Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gil stood by the kitchen window, a half-drunk cup of coffee in his hand. He hadn’t slept well and he closed his eyes for a moment as the caffeine worked its way into his brain.
Through the open window he could smell bread being baked at Wishbone’s Diner across the road. And in the distance he could hear the engine of Mushy’s rattletrap car approaching for his morning shift at Wish’s. Pete. Jesus and the drivers that were rostered on today would show up in about an hour. One of the trucks still needed fixing. And there was a Rocky Mountains worth of paperwork in his office he needed to get through. And that was just the stuff he knew about. Who knows what else could be thrown at him today?

He was broken out of his thoughts by a pair of arms wrapping around his middle from behind and a soft kiss pressed against the side of his head. “Mornin’ Honey.” He said, enjoying the warmth of his partner against his back.
“Mornin”, Rowdy mumbled against Gil’s hair before unwinding one arm from Gil’s waist and taking the cup from his hand to take a quick swig.
“Hey, get your own.” Gil grumbled, but without any heat. He’d long since gotten used to Rowdy eating his food. Secretly, he found it kinda cute.
Rowdy handed Gil the cup back, “Sorry. Just like the way you fix it.”
Gil twisted around in Rowdy’s arms to give him a proper kiss. When they broke apart Gil told him, “Go get breakfast, will ya? I’ll make you coffee.”
“On it”, Rowdy smirked, gave Gil one last peck on the lips and head out the kitchen door and across to Wishbone’s Diner.

They often got their meals from Wish’s place. Both Gil and Rowdy could cook if they had to, but not well. And Wishbone’s food always tasted better.

Maggie and Gillian trundled into the room and Gil smiled as he saw his little girls, wrapped up in fuzzy bathrobes and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. “Good morning, Angels.”
Maggie was the most alert and gave him a tight hug. Gillian however just zombie walked up to him and faceplanted against his shirt. Gil huffed a laugh and kissed her head. She was approaching teenage years now and liked waking up less and less.
He gave both his girls a tight hug, “Rowdy’s just getting breakfast. You two sleep well?”
As the girls headed towards the table, Maggie answered with a more awake “Yes, Daddy.” While Gillian just mumbled a half asleep, “Yep.” That sounded so much like Gil it made him snort into his cup.
A few minutes later, Rowdy clattered through the door with his arms full of take-out boxes and the kitchen was brought to life with sleepy chatter as Rowdy dished out the containers of eggs, bacon and biscuits and Gil set out orange juice for the girls and coffee for him and Rowdy.
He set the coffee cup in front of Rowdy and brushed a hand over Rowdy’s shoulder as he headed to his own chair. The smile Rowdy gave him was so sweet and bright it made his heart jump in his chest.
Gil put last nights restless sleep and the full day of work ahead out of his mind and just let himself be. In this moment with his girls and Rowdy, three rays of sunshine lighting up his stormy soul.

