Christmas was off the road for the first time in how long. Christmas could now be Christmas and not an awkward Skype call with faulty Wi-Fi inside a hotel room to his entire family. Paul sat back in his armchair and planted his festive themed feet on the footrest. He sighed; Christmas Eve was such a marvel to behold. He had coffee by his side, the football on in front of him and he'd just eaten a huge takeaway. A Christmas Eve and Christmas Day… then it would be Boxing Day. Paul felt giddy inside. Why had he not gone part-time wrestling sooner?

Paul grabbed his coffee from the side and took a pleasing sip. Real coffee and not that instant stuff you got in a hotel room packet. He laughed despite himself. God he loved Christmas. The tree stood proudly (in his opinion) in the far corner of the room near the window. Shawn had questioned the amount of tinsel claiming it looked more tacky than festive but what did he know? Shawn was used to these hot Christmases so he probably had no idea what a proper Christmas tree looked like. It had golden tinsel, red flashing lights and chocolates dangling from the prosthetic branches. It was beautiful and nobody was going to tell Paul otherwise.

Paul pulled the coffee from his lips after his short glance. Where had Shawn gotten to? He was supposed to fetch the box of chocolates in from the kitchen but that had been ten minutes ago. Paul placed his coffee back on the side table and glanced at the adjoining door from the living room to the kitchen. He could see the yellow light behind the cracks of the doorframe.

Shawn had gone during the ad breaks to avoid missing the first half but at this rate he was going to miss the second. Paul wriggled his toes impatiently. He was not hungry but those chocolates would not have gone down a miss. That and he missed Shawn's constant comments of course. Heaven forbid if something happened in the game and Shawn was not there to commentate in case one of the commentators suddenly took ill.

"Shawn?" Paul called out into the room. "I thought you were getting us a box of chocolates not running down to the store."

There was no answer. Paul raised his brow. He would not have put it past Shawn to actually run to the store if his favourite chocolates in the box had already been eaten. But then again… Paul looked at the clock in the corner of the screen of the television. The stores would have been closed by now on Christmas Eve. They did live in rural Texas after all. He called Shawn's name again. No answer.

"Dammit Shawn… you best not have hit your head on a cupboard." Paul grumbled as he got up from his seat. How many times did he have to tell Shawn to close cupboards when he was done with them? He pushed through the adjoining door to find the kitchen was empty. The box of chocolates sat unopened on the table. Paul scratched the back of his head.

"Shawnie…?" Paul called out again. The scruffy cat only mewed in response.

Paul exited the kitchen and walked into the hallway. He flicked the lights on and in a way did find Shawn. When the two had first moved into the house they had decided they would have to stick their accomplishments somewhere. Shawn had opted for the hallway and it had stuck. So all along the walls were images of themselves. It was quite eerie and a little vain but it was either that or stove the junk in the already full attic.

"Babe… are you okay?" A genuine wave of concern began to sink in. Was Shawn sick? He had claimed he felt a little iffy but they had just eaten a huge Indian meal, it was to be expected. Paul stood at the bottom of the stairs and laid his hand on the handrail. He had the vision of his poor helpless husband knelt down on the floor of their bathroom floor with his head down the toilet. His hair would be sticking to his clammy white face and he would be shaking. Then he'd spread it to Paul and his Christmas would be ruined. Paul swallowed nervously.

"Baby… can you hear me? Are you in the bathroom?" Paul called up. No answer. "Goddammit it…"

Paul began to trudge up the stairs. The cat weaved through his legs and took the lead in front of him. Stupid thing, they should have cooked her and saved them a load of bother. Shawn and his love for stupid useless things; thought a very grumpy Paul when he reached the top of the stairs. He stopped.

He heard a loud, crackle that went on and on until it suddenly stopped. Paul felt his ears tingle as he listened closely to any other sound. Sure enough, he heard his partner swear (something very rare for his god-fearing man to do) and more of the sound as before. He had not heard anybody enter the house… what was Shawn up to? Why was he uncharacteristically swearing? Paul clenched his fist. Why was Shawn not answering him?

Then it hit him. Of course, it was so simple. They were wealthy and this stupid ranch was in the middle of nowhere. Shawn might have gone into the kitchen and then found the barrel of a gun in the lower region of his back. The gunman would have threatened. Told Shawn if he so much has peeped then he would be celebrating Christmas with Christ personally. Shawn would have taken the madman into their bedroom where they kept their presents. The sound Paul heard – it had to be duct tape. Paul narrowed his eyes. The fiend! Poor Shawn would be blubbering like a little girl because he would have been no match for his captor. Shawn was out of shape and never one for a fist fight anyway. Not like Paul. Paul puffed up his chest. Paul could take the asshole whether he was armed or not. He would save his husband and their Christmas would be amazing with Paul as the hero.

