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“Daaad, hurry up!” Alex whined as his father took his time walking up the freshly shovelled pathway. The snow was falling softly, like a snow globe that had been shaken, and there was a fresh, sparkly blanket on the ground from earlier in the day, one that time and commuters hadn’t completely muddied yet.
Charlie snorted and shook his curly head fondly. “Maybe if you helped me carry your backpack, Alexander.”
“Theo said they were starting the Christmas movies at seven and dinner at six!”
“And we’re right at their front door, sweetheart,” Charlie soothed.
Nick’s house was all lit up with twinkling lights of greens and reds, while silver and gold decorations hung on his door and windows.
Nick had invited them both to celebrate Christmas with him and Theo a few weeks ago and despite Charlie’s initial hesitation at the idea of impeding on Nick’s holiday traditions, he had to admit that the idea of spending this family holiday with Nick and his son was appealing, especially when Nick insisted that he would like nothing more than to spend his favourite holiday with Charlie and Alex.
Jane had had something to say about that, but Tori wasn’t coming down and spending the holiday with Jane’s very abrasive side of the family sounded like the worst possible idea. Julio was a lot more understanding and sympathetic. So it was decided. Nick had already come by to collect all the presents Charlie had bought Alex while Charlie was picking the boys up from an afterschool program.
Though he had been to Nick’s home before, he could still feel some nerves creep up his neck like cold, bony fingers were grasping at him as he raised a hand to knock on the door. This was the first time they were spending a massive holiday together. What did this mean in terms of their relationship? Would this be a frequent thing now? Did this mean Nick wanted to take the next step in their relationship? Was spending Christmas here truly a good idea?
“Dad-uh,” Alex huffed, rolling his eyes and ringing the doorbell an obnoxious amount of times.
Charlie didn’t have to admonish his son for his impatient behaviour. He sucked in a deep breath just as the door swung open. A beaming smile met him on the other side, warm, brown eyes crinkled at the corners.
“Hi, Nick!” Alex greeted, stepping inside and pulling his wellies off. “Where’s Theo?”
Just then a mini Nick came rounding the corner at top speed, grabbing Alex’s arm.
“Finally! Come to my room before dinner, I have something to show you!”
Theo pulled Alex down the hall and then both boys were out of sight.
Nick turned back to look at Charlie and grinned. “I’m almost not sure giving them access to the Christmas cookies I made today is a good idea. They seem to have plenty of energy as is.”
Charlie shook his head and returned Nick’s smile. “Getting them to go to sleep tonight is going to be a challenge isn’t it?”
Nick nodded sagely. “‘Fraid so. Come here you.” He pulled Charlie by the waist over the threshold and into his arms, Charlie willfully folding himself into the older man’s embrace. Nick was wearing a soft, worn jumper, and Christmas bottoms and Charlie felt so cosy as he melted into Nick’s strong body.
“Hi, Merry Christmas Eve,” he whispered, pulling back just enough to see Nick.
Nick’s smile softened and he rested his hand under Charlie’s chin. ‘Hi, Merry Christmas Eve.” He leaned down and Charlie stood on his tiptoes, his belly swooping at their height difference as their lips met and Nick’s arm tightened around his body. “I’m so happy you’re here. I missed you.”
Charlie giggled and pushed him away playfully with a hand on his chest. “Oh hush, I saw you, like, two days ago.”
Nick grabbed him by the wrist and reeled him back in for another snuggly embrace. Kissing the top of his curls, he grumbled, “Much too long.”
Charlie pecked him on the lips and then stepped out of the embrace. “You’re a dork,” he laughed. He turned to grab his duffle and Alex’s backpack from where he set them down but Nick beat him to it and grabbed both right out of Charlie’s hands. When Charlie turned to glare at him, Nick shook his head and closed the front door.
“It’s the job of the host to situate his guests. Come on.”
Charlie rolled his eyes, his heart beating with a fondness like no other he’d ever felt in any other man’s presence, and followed his ridiculous boyfriend down the hall his son disappeared down.
Nick walked up to Theo’s door, voices talking at an excited volume behind the wood, though the words were indistinguishable. “Boys,” he said with a gentle knock on the door. It swung open, both boys’ faces peeking around.
