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qaf_giftxchnge2017-12-31 12:14 am
mander3-swish.livejournal.com) wrote in qaf_giftxchnge2017-12-31 12:14 am
Entry tags:
Gift #5
TO: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wren_kt7oz
FROM:lupin111
TITLE: ‘Tis the Season
GIFT REQUEST: Fic fluff/schmoop, AU, canon-compliant, hurt/comfort, humor Brian and Justin of course. I'd prefer a Holiday fic but okay with anything that shows the guys as a solid couple. Maybe to other people's surprise. Would love it if either Vic or Daphne or both were in it.
NOTE: I tried to cover as many of your requested categories as possible 😊 I do hope this is close to what you want. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, and all the very, very best for 2018!
‘Tis the Season
Takes place after mid-Season 3
On the first Sunday of Advent, Lindsay had surprised Melanie by arranging for a romantic dinner for two at a small Greek restaurant. The place looked unassuming from the outside; but Melanie was instantly taken with its homespun charm. It was too cold to sit in the courtyard, but she saw a framed advertisement that showed the outdoor seating lit up by twinkling fairy lights. She made a mental note to bring Lindsay here when it was summer.
“Table for two, under Lindsay Peterson?”
“Just follow me, ma’am.”
“Ms. Peterson, is this table alright with you?”
Lindsay gave a dazzling smile to the waiter. “It’s wonderful, thank you.”
Melanie waited until they were seated, menus open in front of them. “Lindsay, this place is stunning! And the menu! This is the perfect place for a romantic evening.”
Lindsay beamed. “I’m so glad. I’ve actually never been here before. Brian recommended it to me.”
“Brian?”
“Yeah, can you believe it?” Lindsay asked. It was only a few seconds later that Melanie’s implication dawned on her. “Wow…well…wow,” Lindsay said. “I’m relieved. And happy. It’s about time”
Melanie smiled. “It sure is.”
While Debbie was lighting the first purple candle, Emmett was close to having a breakdown in his apartment across town. He stared at Brian in disappointment. “What are you doing here?” he wailed.
Brian looked at him with a wry smile. “I appreciate the red-carpet welcome, Honeycutt. I was told that you needed some assistance.”
Emmett huffed. “Yes, well, the assistance I wanted was from Teddy. Who was too busy with work. And Michael, who was too busy with Hunter. And Justin…who should be the one here.”
“Apparently, your timing sucks. So, what did you need help with?”
“I need to put together a spectacular outfit for the Christmas Duchess Fiesta tonight, and that stupid drycleaner ruined the outfit I was planning on wearing.” Emmett narrowed his eyes. “I can’t see how you’re going to be able to help me with this. Your style is black on black, or black on black. That’s not helpful.”
“I think I can step away from my personal preferences to imagine your sartorial choices.”
Emmett scoffed. “Doubtful,” he retorted, as he started to rummage around for his cellphone.
“Don’t you even think of calling Justin,” Brian said. “Justin has far more important things to do than cater to your wardrobe malfunctions.”
Emmett looked at him with suspicion. “Why are you really here?”
Brian sighed. “Because Justin’s hand has been giving him trouble the last two weeks, and he’s behind on his assignments, and yet, the foolish boy thinks your wardrobe malfunctions warrants his attention.”
“It would have taken thirty minutes of his time!” Emmett continued to wail. “And why on earth would he send you?”
Brian grimaced. “He didn’t. I promised him that I would solve your problems one way or another, so that he could concentrate on what was actually a priority for him.”
“Oh.” Emmett had to pause from his dramatics, because he was genuinely surprised that Brian would volunteer to come help him with wardrobe issues. They weren’t two people who naturally spent a lot of time together on their own, and the last thing they had in common were wardrobe choices. Brian must be really worried. “Is his hand okay?”
Brian sighed. “It will be, once he starts pacing himself better, and he already started going to the massage therapy I set-up for him. I’ll pay for your clothes; let’s just get in my car and go somewhere that has your…kind of clothing.”
Emmett nodded, deciding to keep quiet. The only reason Brian was here was because Justin must have begged him, and Brian was simply not able to refuse. Emmett understood, without needing to be told, that there was somewhere else that Brian would much rather be.
