~Hey guys Happy Holidays! Here's another Christmas adventure with Breyer, hope you like this one. I really love pairing Chris and Alex with a kid. They just seem like they'd be good with them; maybe 'cause they're like big kids themselves. Anyway, please leave your comments and I hope you get everything you want this holiday season. Merry Christmas ^-^~
Kissin' Santa Claus
The gentle scratching at the back of his head penetrated his sleepy mind. He recognized those stubby finger nails and that light caress and was trying hard to ignore it; but it was very persistent. He thought he heard a distinct song playing somewhere in the background. He nuzzled his cheek against the bare chest it was resting on hoping to stop the disturbances.
"Mmph," he moaned annoyed.
"Your phone is ringing," those fingers kept scratching at the nape of his neck.
"Leave it."
"This is the second time it rang."
Suddenly stark silence settled around the room. "See, it's fine."
He felt the other boy take a deep breath and shift slightly then an arm was draped over his side. A small smile twitched at his lips and he snuggled closer to the body next to him with a quiet sigh. Just as the thick veil of sleep was about to overtake him that song started playing again. He groaned.
"You've gotta answer it babe." Warm breath ghosted across his cheek.
He reluctantly unwrapped himself from the covers and leaned over the body next to him to reach his phone on the night table. He squinted at the screen while he slid over the other boy's chest back into his spot on the bed.
"Please tell me someone's dead," he said into the speaker.
"Chris! That's a fine thing to say."
"Well it's fucking early. What do you want Nic?" He grumbled.
"It's after 10. How is that early?"
"We didn't get in 'tli after 5; our flight got delayed."
"Well I'm sorry, but I need your help."
"I can only imagine…" Chris sighed. "What's up?"
"I'm organizing the holiday fundraiser for Breyer's class today and I need some help. Mom and I are loading the baked stuff into the car now; can you and Alex meet us over at the house in like a half hour?"
"I guess so… I don't really feel like lugging around tables though I just went through enough of them. And Alex hurt his knee so he can't be pulling on shit."
"Well Dad and Pete already set that stuff up."
"Then why do you need us?"
"Have you ever thought about switching careers Chris?"
He didn't like the tone in his sister's voice. "What are you talking about?"
"I need a Santa Claus… The one I hired backed out, something to do about another booking."
"What?" Chris propped himself up on his elbow. "No way dude."
"C'mon Chris please… It's for a good cause. It'll help Breyer's school. Plus you owe me for last year… I'm surprised she even wants there to be a Santa Claus at this event after you and Alex terrified her."
He fell back onto the pillows utterly defeated. "Fine, we'll be there. Give us about an hour."
"The bake sale starts at noon and Santa is supposed to come at 2."
"Well you're dragging me out of bed, I'm sore as hell, I'm about to be hog tied into some god awful suit; you can give me an hour to get a shower and stuff."
He heard her sigh and silently dared her to say something about it.
"Fine, but please try to hurry. Breyer is really excited and I could use you as a distraction."
"All you wanna do is use me woman… God, am I only a piece of meat to you?"
"I'll see you both in an hour Champ," she hung up.
Chris rolled his baby blues and let his phone fall somewhere in the blankets. He threw an arm across Alex's chest and buried his face into the crook of his neck.
"She wants me to dress up as Santa… How do I get roped into these things?" Chris mumbled.
The brunette chuckled softly while he ran a hand over his haggard face; he needed to shave.
"She uses Breyer as leverage. Nicole knows it's impossible to say no when it has to do with the munchkin."
"She threw around the Santa incident from last year; I was stuck."
Alex laughed again and carded a gentle hand through Chris' wheat colored hair. "She's never gonna let us live that down."
"That'll go on my head stone when I die if she has anything to say about it."
"Nah, I won't let that be your lasting legacy babe. She'll probably stick in your eulogy though."
"Oh, well that's comforting." Chris sighed and tugged the blankets up around him more.
"You know we gotta get up, Nic will have a canary if we're late."
"Screw the canaries… I'm comfortable," he placed a light kiss against Alex's shoulder. "And you're awfully warm, and this bed is so nice, and there are a few things I could think of doing instead of dressing up for a bunch of snotty nosed kids."
He used kisses to punctuate each point and his trail led him up to the younger boy's ear. He tugged on his ear lobe gently then traced the outer shell with the tip of his tongue; Alex shuddered and he started to run his fingertips up and down Chris's spine.