“Yeah, Dad?”
Nick revealed the backpack and the door opened a bit more.
“Thanks, Nick!” Alex exclaimed, reaching out for his belongings.
“Dinner is in thirty minutes, boys. We’re having spaghetti so don’t fill up on sweets, yeah?”
“Yes, Dad,” Theo said, speaking to Nick as he waved at Charlie. “Hi, Charlie! Happy Christmas Eve!”
Charlie smiled. “Hi, Theo! Happy Christmas Eve.” Theo appeared to be matching with his father in the way that their pyjama bottoms were the same. Alex would probably think Charlie was so uncool if he suggested something like that, but he thought it absolutely adorable to see father-son matching. As though he could hear his thoughts, Nick blushed.
“It’s sort of a tradition, the, uh, matching. My mum and I used to wear matching pyjamas on Christmas Day.”
Charlie laughed softly at Nick’s embarrassment. “It’s cute. I like it. Makes me wish Alex and I matched.” Addressing his son, he teased, “What say you, Al? Should we match next year?”
Alex crinkled his nose and shook his head, prompting a laugh from the two older men.
“We’ll see you boys in a bit,” Nick said, grabbing Charlie’s hand and pulling him further down the hall.
The two stumbled into Nick’s room, Nick dropping Charlie’s duffel from his shoulder to grab his face and press their lips together.
As their lips interlocked, Nick walked backwards and Charlie wound his arms around Nick’s waist, hanging on tightly so he didn’t stumble. Nick flopped back onto his mattress and pulled Charlie on top of him, teeth and tongues clashing and meeting again and again between soft lips and quiet gasps.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Nick whispered, snaking a hand into Charlie’s curls.
“Me too,” Charlie agreed, directing his kisses down toward Nick’s neck. There, in Nick’s arms, in the cosy, quiet of his darkened bedroom, any nerves from earlier were completely gone.
Charlie knew Nick was a good cook but he didn’t think he’d ever eaten such a delicious dish of spaghetti in his life. The pasta was cooked perfectly, the sauce aromatic and creamy, and the meatballs tender.
“We need to come over here for dinner more often,” Charlie commented with a nod of agreement from Alex. “This is so good!”
Nick smiled. “I’m glad you like it. It’s an old family recipe.”
“Aren’t you half-French?”
Nick winked. “Oui. Qui a dit que les Français ne pouvaient pas avoir de vieilles recettes de famille pour les spaghettis et les boulettes de viande?”
Charlie never knew what Nick would say when he spoke French, and the cheeky git always refused to tell him. But he knew how it made him feel. He could feel his face heat and his heart flutter even as the kids started teasing him for his blush.
After dinner, they all settled on the sofa in front of Nick’s telly, an assortment of cookies and candies in front of them on Nick’s oak coffee table, plus a big bowl of popcorn, despite Nick’s earlier teasing of keeping the boys away from the treats.
The boys made a cushy sort of seating arrangement on the floor with blankets and pillows, leaving Nick and Charlie to snuggle up under a blanket together on the couch, a mug of hot cocoa in hand each. The snow fell a bit faster now but it only added to the warm, comfy atmosphere inside.
“Okay boys, what’re we watching?” Nick asked, flicking through the options with his remote.
After much debate and a brief tickle fight initiated and encouraged by Nick when Charlie suggested a horror holiday movie, they settled on something wholesome and jolly. While the boys watched the film, Nick and Charlie stole hot chocolate-flavored kisses from one another.
At around nine, the boys started whispering to one another. When they both looked over their shoulders back at Nick and Charlie and then quickly looked back at the telly when they got caught, Nick and Charlie looked at each other with raised brows.
“What do you reckon is going on?” Charlie whispered to Nick.
Nick shook his head. “I haven’t the foggiest. Maybe they’re planning to wake us up super early?”
Charlie tried to keep his groan low. “Nick, if I am woken up at the arse crack of dawn…”
Nick gave him a mischievous smile and leaned over to whisper in Charlie’s ear, “Not even if I’m the one to wake you?”
Charlie gave him an incredulous look. “You’re going to be the only one I have to worry about waking me up early, aren’t you?”
