“Rough night?” he questions, giving me a once over before his eyes find the snowman I had dragged in for Pepper to grind on. The tinsel I bound her hands with lays limply on the floor.
Pepper was okay, though she was far too cheery for anything more than a quick fuck. I preferred her gagged to shut her the hell up for more than five minutes. The tinsel helped with her obsession of running her hands down my body. I know she thought she was seducing me, but it was really just kinda fucking weird.
Looking over at the mess she had left in her abrupt exit, I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face at the memory of her face planting when Nick burst in.
“I’ll make sure it’s cleaned up.” Dragging my ass off the ground was harder than I first thought. My joints ache after a night on the cold concrete.
I didn’t bother to dust myself off as I walked over to the bench, taking another drag of my cigarette before downing the last mouthful of whiskey from the glass I poured before Pepper had arrived.
Arthur was shaking his head when I looked back at him, “Ah to be young,” he said with a smile, “If I did that now, I’d be up all night with reflux.”
He holds out a coffee to me, eyebrows raised to the now empty tumbler. I accept, mumbling a thanks as I take a deep pull from the foam cup, letting the warmth of the coffee and whiskey warm me from the inside.
We both leaned against the bench, looking back at the sleigh, my dick twitching at the pleasant thoughts it now associated with the red and gold monstrosity.
“You’re gonna have to save your cleanup till we get back.” Arthur disturbs my thoughts, pulling my concentration back to him.
“Where are we going?” I ask, taking another pull.
“The present wrapping machine has shit itself and Teddy is just about having a coronary, stressing that everything won’t get wrapped in time.” My lips jerk up in a sly grin at not only Theodore’s distress but that our destination is the factory.
Santa’s workshop had a much nicer ring to it.
The very same workshop that housed Nick’s office.
No time like the present to kick these plans into gear.
I move to grab my tool bag, taking tools off the wall that I thought we might need.
Arthur places his hand on my shoulder, halting my progress. Amusement stains his cheeks, his grin widening as he chuckles under his breath. “You, uh, might wanna go grab a quick shower. You smell like a Swedish Elf brothel.”
“Right.” I drop the tool bag and down the last of my coffee.
“Is that cum on your shoes?” I choke on my mouthful as he calmly swallows his. My eyes immediately drop to the foot Nick was grinding on, finding nothing there, but my reaction is enough to send Arthur into fits of laughter.
Tossing an oil covered rag off the bench at him, I growl, “Gimme five.”
I stalk toward the garage shower, stripping off my overalls and dumping them in the dirty wash basket next to the bathroom.
A wide grin spreads across my face as the water cascades over me and Operation: Fuck My Big Brother circles through my mind.
I barely hold back my eye roll as I walk into the factory behind Arthur. Pepper skipping up to greet us both, causes Arthur to give me a knowing wink before he walks towards the machine that needs the repair.
She runs her candy cane decorated nails down my arm, biting her lip. That apparently is my limit though, as I can’t hold back the shudder her touch elicits from me, acid burning my throat as my coffee threatens to come back up.
Pepper’s eyes narrow at my reaction, but it doesn’t deter her from continuing her conversation like I hadn’t just almost vomited from her touch.
“Crazy how your brother walked in on us last night, right?” She squeaks, the sound of her voice like nails on a chalkboard, while twisting her fairy floss colored hair around her finger in an attempt to look cute.
“Yeah, crazy.”
I wanted to tell her it was even crazier when he dropped to his knees and finished the job she started, only a million times better. I didn't think she would appreciate my commentary though.
Instead, I speed up and lengthen my strides, making her practically have to run to stay by my side. We weave between the hundreds of machines designed to build, process and wrap the toys according to their exact specifications in their Santa letters.
When I first arrived, this was all done by hand, production taking literally all year to process the sheer amount of toys needed for Christmas Day. Now these machines, overseen by the elves, do this in less than half the time. If children sent their letters in late and there was an urgent need for a toy, it worked exceptionally well.
Machines hum all around us, production well underway. The wrapping machine is one of the most important in the line during these final crunch days before Christmas.
Currently, elves grouped in stations at the start of the wrapping machine line were wrapping by hand till we got the machine fixed.
It always surprised me how quickly they could work. A production line of nimble fingers more than capable of any task required to ensure Christmas went ahead no matter what issue may arise.
Though I had plenty of experience with those nimble fingers, none of them held a candle to their boss.
Arthur had already begun work on the machine by the time we arrived. Pepper still hot on my heels, although now she was visibly out of breath, her chest heaving as her hands rested on her hips and she gulped down air.
“So I was thinking maybe tonight,” Gasp. Breath, “I could come by after …” A hopeful grin brightens her face, a flush that might be from the running or her desire, I couldn’t tell.
“No.” I bark a little too aggressively, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence. Her shoulders deflate and hurt flashes across her face at my refusal.
“I’m swamped with work and Klaus will have my ass if it’s not finished on time.” It was the wrong thing to say. Leaving the possibility of that door being open in the future perks her right back up.
“Oh yeah, of course.” She scuffs her foot on the factory floor, curling her hair again. This time I didn’t hold back my eye roll as I took out my tools, laying them on the ground next to Arthur.
“Nothing is more important than Christmas.” She said with so much fucking cheer, I have to hold in my grimace. My eyes deadpan and my lips press into a straight line, hoping to hell like I was showing her I was done with this conversation.