"Your niece is one of those snotty nosed kids," he reminded.
"Mmhm, but we got an hour before any of them matter," Chris whispered and captured Alex's lips before he could say anymore.
The brunette purred low in his throat and tightened his arms around the blonde; Chris' hand ran up that toned chest and snuck around into the dark curls at the back of Alex's head. The younger boy bit down on his bottom lip in response. Just as Chris shifted to rub his leg gently against Alex's growing bulge a knock suddenly stopped them short.
Alex yanked his mouth off Chris' and yelled out breathlessly, "What?"
"Do you two want breakfast? Mom's making waffles with the icing," his younger sister called through the door.
"No, we're fine," Alex replied curtly.
"Tell her we'll be right there Sarah," Chris corrected.
"Hurry up then," she answered.
Alex gaped at the boy in his arms. "Waffles, really?"
"Dude, your mom makes the best waffles. Besides, we gotta take a shower before breakfast," he winked.
Chris sat up and stretched; he scratched his bare chest but didn't get much farther. Alex tackled him back into the pillows. He fused his lips onto the blonde's with a searing kiss and ravished his willing mouth all while cupping the crotch of his boxers. Chris moaned into the affection and pushed his hips up into Alex's palm.
Alex pulled away making Chris whimper and tug him back.
"We just don't have time if you wanna eat my mom's waffles," he smirked and moved to the edge of his bed.
"Fucker," the blonde glared.
"Nope, but I could have been." Alex got up and pulled on a pair of sweat pants. "You're the one who wanted breakfast."
Chris flipped him off and then dragged his hands over his face before he could muster the strength to get up. Alex was already out in the hallway and the blonde made it to the bedroom doorway just in time to see the bathroom door close. He smirked and hurried to follow his boy; but footsteps on the stairs stilled his hand on the knob.
"There you are hun," Alex's mom smiled. "There's still plenty left, I know you boys got in late last night so I didn't wanna wake you up earlier. Come on down when you're ready."
"Oh, we'll be right down; we actually have to go help my sister with a fundraiser at Breyer's school so we gotta get going."
"Oh, well that's nice of you; aren't you glad to be back home in time for the holidays?" She joked.
"Just thrilled, really," Chris replied and watched as the corners of her dark brown eyes crinkled when she smiled; he instantly thought of Alex and his hand tightened on the door knob. He heard the water turn on in the bathroom.
"Your sister is always got some project she's pulling you into."
"Yeah, she's crafty that way."
"Is Alex awake?"
"Yeah," Chris nodded. "He's awake, I was just about to go kick him out of the bathroom; you know how much of a diva he is.
She chuckled at her son's expense. "Make sure he saves you some hot water."
Chris sniggered, "I'm gonna try."
She smiled once more and headed back downstairs. She wasn't even off the landing yet when the bathroom door was yanked open and Chris all but fell inside. Alex swiftly pulled him the rest of the way in through the crack and shoved the door closed again. Steam had curled around the whole room and Alex's skin glistened with the humidity. He pushed Chris up against the door and held him there.
"I'm a diva huh?" He growled while peppering the side of the blonde's neck with tiny kisses.
"You always take forever in the shower."
He hooked his fingers in the waist band of the older boy's boxers and jerked them down. Chris hissed when Alex's nails scraped over his sensitive hips.
"Guess we'll have to be quick this time," he licked the side of the blonde's neck and dragged him into the shower.
~xxx~
"With everyone going green I'm surprised to see all the lights up," Chris commented while he and Alex were driving the short distance to his parents' house.
"Jeez Scrouge, even the tree huggers have more holiday spirit than you," Alex retorted.
"I have plenty of spirit; I just decorated you in the shower."
"Yeah," Alex's rubbed at the purple love bite on his collar bone and smiled lazily. "Dude we seriously got to think about getting our own place here. It's ridiculous that we can't have sex without my sister and mom trying to barge in every 5 seconds."
"Yeah, and forget my parent's place. My mom's worse than yours and Breyer's always running around over there."
"I'm a grown ass man and I've gotta sneak around like a teenager to fuck my boyfriend," Alex shook his head. "Time to go apartment hunting."