Nick simply shrugged and smirked, turning his eyes back to the movie.
“You’re an absolute man-child, Nicholas Nelson,” Charlie snorted with a shake of his head.
That got a resounding ‘shhh’ from their kids and caused Nick and Charlie to burst out laughing.
That night, Nick and Charlie said goodnight to their boys and wished them a pleasant sleep while tucking them in before making their way to Nick’s room to grab the gifts Nick had hidden.
“I cannot tell you how bloody difficult it was to keep Theo out of my room,” Nick huffed as he went into his closet to grab the tote with all their presents. “That little menace was sniffing around here like a bloodhound since the start of December. I nearly thought he’d find these. Should’ve left them with my mum.”
Charlie grabbed gifts as Nick handed them to him and set them in a neat pile. “Well, I’m glad you were able to hide them well enough. Our flat is so small, Alex would’ve found them in an instant. I have to bribe that boy not to open his gifts early because he finds them year after year.”
“All in the name of holiday cheer!” Nick proclaimed with a shit-eating grin.
“You were just as bad when you were a kid, weren’t you?” Charlie asked, a feeling in his gut that he already knew the answer.
Nick appeared baffled by the accusation and set the gifts in his hands down to put a hand against his chest dramatically. “Why Charles, whatever do you mean by such a thing?” He stepped forward and wrapped his hands around Charlie’s waist, shuffling him back toward the bed.
Charlie fought to escape, though not very hard. He just couldn’t get over the feel of Nick’s large hands wrapped around his body. He didn’t think he ever would. Still, he complained, “Nick, the presents!”
Nick rested Charlie down on the mattress and climbed over him, caging him in with his arms. “We have plenty of time to get them under the tree, Char. The boys are probably still awake from the excitement anyway. Don’t want them leaving their room while we have a handful of Christmas presents.”
Charlie rolled his eyes but found that he couldn’t argue with that logic. Still, “I think you just wanted to get me in your bed again, Nicholas,” he said with a haughty sniffle.
Nick hummed and kissed the junction between his neck and collarbone. “So what if I did? It’s not as though we had much time earlier.”
Charlie arched up into Nick with a shaky breath. “You’re insatiable.”
“Only for you, Char.”
Charlie and Nick emerged from Nick’s room an hour later, presents in hand and voices breeze-soft so as not to wake their boys. The light under Theo’s door was off and no sounds were coming from behind it, so Nick and Charlie figured they were in the clear to begin the back-and-forth journey of depositing the presents beneath the gorgeously decorated tree.
Charlie was feeling pretty damn grateful to Nick for happily volunteering to wrap everything while Charlie entertained their sons during a sleepover at his flat. He wanted as much time as possible cosying up next to Nick in his large king bed under those soft and fluffy sheets and didn’t much fancy the idea of staying up incredibly late to wrap.
However, he imagined the process wouldn’t have been so tedious or strenuous with Nick by his side helping and keeping him company. Something to think on for next year.
His face flushed in the darkened hallway. Was he really thinking about a ‘next year’? Would he still be with Nick next Christmas? God, he hoped so. Could think of nothing he wanted more, honestly.
“This is easier than I expected,” Nick said from behind him. “I thought for sure it would take longer for the boys to fall asleep.”
“Maybe they wanted to stay on Santa’s nice list,” Charlie responded before coming to a complete halt. There, by the Christmas tree sat two naughty little boys who were whispering and giggling to each other as they sat under blankets.
Charlie stifled a gasp and thrust his presents at a bewildered Nick before he marched into the sitting room.
“Alexander Spring and Theodore Nelson, just what do you two think you’re doing?”
Both boys jumped, not expecting the sudden presence in the room, and turned guilty looks over to a very irate Charlie who was standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips.
Nick entered the room almost immediately, though thankfully not with any of the gifts in his hand. He must’ve left them in the hallway.
“Boys? Why are you out of bed?”
Both boys turned to Nick and put on the best performance of their lives. Their eyes went wide and pleading, their lips forming a pout, and they even clasped their hands together.
“We wanna wait for Santa!” Alex whined.
“Please, daddy? We won’t cause any trouble, we just want to see him,” Theo begged.