On the second Sunday of Advent, Ethan really didn’t want to be wandering around such an upscale neighbourhood. He really, really had better things to do with his time. But his agent had scheduled the meet-and-greet in a swanky store, and Ethan understood the importance of schmoozing with people with enough money to make salad with it, especially during Christmas. Now that he had done the needful, Ethan just wanted to find his way back home.
That was until he spotted an old face through a storefront.
Some perversity drew Ethan into the store, closer and closer. He noticed the excited twinkle in the eye, all the obvious runner-up gifts on the counter, and the store clerk getting ready to wrap up the winning item.
“Is that Justin’s Christmas gift?”
Brian was clearly startled by the question, but he quickly masked it. “Well, if it isn’t our violin maestro.”
“I thought you didn’t do gifts. I thought you only celebrated achievements.”
Brian’s lips curled upward in a sardonic smile. “Should I be flattered that you remember such fine details about me?”
Ethan shrugged indifferently. “How is he?”
“He’s doing remarkably well. I’ll give him your regards.”
“So that is Justin’s Christmas gift then? Has the leopard finally changed its spots?”
“To thine own self be true,” Brian responded cryptically.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. “I am an art student. I know that Shakespeare meant for that expression to have more than one meaning.”
Brian smiled. “Then you should have no problem understanding my meaning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”
While Vic was lighting the second purple candle, Justin was volunteering to go bring the next round of beers for everyone. Michael offered to come with him and help, but Justin said he could manage.
“I’m pretty sure that Sunshine has some experience carrying multiple drinks,” Brian said.
Michael rolled his eyes. “Obviously, but still. There’s four of us here – he doesn’t need to do it alone.” It wasn’t a very busy night at Woody’s, probably because of the snowfall warning. Ted and Ben were arguing about something, and Brian was gleefully egging them on. Michael listened to them, but kept glancing at the bar to see if Justin would need help bringing the drinks.
At first, Michael didn’t take much notice of the man who came up next to Justin at the bar. It didn’t take him long, however, to figure out that the man was very obviously harassing Justin.
Ted had clearly noticed as well. “I think Justin may need some rescuing.”
“I’ve seen that man here before. He picks on all the younger men,” Ben stated. “I can go over there Brian,” Ben offered.
Brian shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said, but made no move to get up.
“Aren’t you going?” Michael asked.
“Very rarely does Justin need rescuing,” Brian said. “He can take care of himself.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier though, if you or Ben just went over there?” Ted asked.
“It would be helpful,” Brian said, “if Justin knew that his friends had enough faith in him to take care of himself. Because he can. Now, I believe the Professor just voided all your arguments about re-zoning.”
Even though Brian made no move to get up, Michael noticed that Brian had his eye on Justin the whole time. And true to Brian’s prediction, Justin easily took care of his unwanted admirer before heading back with the drinks.
On the third Sunday of Advent, Cynthia was desperate. She had to call in the cavalry, not that the cavalry was obliged to help her. But it was a Sunday. Everyone had last minute Christmas shopping that they needed to finish. Most of all, they were all exhausted. She had to do something.
“Hey Cynthia,” Justin said, as he walked in “I tried to get here as soon as I could.”
Cynthia smiled. She already felt bad; Brian’s rage would simply shift focus onto Justin now.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you, but he’s in a terrible mood. We’re going crazy trying to get everything ready for the Tofar pitch, and Christmas is around the corner, and everyone just wants to go home without –”
“It’s okay, don’t worry,” Justin said, interrupting her. “I’ll do something.”
Cynthia sat in some amount of trepidation, after Justin walked in. She could hear Brian’s loud voice, though she couldn’t make out the words. But, it didn’t last long. The loud voice quickly subsided, and soon, a smiling Justin and a calmer Brian exited the office. As they left, Brian told her that everyone could finish up and go home soon.
“Was that Justin?” Sam, one of the art directors, asked her.
“I had to do something,” Cynthia said.
“Well, thank god you did. I’m glad it worked.”
Cynthia smiled. “I knew it would.”
While Jennifer was lighting the rose candle, Daphne was losing patience with her parents. She had told them not to get a real tree, because her grandmother was allergic to pollen. She told them that the minute their grandmother came into town, the tree would become a problem. But of course, no one had listened to her.
