Herbs and Spices // snowbaz

a very snowbaz christmas

It was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring... well except Simon and Penelope who were busily setting up their apartment. Well, Penny was.

"Simon, you are not helping in any way, shape or form," she sighed, waving her purple ring to move decorations around the room. They had had it decorated for weeks, but the night before Christmas had Simon looking around the room, suddenly dissatisfied with the layout. Simon looked up from his slumped position on the plush couch, his eyebrows high on his forehead.

"Excuse you, I did heaps of manual labour the other week," Simon said, his lips curving into a mischievous smile, because they both knew he was full of shit. The other week when they had been in the thick of decorating, Baz and Penny had pulled the weight of decorating, casting Christmas themed spells, ("it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"). Simon had mostly spent his time sitting on the counter in the kitchen, eating his way through the pantries. Penny had rolled her eyes at him, and then again at Baz's fond eyes staring at his boyfriend.

"You're a liar," Penny laughed, "the apartment really is beautiful this time of year, Simon." She smiled as her eyes wandered around the warm apartment, the lights from the tree reflecting onto every surface, bathing the cosy room with multicoloured cheer. The apartment smelled nice too, like hot chocolate and pine needles, with a hint of mint swirling through the air. Simon had never much liked his own magic, feeling it's constant overflowing feeling on his skin and in his body, but he enjoyed the beauty of magic. The way it took Penny and Baz only a second to remember a spell to keep the apartment smelling beautiful throughout the entire month of December.

Simon felt at ease this time of year, especially now, with his life being what seemed to be perfect. He was perfectly content with Penny and their apartment, and even more than content with Baz and his frequent (almost permanent) visits to said apartment. The Insidious Humdrum was gone, so was Watford (for them at least.) Agatha had sent them a Christmas card, not full of words but feelings, and that spread to Penny, who couldn't help but smile when it had arrived.

"When's Baz getting here?" Simon was pulled out of his reflective moment by Penny's voice, and he looked up into her expectant face, her eyebrows arched upward as she questioned him.

"Should be here soon," Simon smiled at the thought of Baz (how had they become this couple, this gooey, smiled-everytime-they-thought-about-each-other couple?) "He was having Christmas lunch with his family and then coming over so should be here soon."

He finished to the sound of the doorbell ringing, "Speak of the devil," Simon said, pushing himself up from the couch to stroll over to the door.

He pulled it open and began smiling before it was even fully there, Baz standing on the other side, leaning into the door frame.

"Merry Christmas, Snow," Baz said coolly, his gentle smile lighting fires inside Simon.

"Merry Christmas Sage," the other boy grinned, and Baz groaned, still smiling.

"It wasn't funny the first thousand times, and it remains to be unfunny," he said, stepping into the room and wrapping his arms around the slightly shorter boy. Their lips meet in a comfortable embrace, their bodies all too used to the others by now. Faster than Simon wants, the kiss is over as Baz steps to the side and pushes Simon gently to close the door behind them.

"Baz! Merry Christmas," Penny said, striding across the room to pull Baz into a hug, and maybe because it's Christmas and Baz can feel his chest warming due to the occasion; he wraps his arms around her stomach.

"Merry Christmas Bunce," he smiled into her unruly hair and then pulls back to stand and puts his hand in his pockets, "Well, didn't commercialism come here to die. You guys have put up more decorations than when I was here two days ago."