Christmas Special! Fluff! (AU in which they celebrate Christmas I guess?) NOTE: Fanart is NEXT chapter not this chapter, more elaboration in the author's note at the end!

Cyno was never one to celebrate the holidays- something which Tighnari knew very well. Yet, ever since Collei became part of their family, the holidays suddenly held a great deal of importance to Cyno. Tighnari would often assure his boyfriend that he didn't have to do anything if he didn't want to- but the General Mahamatra would always insist upon doing something solely for Collei's sake. It was sweet, really- watching Cyno try his hardest to make the holidays special for Collei was more than enough to put a smile on his face.

Granted, the only thing Cyno knew about holidays was how they came to be; he knew next to nothing about all of the customs that came with it. Try as he might, he'd mix up traditions here and there, or miss one altogether- something which had nearly slipped Tighnari's mind up until now. "Cyno," Tighnari uttered the name with a hint of apprehension and a look of incredulity on his face, his fingers raised to his temple and his eyes glued onto a particular spot on the doorframe.

"Yes, Tighnari?" Cyno's red eyes fluttered upward in the direction where his lover was currently looking. The moment he caught sight of what Tighnari was staring at, the tell-tale signs of a grin lit up his face. "Ah, so you finally found my little surprise." He mused cheekily, waltzing over to where his lover was standing.

Tighnari clicked his tongue, tapping his foot and crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, it's a surprise if I've ever seen one, that's for sure. But, pray tell, what in Kusanali's name is it even supposed to be?"

"It's a Missile Toad, duh." Cyno answered, with all of the confidence in the world.

It took everything in the forest watcher to not burst out into laughter. "A... missile toad?" He parroted. He knew for a fact he heard Cyno right- if it wasn't for his ears, then the actual plastic toad with a toy missile attached hanging from the ceiling told him everything he needed to know. Yet, he didn't want to believe that Cyno was being serious.

"Yeah." The general mahamatra nodded, letting out a prideful huff as he closed his eyes. "I heard about it and..." the haughtiness in his tone had vanished as soon as it made itself known, fading away into something more timid. "I wanted to try it with you."

It was cute, really- save for the fact that it had to have been the dumbest thing that the forest watcher had ever laid eyes on. We all start from knowing nothing, Tighnari had to remind himself, biting his tongue and smoothing out his sweater. As much as he loathed to be the person to do it, somebody had to break the news to Cyno before he made a fool out of himself. "Cyno, dear." Tighnari reached his hand forward, gingerly placing his hand atop his boyfriend's shoulder.

Cyno's eyes fluttered shut as he leaned forward eagerly. Before he could make his move, however, a singular finger was pressed firmly against his lips, prompting his eyes to open up. "Hm?"

"Mistletoe is a plant."

"What?" Cyno's eyes widened for a brief moment, a flash of genuine surprise flickering through them. "It's not a toad?" When Tighnari shook his head in confirmation, Cyno's lips instead fell into a pout. "But it took me like, three hours to glue these missiles to the toad!"

Something about the way that Cyno sounded so distressed pushed Tighnari over the edge- prompting the forest watcher to throw his head back in a fit of laughter. "Oh my archons," he howled out, wiping a stray tear with his free hand. "Did you really think people just casually hung up toads and missiles?"

"I mean..." Cyno's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "I did think it was a little weird at first, but all I wanted was a kiss, honestly."

As Tighnari lifted his head back up, he had never felt so much disbelief before. Not at all due to the fact that Cyno genuinely believed in the missile toad (it wasn't his fault that he had never learned about mistletoe)- Tighnari just couldn't believe how much he loved his boyfriend to the point where it hurt sometimes. It was the thought that counted; and quite honestly, the thought of kissing his lover sounded incredibly appealing right about now. "Come here, you absolute buffoon." Wrapping his other arm around Cyno's neck, Tighnari pulled himself closer, meeting his lips and giving him the very thing he had sought out in the first place: a kiss under the Missile Toad.

Author's Note

Oh my god I'm actually so dumb. I genuinely thought Tighnari's bday was before Christmas- but little did I know that I had his birthday mixed up with Layla's LOL. The fanart will be in the next chapter, which will be released on Tighnari's bday, the 29th! Thank you so much for your patience! If you want to see updates like these beforehand instead of finding out on the day of posting, then follow my twitter (same username as here). Also, the fanart for next chapter may or may not have been already uploaded on there, so if you want a sneak peek then they. (And once I hit 100 followers on there, I'll open requests! We're so close!)

Word Count: ~800 Words