"But how much time do we really spend back in Detroit?" Chris threw out there. "I mean we only come back home for the holidays and special occasions. Maybe we should just start springing for hotel rooms."
"And who's going to explain that to our mothers? Gee Renee thanks for the offer but I've gotta decline 'cause I wanna screw your son's brains out tonight… I don't see that going over very well."
"Sorry Margaret I'd love to stay and chat but your son's naked in the shower and I've got a raging hard on for him… Yeah that was pretty much the scenario this morning," Chris snickered while he described the meeting.
"My poor mother… Did you really stand there and talk to her with a stiffy?"
"No! I quickly repositioned it and turned away."
"Oh my god," Alex nearly choked on his laugh, "how in the hell do you expect me to look her in the face again. Is that why she kept smirking at us during breakfast?"
"Could be," the blonde shrugged. "It's not like they don't know."
"Yes but I wanna at least pretend that they don't know."
"So we'll start staying in a hotel and we'll tell them it's just easier than trying to come in real late without waking anyone up."
"That could work I guess," Alex conceded.
"So when's Christmas dinner at your place again? 'Cause we gotta be at my parent's by like 6 for dessert and stuff."
"Probably like 4 so we'll have plenty of time. Are we wrapping stuff at the different houses again?"
"It worked last year, wrap your family's stuff at my parent's place and vice versa."
"Sounds good. See this would be another advantage to having our own place here in Detroit, we wouldn't have to covertly pull all night wrapping sessions."
"We'd still be wrapping shit the day of Christmas Eve, we both know that babe; good try though," Chris grinned at him.
Alex rolled his eyes and pulled in behind Nicole's SUV. It dwarfed the civic and Chris joked it was the Soccer Mom Mobile.
"Watch the steps, they're slippery," Renee cautioned while standing in the doorway.
Chris nodded and turned to tell Alex; but his left foot didn't stop pivoting and it flew out from underneath him with the momentum. He barely caught the handle on his way down and it didn't help the fall. Alex leaned against Nicole's car doubled over in laughter. His arm was wrapped around his stomach while his whole body quaked.
"I hope you piss yourself," Chris groused hauling himself up with the railing.
"I'm so-" Alex hiccupped and started to laugh again as he carefully made his way to the front steps. "I'm sorry baby, are you okay?"
Chris glared at the glint still in his dark eyes and shoved him for good measure. Alex expected it and was able to snag the front of Chris' coat. He pulled him into his chest; but the blonde struggled and grabbed Alex around the waist. The movement left him off balanced and they toppled into the snow bank.
"Umph," Alex hit the powder first and Chris landed on top of him.
At first they laid there scowling at each other; they opened their mouth to demand what the hell the other was doing. But suddenly the heat evaporated like melting snow and they were both laughing so hard they could barely get their breath.
"I wanna play too," a familiar voice shouted.
"Breyer Rose don't you dare jump in that snow. You're much smarter than your uncles." Nicole chuckled.
"Hey munchkin," Chris beamed after sitting up. "Can you back up a little bit?"
The little girl's face scrunched in confusion but she did as her uncle asked and squealed when a snow ball flew right at her mom. Nicole narrowly avoided it.
"You're getting old Shelley, your aim's going," she smirked.
It was immediately wiped off her face by a quick re-fire that hit her almost on the chin.
"Tag Team Nic," Chris yelled triumphantly.
"The greatest ever," Alex added.
Nicole brushed off her sweater. "Just get your asses in here."
"Mama that's a bad word," Breyer scolded.
"Yeah Nic, watch your mouth." Chris had made it to his feet and offered his hand down to Alex.
The younger boy pulled himself up and tried to brush the snow off but it was impossible, he was already soaked through to the skin.
"Forget it babe, we'll have to change up in my room," Chris concluded. "C'mon."
"Watch your step," Alex teased as they finally headed inside.
Chris flipped him off behind his other hand then looked around for Breyer, thankfully she wasn't in the foyer.
"We'll be right down," he shouted on his way upstairs.
"No, stay up there so I can show you the S-U-I-T." Nicole called back. "I'm gonna get outta the car."
"Get what outta the car Mama?" He heard Breyer ask and smiled at his niece's curiosity.
"Come over here baby and help me put the cupcakes on this tray," Renee said.
"Okay Gammie."
The Guns made it up to Chris' room and he pulled out his bottom drawer. He had a few old shirts and jeans tucked away inside.