Just as she predicted, her grandmother had been sick from the moment she stepped into the house. Sick enough that finally, her grandmother gave an ultimatum that either the tree be thrown out, or she be taken to a hotel.
And now, her parents dared to crib about the cost of a decent plastic tree.
“Obviously it’s more expensive now. All the cheap ones have been taken by the early birds.”
“Daphne, you’re not being very helpful,” her mother said.
Sulking, Daphne walked away. She felt inside her pockets for her cellphone. Just as she was about to call Justin, Daphne thought she saw Brian looking at the more expensive trees in the store. She frowned. She couldn’t see Justin anywhere, so she quickly called him.
“Hey Daph, what’s up?”
Daphne’s frown deepened in confusion. “Where are you?”
“At home. Just put a casserole in the oven. Do you want to come over for dinner?”
“Uhh…” Daphne looked around. She was certain that was Brian near the silver trees. “Where’s Brian?”
“He was here a while ago, but said he needed to go pick some stuff up at the office. He’s not going to mind if you come over for dinner,” Justin said, and Daphne could hear the smile in his voice.
She looked over again at Brian, who seemed to have found himself the perfect silver Christmas tree.
“I have to have dinner with my parents, Jus. I just called to bitch about their silliness.”
Daphne figured that when Brian walked through the door with his surprise for Justin, the two of them would probably prefer not having an audience.
On the fourth Sunday of Advent, Justin was learning how difficult it was to smile through pain. Yet, Gus was looking at him with all the hope of a little boy, and Brian was counting on him to not be the third adult to let Gus down on the same day. So Justin persevered, teaching Gus how to skate amongst the hordes of holiday-makers gathered at the skating rink.
By the time he saw Melanie drive up, Justin’s hand was about to fall off, his face was stiff from pretending to smile, and tears of pain and exhaustion were threatening to break free.
“Mama! I skated! I skated!”
Melanie smiled, kissing Gus before ruffling his hair. She looked at Justin quizzically, as she bundled Gus into the car.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but Lindsay told me she roped Brian into taking Gus skating because she got called into the gallery on an emergency?”
Justin gave up all pretence of smiling. “And Brian had an emergency at the office, so he called me and told me to make sure that Gus had a good time skating and not to trade this job with anyone else.”
“Aaah, okay. That’s fine with me. Do you want to come over, or do you want me to drop you off first?”
Justin sighed. “Actually, Mel…a group of kids rammed into me while we were skating…I fell…”
Melanie’s expression changed immediately. “Oh, sweetie, you’re hurt! Why didn’t you call someone?”
“I promised Brian I’d do this for Gus,” Justin whispered. “I couldn’t let him down. Or Gus. Brian said Gus asked for a pair of skates from Santa. I couldn’t let them down.”
“Oh, Justin. Justin, Justin, Justin. One day, you’re going to learn that you don’t have to go so far.” Melanie sighed, quickly dialling a number on her cellphone. “Gus, sweetie, Justin’s not feeling well, so let’s quickly take him to the doctor and see what the doctor says before we go home, okay? Justin, I’m calling Brian.”
“Wait, don’t, he might still be at his meeting!”
“Then I think he’ll want to be interrupted,” Melanie said grimly, putting the car into gear.
While Michael was lighting the final purple, Debbie and Vic were doing their final round of grocery shopping for the big Christmas dinner.
“I’m telling ya, this is the best time to do your shopping. Gingerbread houses have no meaning for supermarkets after Christmas Eve. See how everything’s discounted?”
“So you’ve been telling me since I was sixteen,” Vic said, his voice tinged with more than a touch of sarcasm. “I have to say, over the years, everyone seems to have bought into that thinking. I can’t take three steps before I trip over someone.”
“I’ll get you a cane,” Debbie retorted. “The kind you can’t eat.”
“Is it the kind you can shove somewhere sis?” Vic replied.
“You’ll be thanking me when you see the bill.”
“And until then, I can –” Vic broke off in mid-sentence, as he saw the person walking towards them with a shopping cart mostly identical to theirs. “Hey sis, isn’t that one of the horsemen coming towards us?”
“Fuck me, that’s Claire, isn’t it?”
“Told you it was a lousy idea to save the shopping for today,” Vic muttered, and finally, Deb acknowledged his point by remaining silent.
