Fool's Holiday ☾Malum

05

Michael was having a dreadful day, he'd spilt hot chocolate on himself on his way to work - which he was already late for at the time - and then someone had jammed the printer, he looked like a subjective painting when he finally left the copying room, light blue button up displaying cyan and magenta splatters all up his sleeves and surprisingly down his back, which his hot co-worker oh so kindly pointed out.

And, at break, some asshole used the last bit of hot chocolate mix to make themselves a fucking mocha. Just to add to the absolute riot of working on Christmas Eve, his boss didn't even give him a Christmas bonus the year.

Work a desk job, they said. It'll be easy, they said. Michael nearly scoffed.

To top it all off, Michael's neighbour happened to be pulling into his driveway the same time Michael was.

The man in his mid-forties gave Michael a wave, at this point, the pale lad practically had steam rushing out his ears and he was fully prepared to kick the crap out of his neighbour if he did anything other than wave.

"Up yours, Craig!" Michael yelled, kicking a small snow dune on his way up to the door. Craig silently went about his day, ignoring Michael's rude reply with little more than a shake of his head.

With keys in hand, Michael grasped the doorknob when he finally realized something was different. At first, he couldn't detect a thing, looking up and down his snow covered lawn to see if Craig had let his ugly rat-dog piss in his yard again. Nothing.

It wasn't until he turned around that his eyes met the petite snowman with a matching white scarf. In his minor rage, his eyes had easily skipped over the small snow being on the way to the door, his mood subsided a little although he couldn't yet figure out why. Something in his mind was set at ease when seeing the miniature Frosty, something in his mind wouldn't let him in on the secret though.

Michael thought nothing more of the adorable pile of snow, dismissing it as a prank from the neighbourhood children. One to set the common Christmas avoiding lad on edge.

He was so preoccupied he didn't even realize he hadn't unlocked the door on his way in, he just dropped his keys on the table with a heavy sigh. Michael wanted nothing more than to flop down in his bed and sleep the rest of the day off, and maybe if he was lucky, he'd sleep through the next day too.

On his way upstairs Michael smelled something off about his home, the regular smell of cleaner and pizza was practically gone from the atmosphere. The scent seemed pretty foreign now that Michael had picked up on it, the smell was overwhelming and he managed to track it back into the kitchen without much trouble.

From what he could tell, the kitchen was perfectly pristine, save for the new addition. Michael approached the plate with caution, it wasn't often that he got up close and personal with this sort of treat. The icing work needed serious practice, Michael could see that whoever had attempted a couple video game characters with little success. The gingerbread men were stacked neatly on a plate in the middle of the marble counter and Michael's mind was forming a conclusion, it just needed a few more hints.

The pale boy could feel a headache coming on, rubbing his temple with the palm of his hand. Michael decided tiredly that he'd deal with this tomorrow, right now he just really needed sleep.

He made his way back up the stairs with a yawn, carelessly shrugging off his jacket and ditching it on the banister. He was basically asleep already, his body on autopilot until he could get under his covers.

Unfortunately, Calum's bladder chose this time to make an appearance. Calum couldn't wait much longer so he opened the guest bedroom's door directly into Michael's face.

Calum couldn't stop to apologize because he was literally about to pee his pants, Michael just kind of remained on the carpeted floor with a throbbing head and heavy eyes.

When Calum finally did leave the bathroom, bladder relieved, he found poor Michael curled up Ina haphazard ball on the floor, eyes shut tightly. He couldn't really believe how Michael managed to fall asleep right then and there.

He was both impressed and worried, this was definitely one way to say welcome home that wouldn't be forgettable.