fireplace in the chalet's main lounge. It was a large room, with multiple cosy sofas and armchairs dotted around for guests to use, and on one wall, a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the valley below, where the lights of a small town were just visible through the snowfall.

“If by ‘that’, you mean Lando being a massive simp, then yeah,” Charles responded, sipping a glass of red wine.

“And Oscar was totally into him as well,” Arthur added. He and Logan were curled up on one of the sofas, snuggled together under a blanket they'd found, Logan wrapping his arms around Arthur.

“Oh, 100%,” Logan added, nuzzling his head into the crook of Arthur's neck. “I hope they get together. I think they'd be a really cute couple. If I know Oscar as well as I do, then I think him and Lando will be just right for each other, you know how they're both kids at heart, just Lando is an agent of outward chaos, while Oscar is one for secret scheming chaos?”

“You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?” Charles quipped, looking at Logan sternly.

“....no,” Logan mumbled, with noticeable hesitation.

“Loges, did you invite Oscar here just to set him up with Oscar?” Arthur asked, flashing a flirty look at Logan.

“You know me too well, babes,” Logan responded, pressing a kiss to Arthur's temple, earning an eye roll from Charles.

“Don't think I didn't see that,” Arthur shot at Charles, playfully. “Besides, big brother, you can't judge me for being happily in a relationship when you're as single as ever.”

“I am perfectly happy, thank you very much,” Charles retorted. “I don’t need a relationship to feel satisfied in life.”

“Sure, sure,” Arthur snorted. “And I’m the Queen of England.”

The three of them remained like that for a while, laughing and joking like it hadn’t been nearly a year since they were all in the same room together. Arthur and Logan remained cuddling together on the sofa, which Charles tried not to be jealous about. Not that he wanted Logan, but the fact that he’d been single for so long now, just waiting for the right person to come along, was tiring. It seemed, to Charles, at least that nobody even paid any interest to him; they all seemed pretty complacent to walk past the pretty boy on the piano without a second thought.

Looks like it’s another Christmas alone.

❆❆❆

The room was chilly as Alex slunk across the room, clambering into the bed. Beside him, George was still at work on a laptop, the light from the screen illuminating the wall behind him.

“Baby, it’s time you put the laptop down,” Alex whined, pushing the lid of the laptop closed. “You’ve been working nonstop all day, I don’t want you to burn yourself out.”

George looked at Alex with his puppy dog eyes. The kind of eyes that said ‘Please, just five more minutes.’

“You know how busy it is at the lodge this time of year,” George tried to reason. “It’s-”

“The busiest time of the year, I know,” Alex responded, putting his arm around George. “That’s exactly why you need to take breaks. The world wont fall apart if you take a break.”

“I know, I know, but I just can’t stop worrying, you know?” George whispered, the only sound from the otherwise empty apartment they shared in the village just below the ski lodge. “I just keep thinking, y’know, what if something disastrous happens, and I can’t fix it, all those people, out of work, and now that everything is getting so expensive…”

Alex turned George’s head, so their eyes met, greeting George with a stern, but loving look.

“You are only one person, George,” Alex said, bluntly. “It’s not your job to fix the world.”

“I know-”

“Of course you know, but when will you understand?”

They sat in silence for several unbroken minutes, listening to the sound of the wind outside, whistling between the slate rooftops and the gentle patter of snowfall on the balcony.

“I’ve asked Daniel for some time off in the new year,” George eventually said, breaking the silence. “For both of us… I want to go home for a while.”

“But this is our home?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Back to England,” George responded. “Crazy as it sounds, but I miss it. Even the miserable grey weather, and the smell of cow shit that hangs around King’s Lynn.”

“I guess it has been a while,” Alex laughed. “I like it.”

❆❆❆

Up at the lodge, the snowfall was much heavier, and the gentle whistling of the wind in the town was more of a howling gale. In a bed that was far too big for one person, Oscar laid, staring up at the timber beams of the ceiling, thinking.

About him.

Lando. The pretty boy from earlier, who’d simply stepped into Oscar’s world and shaken him up like the snowglobe this entire place resembled. From the instant that he appeared in Oscar’s vision, the boy had made his stomach feel all twisty, in a way that he hadn’t felt for a long time. In a way that made him immediately all nervous and blush in a way Logan and Arthur would be eager to tease him over. This boy was different. He wasn’t just a random pretty boy, he was a confusing package of emotions, all neatly wrapped up with a festive bow.