“Debbie. And this is your brother, right? Well, if it isn’t funny running into the two of you here,” Claire said, seemingly annoyed at the mere sight of them.
“How are you doing, Claire?” Debbie asked, and Vic was surprised at the civility in his sister’s voice.
“How do you think I am, living hand to mouth, struggling to give my kids a halfway decent Christmas?”
Vic sighed, wondering how soon they could make their exit. “Well, it’s a tough time for a lot of people. But I always say that it’s the thought that counts.”
Claire snorted. “It’s not tough for everyone. Like that brother of mine. You’d think he’d look after his own family, instead of showering all of his money on that boy-toy of his.”
“Now look here, our Sunshine and Brian, they’ve got something special. He’s not just some twink Brian’s fooling around with,” Debbie said, bristling.
Claire rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I know. Brian was yelling the same thing at me, last time I saw him.”
Vic blinked twice, letting Claire’s words sink in.
“Brian said what? You went to see him?” Debbie asked blankly.
“Son of a bitch. I went to his office a few weeks ago. You know, it’s Christmas. I thought he’d do the decent thing and give his family something, instead of wasting all his money on some…some…”
“Honey, I think we get picture,” Deb said, gently pushing the cart forward. “Well, you have a good Christmas.”
“Bet he never thought we’d end up hearing about that,” Debbie told Vic.
“You gonna tell Sunshine?”
“I already got him a Christmas present. I’ll save this for a rainy day.”
On Christmas Eve, those who believed had lit the white candle on the Advent wreath.
Justin and Brian were lying on the couch. There was still some time left, before they had to head over to Debbie’s.
“The tree is stunning,” Justin said.
“I have impeccable taste,” Brian said, smirking.
Justin smiled impishly. “I figured that’s why I was here.”
“Oh Sunshine, I like the turn your ego has taken. It’s very becoming.”
Justin leaned in, kissing Brian. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything. All of this. Thank you.”
Brian smiled quietly, and kissed Justin’s forehead. “’Tis the season,” he said.
THE END
wren_kt7ozFROM:
lupin111TITLE: ‘Tis the Season
GIFT REQUEST: Fic fluff/schmoop, AU, canon-compliant, hurt/comfort, humor Brian and Justin of course. I'd prefer a Holiday fic but okay with anything that shows the guys as a solid couple. Maybe to other people's surprise. Would love it if either Vic or Daphne or both were in it.
NOTE: I tried to cover as many of your requested categories as possible 😊 I do hope this is close to what you want. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, and all the very, very best for 2018!
‘Tis the Season
Takes place after mid-Season 3
On the first Sunday of Advent, Lindsay had surprised Melanie by arranging for a romantic dinner for two at a small Greek restaurant. The place looked unassuming from the outside; but Melanie was instantly taken with its homespun charm. It was too cold to sit in the courtyard, but she saw a framed advertisement that showed the outdoor seating lit up by twinkling fairy lights. She made a mental note to bring Lindsay here when it was summer.
“Table for two, under Lindsay Peterson?”
“Just follow me, ma’am.”
“Ms. Peterson, is this table alright with you?”
Lindsay gave a dazzling smile to the waiter. “It’s wonderful, thank you.”
Melanie waited until they were seated, menus open in front of them. “Lindsay, this place is stunning! And the menu! This is the perfect place for a romantic evening.”
Lindsay beamed. “I’m so glad. I’ve actually never been here before. Brian recommended it to me.”
“Brian?”
“Yeah, can you believe it?” Lindsay asked. It was only a few seconds later that Melanie’s implication dawned on her. “Wow…well…wow,” Lindsay said. “I’m relieved. And happy. It’s about time”
Melanie smiled. “It sure is.”
While Debbie was lighting the first purple candle, Emmett was close to having a breakdown in his apartment across town. He stared at Brian in disappointment. “What are you doing here?” he wailed.
Brian looked at him with a wry smile. “I appreciate the red-carpet welcome, Honeycutt. I was told that you needed some assistance.”
Emmett huffed. “Yes, well, the assistance I wanted was from Teddy. Who was too busy with work. And Michael, who was too busy with Hunter. And Justin…who should be the one here.”
“Apparently, your timing sucks. So, what did you need help with?”