"She doesn't miss anything man," Alex smiled as Chris tossed him a pair of faded blue jeans.
"Nope. She gets that from me."
"Sure she does," Alex replied sarcastically pulling the rough wet denim off. "This will be the second time today I've gotten in your pants and it's not even noon yet."
"Well it must be your lucky day 'Lex," Chris pulled his shirt over his head some snow stuck in his hair and tiny freezing droplets melted down his chest.
Alex poked his tongue out to wet his lips; his mocha eyes darkened. "Always is baby."
Nicole wrapped on the door and both boys rolled their eyes.
"Just a second," Chris called pulling another pair of worn jeans out.
They dressed quickly and Chris finally told his sister to come in. She had a large black bag draped over her arm with a hanger sticking out of the top. She laid it across Chris' bed and pulled the zipper down.
"Okay, here's the Santa suit," she trucked some fly away bangs back behind her ear. "We're going to have to rig you up with pillows and stuff but all the other parts are here. There's a box in the car with the accessories."
"Accessories?" Chris repeated.
"Yeah, the hat, the glasses, the gloves, the shoes," she listed.
"Is his dignity in there too?" Alex joked.
"Haha… Keep it up and all you're getting is coal bitch."
"Let's focus please," Nicole begged. "I need your help attending the tables and the kids, but then you're gonna have to disappear at like 1:30 to get into the costume. I'm gonna gather the kids in the auditorium and you're gonna be set up on the stage with the presents and stuff."
Chris pulled the suit half way out of the bag to get a better look at it. It was pretty authentic looking, the fabric wasn't cheap. It was lush velvet embellished with soft white fur trim.
"Where did you get this?"
"I rented it from the Holiday store down by Pete's office. It's nice right?"
"Not too shabby Nic. There's barely any padding though."
"Well yeah, but the other guy didn't need much; that's why you're gonna need pillows. Alex can go with you and strap you all in."
"Alright," the brunette nodded. "We should get all this stuff in our car while your mom has B occupied."
"Yeah, and then we gotta get going. We still have to arrange the food on the tables when we get there."
"Did you and mom bake everything yourselves?"
"Yes. My kitchen's been a disaster for three days."
"Damn," Chris shook his head. "Well let's go so we can put shit together. Is mom coming to the bake sale with us?"
"No, she's staying here to wrap some of Breyer's gifts for me. I haven't gotten any done yet."
"You've been a busy little bee Nic," Alex commented.
"You have no idea," she sighed, "c'mon, Breyer's no doubt asking for you guys by now."
The Guns followed Nicole downstairs and didn't make it into the kitchen before a little ball of energy with ash blonde curls darted out and attacked Chris' legs.
"Uncle Chris," she beamed up at him with pink frosting smeared over mouth. "Why did you push Uncle Alex into the snow?"
Chris chuckled and grabbed her around the waist; he pulled her up into his arms and flipped her upside down. Nicole moved in to wipe her mouth with a wet napkin.
"I see you got Gammie to give you a cupcake."
Breyer looked up at her mother with knowing smirk, "It wouldn't fit on the tray."
Nicole fought to keep the smile off her face. "She's definitely related to you Sabin."
The little girl tried to look back at Chris but his hold on her made it difficult.
"It's a figure of speech hun," Nicole explained. "Now why don't you go to Uncle Alex and we'll put this stuff in the car so we can get to the bake sale."
"And Santa Claus!" She clapped. "Yay, I want to ask him for a bike with pink streamers and a purple basket."
"Wow, a basket and everything B?" Alex asked while Chris deposited her in his arms. He smiled when her little arms curled around his neck in a squeeze.
"Yeah, and then I wanna race Miah to the park 'cause I know I can beat him. And then I'll get to be the ruler of the jungle gym."
"Who's Miah?"
"Jeremiah Granger. He's in Breyer's class and they live just down the block," Renee explained while placing foil over the last of the trays. "He and Breyer have a little rivalry going on; they're always trying to out-do each other on the play ground. Did you show Uncle Alex your knee yet?"
"Look," she struggled to pull her pant leg up while still holding onto Alex.
He set her on the counter top and let her show him the scrape on the front of her knee; it was scabbed over now and faded to a brownish red.
"Jeez B, that's pretty big. How'd that happen?" Alex glanced over at Renee, but she didn't look that concerned.