Oscar tried to tell himself that it was a momentary crush, and that he was probably straight, anyway, there’s no way a guy that attractive would ever even look at him, Oscar, who’s all awkwardness. But something keeps nagging at the back of Oscar’s mind, something telling him to not give up.

❆❆❆

As the cold sun rose over the lodge, Max yawned as he unlocked the great front doors, hearing the familiar sound of the bus trundling up the twisted road from the village, no doubt carrying all the employees who didn’t stay overnight. Max liked the quiet before the guests woke up, before it was all hectic commotion and clueless middle class mothers failing to understand why their darling child couldn’t go down the steepest slope on their first attempt. Sometimes, Max wondered how he got through the days without completely crashing out (hint: it had something to do with calming piano music).

The door slowly creaked open, and a stream of people came in, all quickly unwrapping layers of coats and scarves, for the fireplace and central heating meant they were very much not required inside the lodge.

“Morning!” Kimi greeted Max with a giddy grin as he passed. Max made note of the fact he looked happier than usual, quickly putting it down to the fact that him and Ollie looked even closer than usual, at a distance where there hands could ‘accidentally’ brush together. ‘Kids’, Max chuckled to himself. ‘They think they’re so inconspicuous.’

“Hi,” came a voice from behind. Max turned around to see it belonged to Charles, who was standing near his piano, still in his pyjamas, the shirt of which hung loose around his waist in a way that made Max’s stomach twist-and-turn.

“Hi Charles,” Max responded, letting himself smile a little. “I didn’t know you were staying overnight?”

“It wasn’t a planned thing,” max admitted, chuckling. “I ended up staying really late last night; me, Arthur and Logan were having a catch up, and then it was so late, and so snowy, and I’d missed the bus.”

“Where did you sleep?” Max asked, cocking his head. “And the pyjamas? Where did you get them from?”

“I borrowed the pyjamas off Arthur,” Charles said, darting his eyes around. “That’s why they’re a bit big.” Charles blushed, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “And I slept on one of the sofas in the lounge, it wasn’t the comfiest, serves me right I guess for loosing track of time.”

“Mate, you should have come and found me,” Max said. “You could have had my bed!”

“Then where would have you slept, silly?” Charles laughed. Max had to bite his tongue to resits responding with ‘also in my bed.’

“Heh, good point I guess,” Max eventually giggled, fully aware he looked like a schoolgirl with a crush. “I’d have worked something out.”

Aside, Daniel and George were watching from behind the desk, Daniel already wearing one of those novelty christmas tree hats that dances about and blares christmas music if you press a button.

“Aww, isn’t it cute?” Daniel commented, indicating to Max and Charles with his eyes.

“Think this Christmas they’ll finally get their crap together?” George asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Blood hope so,” Daniel muttered. “I don’t think I can make my hints any more obvious without directly telling them to kiss.”

“I’m just glad you haven’t resorted to baiting them with mistletoe yet,” George laughed.

“No, no, it has to feel natural,” Daniel commented. “The moment their first kiss happens, there will be fireworks in my heart.”

“You’re too obsessed with our love lives, you know that?” George playfully said.

“I know,” Daniel responded with a smug grin. “And I have great success in meddling, think about it, I got you and Alex together, and Logan with Arthur before he left, and Pierre and Yuki too. And I’m fairly sure that Kimi and Ollie are together now too, so I need a new project to work on.”

❆❆❆

At ten-thirty, Oscar found himself in the lodge’s dining room, at a table with Logan and Arthur, who were doing a very good job at making Oscar feel very single by staring at each other with full-on heart eyes and doing the human equivalent of buffering when the other spoke.

At just the right moment, they were saved by the waiter approaching them, carrying a tray of plates.

“Hello,” the waiter greeted them with a Latin American accent. “I’ve got a full english breakfast?”

“That’s mine,” Arthur said, raising his hand. The waiter passed the plate over to him.

“And a pancakes with ice cream and strawberries?”

“That’s mine,” Logan said, looking proud as the sickly sweet dish was placed in front of him.

“And so I presume the granola is yours?” the waiter said, turning to look at Oscar.

“Yeah, that’s mine,” Oscar replied.

“Mate,” Arthur commented as the waiter walked away. “You’re on holiday, you’re allowed to have a nice meal… not, whatever that is.” Arthur gestured with disgust at the bowl of granola sat in front of Oscar.