“I need to put together a spectacular outfit for the Christmas Duchess Fiesta tonight, and that stupid drycleaner ruined the outfit I was planning on wearing.” Emmett narrowed his eyes. “I can’t see how you’re going to be able to help me with this. Your style is black on black, or black on black. That’s not helpful.”
“I think I can step away from my personal preferences to imagine your sartorial choices.”
Emmett scoffed. “Doubtful,” he retorted, as he started to rummage around for his cellphone.
“Don’t you even think of calling Justin,” Brian said. “Justin has far more important things to do than cater to your wardrobe malfunctions.”
Emmett looked at him with suspicion. “Why are you really here?”
Brian sighed. “Because Justin’s hand has been giving him trouble the last two weeks, and he’s behind on his assignments, and yet, the foolish boy thinks your wardrobe malfunctions warrants his attention.”
“It would have taken thirty minutes of his time!” Emmett continued to wail. “And why on earth would he send you?”
Brian grimaced. “He didn’t. I promised him that I would solve your problems one way or another, so that he could concentrate on what was actually a priority for him.”
“Oh.” Emmett had to pause from his dramatics, because he was genuinely surprised that Brian would volunteer to come help him with wardrobe issues. They weren’t two people who naturally spent a lot of time together on their own, and the last thing they had in common were wardrobe choices. Brian must be really worried. “Is his hand okay?”
Brian sighed. “It will be, once he starts pacing himself better, and he already started going to the massage therapy I set-up for him. I’ll pay for your clothes; let’s just get in my car and go somewhere that has your…kind of clothing.”
Emmett nodded, deciding to keep quiet. The only reason Brian was here was because Justin must have begged him, and Brian was simply not able to refuse. Emmett understood, without needing to be told, that there was somewhere else that Brian would much rather be.
On the second Sunday of Advent, Ethan really didn’t want to be wandering around such an upscale neighbourhood. He really, really had better things to do with his time. But his agent had scheduled the meet-and-greet in a swanky store, and Ethan understood the importance of schmoozing with people with enough money to make salad with it, especially during Christmas. Now that he had done the needful, Ethan just wanted to find his way back home.
That was until he spotted an old face through a storefront.
Some perversity drew Ethan into the store, closer and closer. He noticed the excited twinkle in the eye, all the obvious runner-up gifts on the counter, and the store clerk getting ready to wrap up the winning item.
“Is that Justin’s Christmas gift?”
Brian was clearly startled by the question, but he quickly masked it. “Well, if it isn’t our violin maestro.”
“I thought you didn’t do gifts. I thought you only celebrated achievements.”
Brian’s lips curled upward in a sardonic smile. “Should I be flattered that you remember such fine details about me?”
Ethan shrugged indifferently. “How is he?”
“He’s doing remarkably well. I’ll give him your regards.”
“So that is Justin’s Christmas gift then? Has the leopard finally changed its spots?”
“To thine own self be true,” Brian responded cryptically.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. “I am an art student. I know that Shakespeare meant for that expression to have more than one meaning.”
Brian smiled. “Then you should have no problem understanding my meaning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”
While Vic was lighting the second purple candle, Justin was volunteering to go bring the next round of beers for everyone. Michael offered to come with him and help, but Justin said he could manage.
“I’m pretty sure that Sunshine has some experience carrying multiple drinks,” Brian said.
Michael rolled his eyes. “Obviously, but still. There’s four of us here – he doesn’t need to do it alone.” It wasn’t a very busy night at Woody’s, probably because of the snowfall warning. Ted and Ben were arguing about something, and Brian was gleefully egging them on. Michael listened to them, but kept glancing at the bar to see if Justin would need help bringing the drinks.
At first, Michael didn’t take much notice of the man who came up next to Justin at the bar. It didn’t take him long, however, to figure out that the man was very obviously harassing Justin.
Ted had clearly noticed as well. “I think Justin may need some rescuing.”
“I’ve seen that man here before. He picks on all the younger men,” Ben stated. “I can go over there Brian,” Ben offered.
Brian shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said, but made no move to get up.
“Aren’t you going?” Michael asked.
“Very rarely does Justin need rescuing,” Brian said. “He can take care of himself.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier though, if you or Ben just went over there?” Ted asked.
“It would be helpful,” Brian said, “if Justin knew that his friends had enough faith in him to take care of himself. Because he can. Now, I believe the Professor just voided all your arguments about re-zoning.”