"Miah and me were running-"
"Miah and I sweetheart," Renee reminded picking up a tray to take outside.
"Miah and I," Breyer began again, "were running across the playground to the tire swing. I was gonna get there first but I fell down. I didn't cry that much! Miah said that girls never make it first and if I had a bike I could beat him."
"I know you can beat him now, without the bike," Alex pulled her pant leg down. "Just because he's a boy doesn't make him better than you B. You can do everything he can do ten times better."
"I know; I just tripped over the grass," she sighed. "Uncle Alex, when can I go to the Impact Zone?"
"Well we gotta wait for you to get out of school now. Maybe over spring vacation you can come visit us in Orlando," he answered as Chris came back into the kitchen.
"Let's see this knee munchkin," he leaned up against the counter beside his niece.
Breyer tugged her pant leg back up. "I wanna do the stuff you and Uncle Chris do. When can I fight the bad guys?"
Chris grinned proudly as he inspected her scrape. "You gotta wait 'til you get big like us munchkin. Gammie didn't let me start 'til I was a grown up."
The little girl sighed again. "I was afraid of that. All the fun stuff happens when you're big."
"Uncle Alex hurt his knee too," Chris informed. "He jumped over the top rope and crashed through a table."
Breyrer's azure eyes got huge and she looked at Alex like she expected him to physically fall to pieces. "You crashed through a table?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "See why you gotta wait 'til you're big. It's dangerous B."
"Then how come you do it?"
"How come you try to beat Miah at so much stuff?" Alex asked her.
"'Cause he says I can't but I know I can. And it's fun," she grinned.
"That's exactly why we do it," Chris replied.
Nicole and Renee came back in; Nicole glared at her younger brother. "We're gonna be late if you don't hurry up."
"It's all Breyer's fault," Chris tickled her sides.
She giggled and recoiled away searching for the safety of Alex, but he just got the backs of her legs making her scream in laughter.
"Mwhaha," he cackled.
Nicole rolled her eyes and grabbed another tray of sweets. Renee smiled at the boys and her granddaughter.
"Isn't it nice when everyone's home," she mused before taking another tray.
Chris took the last one and on the way out he snuck three cookies off of it and pressed them into Alex's hand.
"Tell no one," he looked around for spies before moving out behind the leader.
The brunette shook his head but couldn't help chuckling. "You're uncle is crazy B," he handed her the smallest cookie.
"Mama says that too… But Uncle Chris says that about her too."
"It's a curse I'm afraid," he replied.
Breyer scrunched her forehead. "Huh?"
"Doesn't matter let's go put on your coat on so we can leave when everyone's done."
Alex carried her into the living room and he let her get her coat off the rack by the door. Sitting on the couch he helped her get it on and he zipped it up just as Nicole walked in the door.
"Okay," she called, "let's go."
"Ready Mama," Breyer proclaimed. "Can I ride with Uncle Chris and Uncle Alex?"
"That's up to them."
Breyer gazed up at Alex with a perfect imitation of Chris' puppy dog eyes.
"Of course you can. Let's roll," he scooped her up and headed out to the car.
~xxx~
Chris struggled with balancing two trays as he waited for Nicole to arrange the Christmas tree cloth over the oblong wooden table. She kept tugging on the corners and smoothing out the center. He huffed blowing his bangs out of his face and commenced to tapping the toe of his sneaker on the floor tiles. Nicole leaned over to pull at the same corner again and Chris growled.
"Damnit Nic it's fine!"
"Uncle Chris that's a bad word," Breyer frowned.
"Er… Sorry munchkin. Tell your mother the stupid table cloth is fine then."
"Mama, the stupid table cloth is fine."
Nicole fixed her brother with her 'mom' look and smoothed away the last of the creases. Chris put the sweets down and wrung his hands out. Nicole moved the trays across the table and then turned expectantly toward the tag team champions.
"Can you go get the other ones?" She attempted those famous Sabin puppy dog eyes but it just didn't have the same effect.
"You're such a slave driver," Chris made a dramatic show of plodding back to the car.
Alex took pity on him and followed him out. The blonde met him at the door with another platter of baked goods.
"What are you doing?" He practically demanded. "You should be resting remember."
"I think I can manage a dish of cookies, I'm not gonna break babe. Besides I was able to bend pretty well this morning."