Chapter Text

Gil was happy to make it into his office, if only to get out of the cold weather outside. The morning was only half over but he'd already been busy. Yesterday, Cole Bailey's truck had skidded on an icy road and gone in a ditch. Bailey was alright but the trucks front axle had been damaged. Gil had left home early this morning to pick up the parts they needed to fix it before an appointment he had at the bank. Gil would be happy to never have to deal with bankers and finances but it was a necessary part of the job. But he'd rather be behind the wheel or under and engine block any day.
He shut the front door to his office with maybe a little more force than necessary and shrugged out of his heavy coat. He was cold and feeling irritated.
Gil hung up his coat and tuned towards his desk, only to stop short when he saw what was on it. Placed at the center of the desk was a bouquet of dark blue cornflowers. Next to it was a heart shaped chocolate box and his coffee cup, the one with "I like my sugar with coffee and cream" printed on it that Rowdy had given him last Christmas, was filled with still steaming coffee.
Gil felt the tension start to fade from his shoulders as he looked at the display and he smiled to himself, knowing only one person who would have done this. He walked over to his desk and picked up the cup and took a drink. The hot, sweet mix quickly started warming his insides and he sat on the edge of the desk, enjoying the warmth.
"Happy Valentines Day."
Gil looked up at the familiar voice. Rowdy was leaning against the closed door that lead to the garage, smiling softly and Gil.
"Happy Valentines Day, Baby." Gil set the cup aside, "Come over here."
When Rowdy got close enough, Gil pulled him in to stand between Gil's legs. The position put Gil at a bit shorter than Rowdy and Rowdy lent down to give him a long, sweet kiss.
When the kiss ended, Gil rested his head against Rowdy's chest and wrapped his arms around his waist.
He felt Rowdy press a kiss against his hair, "Love you, Gil."
Gil held him a little tighter, "I love you too, Rowdy."
Gil loved him so much sometimes it scared him. Rowdy was the best thing to come into his life in years.
He pulled back a little to look up at Rowdy, "So, Valentines Day. Want to go out tonight, or stay in?"
Rowdy smirked as he felt on of Gil's hands slide into his back pocket, "Way to cold out. Definitely stay in. After the kids are asleep, fireplace couch and blankets?"
Gil's smirk matched his, "Sounds perfect." he said as he reached his other hand up to cup the back of Rowdy's head and pulled him down for another kiss.

They could have happily stayed like this all day. But the bubble was broken by Pete calling from the garage, "Rowdy, need your help out here."

Rowdy sighed and pressed his forehead against Gil's, "Ugh. Back to work, huh?"
Gil laughed softly and gave Rowdy one more quick kiss, "I'll be out there in a few minutes."
Rowdy pulled away, reluctantly and headed out the door to the garage.
Gil watched him go before picking up his still half full coffee cup and moved to sit at his desk chair and finish the paperwork from this morning. He snagged some chocolates, which turned out to be caramel filled, out of the box as he worked. He made a mental note to pick up Rowdy's favorite desert when he went to get the girls from school later.
When he was done, he headed into the garage to work on that axle. He was looking forward to the end of the day even more now.

Chapter Text

Gil had told Rowdy to just let himself in when he got there so he did. But when he walked through the entrance way into the living room, he stopped short. The living room looked like a Christmas tree had exploded in it. There were lengths of tinsel scattered everywhere, half unpacked boxes of shiny decorations were stacked on and around the coffee table and sofa, “Let It Snow” was playing in the background from the stereo and the house smelt like gingerbread cookies.
Rowdy heard chatter coming from the kitchen and followed the sound. When he reached the doorway what he saw made his heart flip.
Gil and the girls were making cookies. There was a pile of used mixing bowls and utensils in the sink and flour still dusted the counter. Rowdy watched as Gil pulled a baking tray of gingerbread men out of the oven and set it on the table where Gillian started carefully moving the cookies to a cooling rack. Maggie was pouring out different candies into bowls. Gil reached over her to snag some of the multicolour candies.
Rowdy couldn’t hold back his laugh as Maggie protested with “Daddy, stop eating all the skittles!” with her much smaller hands trying to shoo Gil’s hand away from the treats.
His laugh caused the others to look up and see him. Maggie immediately forgetting her battle to run up and hug him hello, “Rowdy, you’re here. Just in time. You can decorate with us.”
Maggie pulled Rowdy over to the table to show off their handywork of about a dozen pretty well made gingerbread cookies along with the icing tubes and bowls of M@Ms, gumdrops and skittles she’d set out.
Rowdy snuck a side look at Gil while Maggie was talking. He was leaning against the counter, flour on his shirt, a relaxed, content smile on his face and what looked like a strand of tinsel stuck in his hair. Rowdy was already falling in love with Gil, but looking at him now, he plummeted.
After a minute Gil caught the kids attention, asking them to check the garage for any leftover boxes of decorations while the cookies cooled.
As soon as the kids were out of the room, Gil pulled Rowdy into his arms and kissed him. Rowdy felt himself sag a little towards Gil before being backed up against the counter. Rowdy was on his way to breathless when the kiss ended, happy to see Gil was in the same state too. “I like the way you say hello.” He mumbled.
Gil smirked and moved back a little but still kept his arms around Rowdy, “What’s that look for back there?”
“Nothin, just…you looked real cute.”
Gil just huffed and gave Rowdy another quick kiss.
Rowdy looked over his shoulder at the living room, “What happened in there, anyway?”
“Tinsel battle.” Gil stated.
Rowdy grinned as he reached up to pull the stray strand of gold tinsel out of Gil’s hair “Who won?”
Gil huffed again, “The girls did, easy.”
Rowdy leant his head against Gil’s shoulder, enjoying the closeness. “Didn’t know you were so into Christmas.”
Gil hugged him a little tighter, “Well, I never used to be. Not something I really grew up with. But Margret, she loved Christmas. And when the girls were born…guess we just wanted to make things as nice as we could for them.” Gil’s voice was soft, tinged with sadness under the warmth.
Rowdy knew a lot of Gil’s memories were bitter-sweet. Not knowing what to say he just pressed a soft kiss against Gil’s jaw.
Gil mentally shook himself out of his thoughts and asked, “What about you, you like Christmas?”
“Yeah, I do. I can’t remember much about the ones before my father left. But the ones with just me and Mom, they were great. Nothing fancy, but always happy.”
They stayed like that for a few more moments, arms around each, until the girls came back in from the garage.
Gillian was carrying a cardboard box, “Just the candy-canes for the path left.”
Gil took the box from Gillian, “Okay, you two get you jackets and put the lights up before it gets dark.”
The girls scurried off to get their jackets while Gil moved some boxes on the sofa till he found the ones marked Lights. He handed one to Rowdy, “Come on, you’re in on this too.”
The smile on Rowdy’s face as he followed Gil outside would have put any Christmas light to shame.