Even though Brian made no move to get up, Michael noticed that Brian had his eye on Justin the whole time. And true to Brian’s prediction, Justin easily took care of his unwanted admirer before heading back with the drinks.
On the third Sunday of Advent, Cynthia was desperate. She had to call in the cavalry, not that the cavalry was obliged to help her. But it was a Sunday. Everyone had last minute Christmas shopping that they needed to finish. Most of all, they were all exhausted. She had to do something.
“Hey Cynthia,” Justin said, as he walked in “I tried to get here as soon as I could.”
Cynthia smiled. She already felt bad; Brian’s rage would simply shift focus onto Justin now.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you, but he’s in a terrible mood. We’re going crazy trying to get everything ready for the Tofar pitch, and Christmas is around the corner, and everyone just wants to go home without –”
“It’s okay, don’t worry,” Justin said, interrupting her. “I’ll do something.”
Cynthia sat in some amount of trepidation, after Justin walked in. She could hear Brian’s loud voice, though she couldn’t make out the words. But, it didn’t last long. The loud voice quickly subsided, and soon, a smiling Justin and a calmer Brian exited the office. As they left, Brian told her that everyone could finish up and go home soon.
“Was that Justin?” Sam, one of the art directors, asked her.
“I had to do something,” Cynthia said.
“Well, thank god you did. I’m glad it worked.”
Cynthia smiled. “I knew it would.”
While Jennifer was lighting the rose candle, Daphne was losing patience with her parents. She had told them not to get a real tree, because her grandmother was allergic to pollen. She told them that the minute their grandmother came into town, the tree would become a problem. But of course, no one had listened to her.
Just as she predicted, her grandmother had been sick from the moment she stepped into the house. Sick enough that finally, her grandmother gave an ultimatum that either the tree be thrown out, or she be taken to a hotel.
And now, her parents dared to crib about the cost of a decent plastic tree.
“Obviously it’s more expensive now. All the cheap ones have been taken by the early birds.”
“Daphne, you’re not being very helpful,” her mother said.
Sulking, Daphne walked away. She felt inside her pockets for her cellphone. Just as she was about to call Justin, Daphne thought she saw Brian looking at the more expensive trees in the store. She frowned. She couldn’t see Justin anywhere, so she quickly called him.
“Hey Daph, what’s up?”
Daphne’s frown deepened in confusion. “Where are you?”
“At home. Just put a casserole in the oven. Do you want to come over for dinner?”
“Uhh…” Daphne looked around. She was certain that was Brian near the silver trees. “Where’s Brian?”
“He was here a while ago, but said he needed to go pick some stuff up at the office. He’s not going to mind if you come over for dinner,” Justin said, and Daphne could hear the smile in his voice.
She looked over again at Brian, who seemed to have found himself the perfect silver Christmas tree.
“I have to have dinner with my parents, Jus. I just called to bitch about their silliness.”
Daphne figured that when Brian walked through the door with his surprise for Justin, the two of them would probably prefer not having an audience.
On the fourth Sunday of Advent, Justin was learning how difficult it was to smile through pain. Yet, Gus was looking at him with all the hope of a little boy, and Brian was counting on him to not be the third adult to let Gus down on the same day. So Justin persevered, teaching Gus how to skate amongst the hordes of holiday-makers gathered at the skating rink.
By the time he saw Melanie drive up, Justin’s hand was about to fall off, his face was stiff from pretending to smile, and tears of pain and exhaustion were threatening to break free.
“Mama! I skated! I skated!”
Melanie smiled, kissing Gus before ruffling his hair. She looked at Justin quizzically, as she bundled Gus into the car.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but Lindsay told me she roped Brian into taking Gus skating because she got called into the gallery on an emergency?”
Justin gave up all pretence of smiling. “And Brian had an emergency at the office, so he called me and told me to make sure that Gus had a good time skating and not to trade this job with anyone else.”
“Aaah, okay. That’s fine with me. Do you want to come over, or do you want me to drop you off first?”
Justin sighed. “Actually, Mel…a group of kids rammed into me while we were skating…I fell…”
Melanie’s expression changed immediately. “Oh, sweetie, you’re hurt! Why didn’t you call someone?”