Chris smirked and raked his eyes down the front of his boy. "Yeah you were. Just be careful though; that knee's given you enough problems the last few months. Let's not aggravate it more."
"Generation Me has given me enough problems over the last few months." Alex's eyes flashed as he corrected him. "Fucking punk asses."
"We took care of them Sunday though," Chris commented. "Beer Money's up when we get back to the Impact Zone."
"At least Bobby and Jimmy know how to work man. Max and Jeremy are just about worthless on the mat."
"That's why we carry them in matches. That's why they didn't go over."
"That and we're just the greatest tag team in North America," Alex added with a smirk.
"Naturally," Chris replied and then leaned in to steal a quick peck. "Hurry that sexy ass up."
Alex chuckled after him. "Dumbass."
"Perfect," Nicole exclaimed when she saw Chris with the tray. "There's one more in my car. Is Alex getting that one?"
"Whatever you get me for Christmas better be huge and expensive," Chris warned as he once again went back outside.
He met Alex in the lobby by the school's office. "How many more, 'cause these were it in our car."
"Apparently one more in the Soccer Mom Mobile," Chris answered. "We best get a fucking trip to Aruba outta this."
Alex laughed and continued down to the bake sale set up. He handed his platter off to Nicole and she placed it on the appropriate table. Chris came up a few minutes later with the very last tray.
"I'm done! You can't make me do anything else," he fell into a chair scattered around outside the auditorium and closed his eyes.
"Uncle Chris, will you take me out on to the swings?" Breyer implored tapping his leg.
He cracked open one blue eye and poked his tongue out at the little girl. She giggled and made a silly face back. He crossed his eyes at her and she tried, but couldn't get both to do it. Chris laughed and pulled her up into his lap.
"Really, you wanna go out on the swings right now?"
"Yeah," she nodded emphatically; her golden curls bouncing around her tiny shoulders.
"But it's cold out munchkin, there's snow all over," he sighed.
"Please Uncle Chris… Please," she snuggled up to his chest.
"Oh brother, she really is yours," Alex smiled. "C'mon, quit being a Grinch. We'll take ya outside B."
"Yay," she jumped off Chris' lap and ran for Alex pulling on his hand when he didn't go fast enough for her, she paused when she couldn't get him to budge. "Mama, when will Santa be here?"
"He'll be here once the bake sale gets going. We gotta finish our work first," Nicole explained.
"Do you think he remembers me from last year? Me and- I mean Jayln and I went to find him at the Christmas party and he wasn't scary. Uncle Alex, why were you scared of him?"
"I wasn't munchkin; I was just being silly with Uncle Chris. I never meant to scare you." Alex replied sincerely looking into her sapphire eyes.
"Your song was scary, but then when we found Santa he was nice. He let us hand out presents with him Mama."
"I know baby, you were a very good helper. Are you gonna be just as good and help us today?"
"Sure, but after the swings. I wanna show Uncle Chris and Uncle Alex how high I can get."
"Awesome," Alex beamed. "I bet you get pretty high right B?"
"Yeah, c'mon." She tugged urgently on his hand.
"C'mon babe," Alex reached for Chris' hand and pulled him along.
"You're supposed to be my tag partner, not hers," he teased as he was dragged outside to the school's playground.
Nicole chuckled and put the finishing touches on the displays; glancing behind her to watch them go outside. Breyer stomped through the snow in her pink boots all the way over to the swing set. She went to the one in the middle, and pulled herself up into it.
"Uncle Chris, will you give me a push?"
Even though he hadn't wanted to be dragged out into the glaring December sun and frigid Detroit wind he couldn't be grumpy when that little girl smiled at him. He headed over to her; Alex behind him. The brunette sat down in the swing beside Breyer.
"Do you think I can get as high as you munchkin?" He asked as he began to push himself with his feet.
"No way," she grinned at him. "Push me really high Uncle Chris!"
The blonde wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her backwards with him. "Hold on tight munchkin." He let her go and she flew forward.
Her laughter echoed around him and he laughed himself when he pushed her forward again. Her blonde curls floated in the breeze after her. Chris ran his hand through his own hair and glanced over at Alex. He pushed Breyer once more and went to lean against the post by Alex's swing.
"So you want a push too?"