“Yeah,” Logan added, his mouth full of pancake. “You’re making us all feel sad and depressed, where’s your Christmas joy and whimsy?”

“I’m perfectly happy with my breakfast, thank you very much,” Oscar commented.

“Sure buddy,” Logan continued. “Boring meal for a boring guy.”

“I am not boring!” Oscar responded, playfully whacking Logan on the arm.

“Ehh, you kinda are,” Logan replied. “I think you scared Franco off then, he was definitely checking you out.”

“Logan, you can’t just keep trying to set me up with your old coworkers!”

“Why not? They’re all very nice people, all Logan approved,” he said, nodding proudly. “‘cept maybe Lando, he’s a wildchild.”

Oscar almost dropped his spoon at the mention of the name. Given the look on Logan’s face, that was intended.

“That got a reaction,” Arthur added with a cheeky smirk.

“I- I-” Oscar spluttered, his words failing him.

“Aww, look at him babe, he’s all hot and flustered,” Logan laughed. “Nah, I’m kidding, Lando’s approved too, go flirt with him again if you want.”

“I- we- I was not flirting!” Oscar said, vainly trying to defend himself.

“Hmm, sure,” Arthur replied, looking at Oscar suspiciously. “I’ll believe that when Logan learns how to stop being the most stereotypical American on the planet.”

“Ouch,” Logan commented back. “Didn’t need to go for the low blow there babe.”

“I’ll show you a low blow,” Arthur said back, to which Oscar groaned in despair, burying his face in his hands. “Anyway, I love all your silly little Americanisms, especially when you wear your cowboy hat in-”

“Lalalalalalalala!” Oscar started singing aloud, drowning out the end of Arthur’s sentence. Both Logan and Arthur began howling with laughter.

“We embarrassing you bud?” Logan joked, his grin snow even wider and smuger. Oscar could only groan in response. It was going to be a long Christmas with these two goobers.

❆❆❆

“Hey!” came a cheery voice, startling Oscar a little as they all prepared to go out skiing for the morning. It was Lando, because of course it was.

“Oh, hey,” Oscar managed to mumble, hoping that Logan and Arthur, who were busy using selecting skis as an excuse to flirt, wouldn’t notice.

“Off skiing today?” Lando asked.

“Yeah, not my thing really, but Arthur and Logan wanted to, so I’m along for the ride,” Oscar commented, smiling a little as he breathily laughed.

“Don’t like skiing, but on holiday to a ski lodge?” Lando laughed, pointing out the irony as if wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah, um, I guess when you think about it like that, um, it does sound a little silly,” Oscar giggled, making a conscious decision to avoid eye contact with the pretty boy opposite him. “Anyway, um, don’t you have somewhere to be? Screaming kids to look after, y’know?”

“Haha, real funny,” Lando sarcastically commented. “Don’t even get me started, I’ve got one little rich shit that thinks he owns the place.”

“Sounds like a fun job, maybe I’ll have to help you out then,” Oscar joked.

“Oh no mate, enjoy your holiday,” Lando spewed, not quite clocking the joke. “If skiing isn’t your thing, you should totally go down to the village at some point, there’s a great Christmas market, and there’s an ice skating rink as well, it’s not just skiing ‘round here.”

“I guess I’ll have to then,” Oscar replied. “Though I don’t think Logan or Arthur will, so I guess I’ll have to make the trek by myself.”

“Oh, well what about if I took you,” Lando spat out, before quickly panicking. “If- if you’re okay with that, obviously. I don’t wanna force you to do anything that would make you uncomfortable or anything, of course!”

“Sounds cool, when would be best for you?”

“Well, we’ve got our staff christmas meal tonight, but I’m finished at 5 tomorrow, we could go down then, I know the quickest route so it wont take more than half an hour to walk down.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

❆❆❆

Chapter Text

❆❆❆

“Before we all get drunk,” Daniel declared, standing at the head of a long table, the lodge employees all seated around it. “I want to make a little toast. To you, my little lodge family. When I started this place all those years ago, I never expected for it to become what it is today, and that is down to you guys. You guys are what made this place something… real. Thank you.”