“I promised Brian I’d do this for Gus,” Justin whispered. “I couldn’t let him down. Or Gus. Brian said Gus asked for a pair of skates from Santa. I couldn’t let them down.”
“Oh, Justin. Justin, Justin, Justin. One day, you’re going to learn that you don’t have to go so far.” Melanie sighed, quickly dialling a number on her cellphone. “Gus, sweetie, Justin’s not feeling well, so let’s quickly take him to the doctor and see what the doctor says before we go home, okay? Justin, I’m calling Brian.”
“Wait, don’t, he might still be at his meeting!”
“Then I think he’ll want to be interrupted,” Melanie said grimly, putting the car into gear.
While Michael was lighting the final purple, Debbie and Vic were doing their final round of grocery shopping for the big Christmas dinner.
“I’m telling ya, this is the best time to do your shopping. Gingerbread houses have no meaning for supermarkets after Christmas Eve. See how everything’s discounted?”
“So you’ve been telling me since I was sixteen,” Vic said, his voice tinged with more than a touch of sarcasm. “I have to say, over the years, everyone seems to have bought into that thinking. I can’t take three steps before I trip over someone.”
“I’ll get you a cane,” Debbie retorted. “The kind you can’t eat.”
“Is it the kind you can shove somewhere sis?” Vic replied.
“You’ll be thanking me when you see the bill.”
“And until then, I can –” Vic broke off in mid-sentence, as he saw the person walking towards them with a shopping cart mostly identical to theirs. “Hey sis, isn’t that one of the horsemen coming towards us?”
“Fuck me, that’s Claire, isn’t it?”
“Told you it was a lousy idea to save the shopping for today,” Vic muttered, and finally, Deb acknowledged his point by remaining silent.
“Debbie. And this is your brother, right? Well, if it isn’t funny running into the two of you here,” Claire said, seemingly annoyed at the mere sight of them.
“How are you doing, Claire?” Debbie asked, and Vic was surprised at the civility in his sister’s voice.
“How do you think I am, living hand to mouth, struggling to give my kids a halfway decent Christmas?”
Vic sighed, wondering how soon they could make their exit. “Well, it’s a tough time for a lot of people. But I always say that it’s the thought that counts.”
Claire snorted. “It’s not tough for everyone. Like that brother of mine. You’d think he’d look after his own family, instead of showering all of his money on that boy-toy of his.”
“Now look here, our Sunshine and Brian, they’ve got something special. He’s not just some twink Brian’s fooling around with,” Debbie said, bristling.
Claire rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I know. Brian was yelling the same thing at me, last time I saw him.”
Vic blinked twice, letting Claire’s words sink in.
“Brian said what? You went to see him?” Debbie asked blankly.
“Son of a bitch. I went to his office a few weeks ago. You know, it’s Christmas. I thought he’d do the decent thing and give his family something, instead of wasting all his money on some…some…”
“Honey, I think we get picture,” Deb said, gently pushing the cart forward. “Well, you have a good Christmas.”
“Bet he never thought we’d end up hearing about that,” Debbie told Vic.
“You gonna tell Sunshine?”
“I already got him a Christmas present. I’ll save this for a rainy day.”
On Christmas Eve, those who believed had lit the white candle on the Advent wreath.
Justin and Brian were lying on the couch. There was still some time left, before they had to head over to Debbie’s.
“The tree is stunning,” Justin said.
“I have impeccable taste,” Brian said, smirking.
Justin smiled impishly. “I figured that’s why I was here.”
“Oh Sunshine, I like the turn your ego has taken. It’s very becoming.”
Justin leaned in, kissing Brian. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything. All of this. Thank you.”
Brian smiled quietly, and kissed Justin’s forehead. “’Tis the season,” he said.
THE END
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Loved how these snippets opened everyone's eyes in just how devoted they are to each other and their self-made family.
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I'm so happy you participated in this exchange. What a joy this was to read! Thank you! ~Kim
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I particularly like the little vignette with Emmett for some reason. I love protective Brian and it's very typical that he would try to make sure that Justin was allowed the time he needed to get his projects finished and not be jerked around by their friends' desires. It's also very Brian that his solution is just to throw money at the problem.
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Hope you have a fabulous 2018!
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Thanks so much!
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Dee Dee
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Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!
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Nicki
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Thank you!