Nick sighed and turned to give Charlie a look that said, “ What do we do? ”
Charlie gave him a look back that said, “ That’s your son. ”
Clearly, not giving Nick a precise answer was the wrong idea as his pushover of a boyfriend looked back at the boys and shook his head. “Fine. You can wait there for Santa. But you’d better be good and go right to sleep or he’ll put you on his naughty list for next year.”
“Nick!” Charlie hissed but Nick grabbed his wrist and pulled him from the room.
“What the fuck?” Charlie whispered.
Nick cupped his cheek and ran a finger over the skin there. “Relax darling. As soon as they go to sleep we can carry on.”
“But what if they wake up?” Charlie asked, small flares of panic going off like fireworks inside of him. “We should’ve just sent them back to Theo’s room.”
“They’re just excited Char. It’s the magic of Christmas. I promise everything will be okay. We can even make this fun. Come with me.” Nick stooped down to grab some of the discarded presents and Charlie grabbed the rest lest their two little holiday menaces saw them and got any more bright ideas.
Back in Nick’s room, Nick rooted around in his closet while Charlie stood by and tapped his foot anxiously against the carpet. Finally, Nick made a noise of discovery and walked out with a fluffy white and red coat, and a Santa hat.
“Where the hell did you get that?” Charlie asked, his brows raised.
“Santa party in uni.”
Charlie snorted and appraised his broad, fit boyfriend. “Nick, I love you but that was about a decade ago, yeah? No chance that fits you now.”
Nick shrugged and smiled. “No harm in trying. Santa is meant to be a big guy, is he not?”
Charlie rolled his eyes but held the coat up for Nick to stick his arms through. It was an incredibly snug fit, the material clinging to Nick’s bulging muscles but miraculously, he got it on without ripping a single seam.
“See? A little bit of Christmas magic goes a long way.”
Charlie was too shocked at the image before him. He could feel himself drooling, his eyes wide as they raked over the man in costume. “Holy hell, Nick. If Santa looked like that when I was a child, I’d probably come to the conclusion that I was gay even sooner.”
Nick smirked and settled his hands on Charlie’s hips, his voice husky as he asked, “You like what you see?”
“Obviously,” Charlie huffed but he couldn’t stop the grin from slipping onto his face. He could barely take his eyes off his fit as fuck boyfriend. “If you get to be sexy Santa, what does that make me?”
Nick’s eyes twinkled as he looked Charlie over. “Hmm… Santa’s sexy helper?”
Charlie snorted and Nick released him to grab a second hat from his closet, this one a slightly worn green.
Charlie held it in his hands with pinched brows. “Nick… is this also from a Santa party?”
Nick looked abashed and rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning pink. “Uh, no, actually. Theo wanted to be an elf for Halloween one year and I guess I just… kept it.”
Charlie quirked a brow. “Any reason you didn’t get rid of it?”
“Well, if I had then you wouldn’t have anything to wear, now would you?” Nick argued.
“You sure it has nothing to do with you being a sentimental sap? If I walked into your closet right now, what else would I find?”
Nick jumped in front of him with a grin on his face before he could enter the closet. “Yes, okay, I’m a sentimental sap. Now put it on, you sexy elf.”
“How can we be sure this will even fit me? It’s made for a child!”
Nick’s eyes went wide and glassy and his lips pressed together into a pout. “Come on, Char, humour me? It’s just for a few minutes.”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Now I see where Theo gets it.” The resemblance of the action was uncanny. He sighed. “Fine. You better hope those boys are fast asleep.”
The two crept out to the sitting room and sure enough, both Alex and Theo were resting peacefully beneath their blankets looking every bit as angelic as the topper on Nick’s tree.
“See?” Nick whispered. “I told you.”
Charlie felt his shoulders deflate, the anxiety leaving his body. “That was fast. Let’s go get out of these costumes now and put the presents under the tree so we can go to bed. If I’m going to be woken up early, I want to get plenty of beauty sleep.”
“Or… we can stay in these costumes while we put the presents under the tree.”
“What? Why?”
“Why not? Don’t you think it’d be fun?”
“Nick, I swear you’re as bad as the kids.”