At once, everyone cheered, raising their glasses in the air. Charles was already getting a little emotional, wiping his eyes on a napkin, something that didn't go unnoticed by Max, sitting opposite. The table descended into chatter, mostly about life stuff. Daniel sat at the head of the table observing. George and Alex were staring at each other from adjacent seats with the same gooey eyes they'd had when they first fell in love all those years ago. Opposite them, Ollie and Kimi were next to each other, holding hands under the table, and exchanging the giggles and sneaky glances of young lovers. Further down, Max and Charles were talking nonsense to each other across the table, much to the chagrin of Esteban and Fernando next to them. Down the far end, Nico, Gabi and Isack were laughing at something on Gabi's phone, and Carlos and Lando were pranking Lewis by putting salt in his water. Pierre had an arm around Yuki, and the two were whispering quietly to one another. Franco and Jack were chatting with Liam about video games. Daniel was happy that his people were thriving. They were, in a way, his family.

As the conversation died down, Yuki stood, clinking a fork to his glass.

“Everyone, I have an announcement,” Yuki declared, in a poised way. Daniel looked at him with a sad smile, as he knew what this was about. “I'm sorry to tell you all that this will be my last Christmas here at the lodge. I'm leaving.”

The table fell silent, interrupted by only a few stray gasps.

“It's not your guy's fault… I've had an amazing job opportunity that I just couldn't turn down. I'll miss you all so much… so so…” Yuki trailed off, sitting down with tears in his eyes, as Pierre wrapped his arms around Yuki, hugging him tight. Daniel made a mental note to check in with Pierre later; he didn't seem too okay with Yuki leaving and was clearly pretending to be okay.

“We’ll miss you, man,” Liam said. “Damn, I'll miss you, bud. Go smash it.”

“Thanks,” Yuki replied. “I'll miss you too, Liam.”

“Is Pierre also leaving?” Charles asked, looking towards his best friend.

“No,” Pierre replied, looking down at the table in front of him. “I'm not leaving.”

“Pierre and I both agreed the best thing was for him to stay here; my new job requires me to move, and it wouldn't work with both of us.”

“Wait-” Lando interrupted. “You two aren't breaking up, are you?”

“No, no,” Yuki confirmed. “We're going to be long-distance for a while, and then we'll see from there.”

“Oh, thank god,” Lando sighed. “If you two were breaking up, then I wouldn't be able to believe in love anymore!”

Everyone let out a laugh. Slowly, the conversation built back up, everyone silently collectively agreeing to make the most of the time they had left together.

❆❆❆

Gentle.

Calming.

Relaxing.

The sound of Charles’s piano drifts through the afternoon air as Max works, slowly letting himself get lost in the music. He could sit like this forever, listening to Charles smoothly hone his craft.

Fuck.

He’s so down bad.

Charles is oblivious. He doesn't realise that the man he’s looking for isn’t so far away after all - he’s in the same room.

❆❆❆

“Hey, Daniel,” Alex said, popping his head into the office.

“Hello, my beautiful Thai nugget,” Daniel smiles, looking up from a computer. “How can I help you?”

“Is George around? I wanted to ask him something,” Alex said.

“Ahh, your marvellous boyfriend is out on an errand at the minute, I thought he could do with some fresh air.”

“About that,” Alex said, looking at the floor. Daniel’s smile dropped. “So you’ve noticed it too.”

“Yes, I have,” Daniel said, folding his arms. “George is an amazing person, and he’s the best manager I could ask for, but…”

“But he’s running himself dry.” Alex finished. “The other night, he told me he’d booked time off for both of us. I don't want to accuse him of lying, but I don’t believe him.”

The look on Daniel’s face tells Alex it isn’t true.

“This is the first I’ve heard,” Daniel says.

“So then why is he lying to me?” Alex said. “And about something I could so easily find out the truth about?”

“Something’s not right with our Georgie,” Daniel mutters.

“Agreed.”

❆❆❆

“Where are you off to?” Logan questioned Oscar as he and Arthur bumped into Oscar in the corridor, who was walking down to the lobby in his coat and a woolly hat.

“Oh, um, nowhere,” Oscar mumbled, hoping it would suffice. It didn't. Both Logan and Arthur looked at him, unimpressed. “If you must know,” Oscar sighed. “I'm going down to the town, Lando offered to show me around, and…”

“Lando's taking you, is he?” Logan commented suggestively.

“Not like that, you div,” Oscar said, rolling his eyes. “We were talking yesterday, and I said that skiing wasn't really my thing, so he offered to show me around. Apparently, there's a really good Christmas market and an ice skating rink…”

“Christmas market and the ice rink?” Logan interrupted. “Bud, that sounds like a date to me!”