Maggie and Gillian lined the path leading to the front door with candy-cane stakes and wove lights through the bushes in front of the house while Gil and Rowdy secured lights around the front window and door frames and hung icicles from the small tree in the yard. It looked really pretty when it was done, even in the evening light.
The rest of the evening was spent decking out the living room with tinsel garlands and decorations and figurines collected over the years.
They ordered burgers from Wishbone’s for dinner and ate on the floor of the living room watching “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas”. The house felt warm and happy.
When they’d started dating, Rowdy had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to fit with Gil’s family. But now as he leant back against the couch, shoulder pressed against Gil’s and Gil’s leg hooked over his, listening to the kids laugh as they watched Goofy careen through a shopping mall, Rowdy’s concerns properly slipped away. This was happening. This felt like home.

Chapter Text

Monday morning in the Nolan house. The kids hand finished breakfast and were now running around, gathering up their things for school. Pete finished stacking the dishwasher and leant back against the counter, looking at Elina as she filled her cup from the coffee pot. She was dressed in her office clothes, black pants and white blouse. Her ebony hair was pinned back, showing the beaded earrings her grandmother had given her when she was eighteen.

Pete had been in love since the moment he saw her. It was at a bar in Tulsa when he was in the army. He’s been having a drink with Gil and saw her at a table with her friends. She was the most beautiful girl Pete had ever seen. Before he realised, he was walking over to her and asking her to dance. Pete wasn’t such a good dancer, but the song was slow enough to hide it. By the end of that dance, he knew for sure he was in love.
Fifteen years, a lot of highs and some very dark lows later, she was still the most beautiful girl in the world.

Elina caught him watching her and smiled softly. “What’s got you looking so puppy eyed this morning?” She asked. Pete moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist, “Just thinking. Remember the song that was playing when we first met?”
“Course I do.” Elina put the cup down and cuddled up against him, her hands on his back and head resting against his chest.
Pete kissed the top of her head and swayed them gently side to side, singing softly, “Slow dancin’, swaying to the music. Slow dancin’ just me and my girl. Slow dancin’, swaying to the music. No one else in the whole wide world.”

The moment was broken by one of the kids bolting through the kitchen to the porch where he’d left his sneakers.

Elina laughed, “Not just you and me anymore, Nah-mih-uhh.”

“I’m glad for that everyday.”