“Is that a yes?” Nick asked, a hopeful look in his eye and a pleading look on his face.
“If I say yes will you let me get an extra hour of sleep in the morning?”
“Hmm, best I can do is probably about an extra thirty minutes? If I don’t wake you the boys will.”
“Fine,” Charlie grumbled. “Let’s just go get those bloody presents.”
Despite his grumbling and complaints, putting the presents under the tree with Nick was a lot of fun. It was incredibly hard to stifle their giggles as they pulled little pranks around the room to make it look like Santa had been there walking around. Nick found an old bottle of baby powder in the bathroom and applied it to the bottom of his wellies before purposely putting them down in front of the tree to look like snowprints while Charlie fanned the gifts out to make the area look like a child wonderland full of surprises. They split the treat the boys left for Santa and left a note thanking the boys for their generosity and telling them to behave for their parents in the new year.
They took a quick photo by the tree, making sure to get their boys in the frame to later send to family members. Sarah Nelson in particular would eat this up.
However, the best part of it all was when Nick decided to leave his hat by the sleeping boys.
“Theo has never seen me wear that before. They’re going to lose their minds when they wake up.”
Charlie had to swallow down an excited laugh and nodded emphatically at Nick instead. When all the presents were placed under the tree, including the ones they got for each other, Nick and Charlie went back to Nick’s room to get ready for sleep, laughing and talking in hushed voices about how much fun that was.
As they were getting into bed, Charlie admitted to being nervous about going over to Nick’s for Christmas. “It was just such a big move in our relationship and I guess it freaked me out a little. But I’m so glad I did.” He looked at Nick with shining eyes. “I think this is the most fun I’ve ever had on Christmas Eve. Certainly, the most excited I’ve been for Christmas Day in a very long time.”
Nick pulled him close and peppered his face with kisses. “Thank you for saying yes to spending it with us. I know it was a big ask. I was so worried I was pressuring you into it and that you were only saying yes because you felt obligated to…”
Charlie shook his head and nuzzled into Nick’s chest. “No, Nick, never. I promise. I did want to come. I was just in my head about it a bit, that’s all.”
Nick held Charlie close, his heartbeat slightly accelerated in the younger man’s ear. “Charlie, I want to spend every possible moment with you and Alex that I can. Including holidays and events, big or small. If… if you want that too, of course.”
“Yes. Yes, I want that too, of course I do.”
“Good,” Nick said, burying his nose into Charlie’s curls and inhaling deeply.
“Good,” Charlie echoed.
Yes. Who says French people can't have old family recipes for spaghetti and meatballs?
Charlie was awoken by shouts out in the hallway and he felt Nick shift beside him, a hand brushing the curls off his forehead as he groaned and scrunched his eyes tighter together.
“Sorry, baby. I tried to let you sleep for longer,” Nick said with an ‘I told you so’ smile in his voice.
Charlie cracked one bleary eye open, the sun coming in through a slit in the blinds and making him squint up at a very excited Nick. “Coffee. Before anyone does or says anything else, I need coffee.”
Nick chuckled and kissed his forehead. “I’m on it.”
The morning was filled with shouts of joy and excitement as the boys filled Nick and Charlie in on the letter from Santa and the hat they found by their makeshift beds, as well as the footprints by the tree. They tore into their presents with glee and while they were distracted playing with their new toys, Nick and Charlie took their time opening the gifts they got each other.
Charlie couldn’t believe how much fun he was having. Christmases with Jane usually entailed a few gifts and then a speedy/stressful tidy-up before the family came over. Here at Nick’s wrapping paper littered the ground while the smell of pine and coffee danced in the air. Toys were strewn all about the sitting room and the kids were bouncing with energy while Nick and Charlie were in no hurry to do anything but sit and take in the joyful morning. They had plans to go to Sarah’s Christmas party later–which Charlie was very much looking forward to–but for now, they just relaxed and held each other.
It was perfect.
Resting his head back against the sofa, Charlie turned to look at Nick, those brown eyes soft and already watching him. “It’s official. This is the best Christmas I have ever had.”
Nick leaned in to give him a sweet kiss and Charlie melted into it like a snowman in the spring. “Agreed, best Christmas ever.”