The cat's eyes met his determined ones and they both knew it was time. Paul moved sharply and putting all of his weight behind him, he charged at their bedroom door like a battering ram. Full speed and like a bat out of hell: Paul hit the wood and went crashing in knocking the door off of its hinges.

Paul heard Shawn yell in fright when his body hit the floor. He could not waste time. Paul scrambled to his feet and raised both of his fists in mid-air ready for the fight of his life. The cat trotted in behind him. The adrenaline seeped from Paul's veins when the full room came into view. Shawn was pale and distressed. He was in the corner of the room with his bright blue eyes wide in terror. But there was nobody else in the room. On the floor were an assortment of boxes, some wrapped and some not, alongside a roll of wrapping paper and large roll of sellotape. The cat mewed filling the void of its silence.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" Shawn screamed when he had gathered himself and got onto his feet. His ashen face was now red like a cherry tomato. He pointed at Paul. "YOU ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!"

Paul blinked. "You didn't call back. I was worried."

"SO YOU DECIDE TO BREAK DOWN OUR BEDROOM DOOR? YOU… YOU…." Shawn shook with anger. Paul smiled innocently as he watched his husband control his seething temper with desperate gulps of air. At last, his cheeks began to lose their glow.

"I thought you were being kidnapped." Paul said with a shrug. "I came in here to save you. What are you doing?"

Shawn opened his mouth but immediately shut it again. Paul's eyes had already locked onto the assortment of wrapping Shawn had been preoccupied with. The Heartbreak Kid rubbed the back of his head gracelessly. It was obvious.

"Are these my presents…? You're just wrapping them now?" Paul asked with air of perplexity about him. Shawn was so good at organisation and yet he had dropped the ball? More to the point, the presents that were wrapped were wrapped dreadfully. The paper was uneven and the white underside of the festive pattern was visible at every corner. "Have you forgotten how to wrap presents? Those are ugly."

Shawn scrunched his nose up. "Well I'm sorry for actually bothering to wrap your presents Paul. In fact, I'm sorry for not being kidnapped because I bet it's my fault we need a new door."

"Stop being grumpy you're not dead." Said Paul with a smirk before he pulled Shawn towards him and held him with both hands on Shawn's hips. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me?"

The huge hazel eyes were reminiscent of a puppy and before Shawn could even think of a response, Paul had pulled him into a heat of the moment kiss. It lasted a few seconds until Paul pulled away and looked down again at the assortment of gifts. Shawn blushed.

"I… I know they're ugly. The store made a mistake." He said with a slight tremble. Paul looked back up and tilted his head to the side in confusion. Shawn sighed but continued, "I usually pay extra and get them wrapped in store. The clerk must have made a mistake because when I got home to check… they weren't wrapped."

"Wow… and I always praised you on such expert wrapping." Paul smirked. "Would you like me to teach you?"

"Then you'll see what you got for Christmas. Well… you can sort of already see anyway," he sighed disheartened. "I thought you'd be too enraptured in your game to bother me. I was going to slip in, do this and then slip back in with the chocolates before you even noticed. I never realised Christmas wrapping was so hard."

"Shawn… presents don't matter." Paul pressed a kiss to Shawn's lips. "Allow me to be sickly sweet and say: I'm happy just having you to myself in our own house with full stomachs. Forget the presents. You only rip and throw the wrapping away anyway. Come finish the game with me."

Shawn smiled. "Wow… that's probably one of the most genuine and loving things you've ever said to me."

"I just tried to save your scrawny ass from a guy with a gun. That's surely the most loving and genuine thing I've ever done for you."

"Oh alright fine! Thank you my dashing and daring rescuer on this fine Christmas Eve." Shawn said with an air of the dramatics. Paul puffed out his chest and said with a deep voice,

"No problem. It's what I do. I am the chimney even Saint Nick dreads to wander down, I am the night… I am…. I am…."

Shawn rolled his eyes and said with a cheeky smile, "An idiot."

"I am the annoyed husband who is going to finish the rest of the game with you in tow," on that note, Paul tossed Shawn over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. "And you're going to eat chocolates and later I will unwrap you seeing as I have nothing else to unwrap."

And Paul and Shawn spent the rest of their Christmas Eve doing just that.