“I promise you,” Oscar replied. “It's not a date, I barely even know the guy.”

“Sure, sure,” Arthur added. “It's not a date, just two hot guys who are totally interested in each other going out together to do couple-y things together.”

Oscar started to walk down the corridor.

“Still not a date, mate,” Oscar said, sticking a middle finger up at them playfully.

“Whatever you say!” Logan called down the corridor

❆❆❆

Lando was waiting for him in the lobby, wrapped up snug in a big coat and beanie that made him look like a toasty human sausage roll.

“Ahh, there you are,” Lando said, waving Oscar down. “Good news!”

“What?”

“If we wait just ten minutes, Alex and George can give us a lift down to town, their shift is almost done, and Alex offered to drive,” Lando said, beaming.

“Well, if it’s a free lift,” Oscar said, throwing up his hands. “Then I’m not complaining.”

“Forewarning, they might tease you, well, mostly me, and just you by extension,” Lando admitted, sighing.

“Ahh, sounds like Logan and Arthur then,” Oscar laughed. “Right, I can’t like, I’m sitting down… if you’d like to join.”

They sit there, making small talk. Lando finds it quite funny to point out different members of the staff as they pass by, and to spill the gossip about their personal lives. Turns out, this hotel is even more dramatic than Logan let on. Half the staff seem to be in relationships with each other, and it seems the other half have the hots for a colleague. Lando makes a particular note to point out how Max, the receptionist, can’t go five minutes without stealing glances at Arthur’s brother Charles. The rest of the names and relationships fall deaf on Oscar’s ears, as he has no clue who any of them are outside of passing mention by Logan over the past few years, though he supposes it’s nice to finally put faces to some names.

After around fifteen minutes, two men, who Oscar presumes are George and Alex, approach them. They bring with them an air of tension that uncomfortably hovers in the air. Lando looks them up and down before opening his mouth to speak.

“H-hey guys, still good to give us a lift?”

“Of course,” says Alex.

“Sure,” says George. He doesn’t seem thrilled.

Oscar and Lando exchange glances. As Oscar follows Lando out of the lodge, they walk in a somewhat gloomy procession towards the car park. Partway across, something that Alex and George are whispering about explodes into a full-on argument, causing Lando and Oscar to stop dead in their tracks.

“...Because that’s what people do, George!” Alex shouts, stopping. “They help their friends! It’s a normal thing to do!”

“No, this is just you avoiding an argument!” George shoots back. The irony of his comment isn’t lost on anyone.

“Avoiding an argument?” Alex yells, his voice rising in pitch as he throws his hands up in the air. “Avoiding an argument, I’m avoiding an argument? We are screaming at each other in the car park. If this isn’t an argument, then I don’t know what is!”

“Don’t patronise me!”

“I’m not trying to patronise you, George, I’m trying to care for you!”

“I’m not a baby, I don’t need everyone looking after me all the damn time!”

Oscar looks towards Lando, who looks terrified as he stands in the middle of the two’s screaming match, his mouth dropped open. Oscar can’t help but feel awkward as two people he doesn’t know go at each other's throats. He just hopes he doesn’t have to pick a side.

“George, I’m your boyfriend; it’s my job to care about you!” Alex yells, tears welling in his eyes and his voice wavering. “I’m not babying you,” he continues, his voice dropping. “I’m concerned, we all are.”

“I am fine.” George spits with venom.

“No, you’re not. I just want to help you. Why did you lie to me?”

“Because I wanted to get you off my back, okay! There, I said it.”

George turns and begins walking away.

“George! Where are you going?” Alex calls after him.

“I’m sleeping here tonight,” George says back, not turning to face Alex.

George walks away, into the snow, as Alex crumples into Lando’s arms, sobbing, which leaves Oscar standing awkwardly beside them, unsure of what to do.

Oscar tries not to listen in too much; it doesn’t feel like it’s his place to do so, given the fact that he’s never even met these people before.

“Why won’t he let me in?” Alex sobs into Lando’s chest. “He won't let me in, he won't let Daniel in, he won’t let anyone in, this hotel, this holiday, it’s tearing the man I love apart. All I want for Christmas is for him to let me in, so I can start trying to fix whatever’s wrong.

❆❆❆