Alex laughed at him. He shifted and took hold of the chains. "Yeah."
Chris got behind him, wrapped his arm around his waist, drew him backward, and then let him go. He didn't go as far as Breyer but Chris kept pushing him gently.
"I can't wait to go home and get back in bed," Chris yawned. "If it wasn't for Breyer Nic would've been on her own today."
"Oh please, you're stoked for all these little brats and we totally pigged out on those cookies on the way over here," Alex argued as he swung back to the blonde; he put his feet down to stop his return swing.
"Mom bakes the best peanut butter cookies," he agreed slipping his arm around Alex's leanly muscled waist. Chris rested his chin on the younger boy's shoulder.
"Mine could take her with the chocolate chip mint cookies she makes at Thanksgiving."
"Maybe," Chris replied thoughtfully.
Alex turned his head and captured the blonde's lips in a chilly kiss disregarding further arguments.
"Uncle Alex, watch me jump off." Breyer shouted.
Before either had time to yell 'no' the little girl had launched herself off the swing. She landed somewhat ungracefully on her feet, but unharmed. She held her arms up and spun proudly to face the Guns.
"Should we be mad?" Alex whispered.
"I don't know," Chris replied softly.
"Did ya see me?" Breyer ran up to them. "I made it. You try Uncle Alex."
"Maybe you shouldn't do that anymore munchkin. You could hurt yourself." Chris told her.
"I always make it," she declared.
The boys glanced at one another but thankfully Nicole called them inside; Breyer ran ahead of them glancing back every few seconds.
"Hurry up, I wanna see Santa."
"Comin B," Alex assured.
~xxx~
There was a good turnout for the fundraiser, Chris was glad he agreed to do this for his sister. It hadn't been that bad; all they had to do was sit there and dole out the goodies. Breyer kept bouncing back and forth between her Uncles and her school mates. She brought a few over to meet them and Chris had noticed the wary glances from the other parents; he just smiled back and let his niece show him off.
"You guys should go backstage and put that suit on, it's 1:30." Nicole said coming over from the cupcake table. "I opened the door just down the hall so you can get in."
"All these people keep staring at us like we're at the zoo," Chris retorted.
"I know. Most of the kids know who you guys are. I shoulda just had you wear your gear down here."
"Such a better idea man," Chris scanned the lobby for Breyer and spotted her at a little table coloring with her friends. "Is that gonna keep Breyer occupied while we disappear."
"She's fine; she's really gotten into art lately. I think she's gonna be really good at it."
"Finally something I can take credit for," Alex interjected from his seat at the table.
"You dropped out of art school," Nicole reminded.
"To wrestle; and who painted the kid's nursery when you were preggars and Pete's was in Chicago. That ocean mural turned out damn good."
"Yeah, that did turn out nice. She tells everyone that you painted her room too. It wasn't for free though; you stayed at my house and didn't pay for anything for 3 weeks."
"I was in Japan for that," Chris recalled.
"Yeah, talk me into dropping all the heavy shit on our families about us getting together than leave me to deal with it for a month. I'm still pissed at you for that."
He shrugged. "It worked out; everyone's fine now."
"Yeah but they weren't then, that's how I ended up on your pregnant sister's couch."
"We had one person on our side," Chris smiled at his older sister, "thanks Nic."
"Well I couldn't let him freeze on the streets, but if you fuck this up I'm gonna wish I did, now hurry back there and put the suit on."
Chris sighed, he looked to Alex for some help but the younger brunette just shook his head.
"C'mon St. Nick," he laced his fingers through the blondes and they headed down the hall to the backstage entrance.
Chris felt like someone was watching them but he chalked it up to all the strange looks the parents had sent their way. He and Alex slipped in the side door quietly and went back to the costume room. Nicole had the laid the suit all out and the accessories were sitting beside it, three large fluffy pillows included.
Chris pulled his hoodie off and toed off his sneakers. "Let's get this over with."
"I think you should put the pants on first; they'll be easy. Then the jacket; button it half way then I'll stuff the pillows in there."
"Too bad we don't have anything to hold them in place underneath the jacket."
"Take the belt outta your jeans."
Chris smiled at his boy and undid the checkered belt around his waist. He got the bottom half of the outfit on pretty easily while Alex rigged his belt to cinch the pillows to his stomach. He tucked his necklace securely under the collar of his shirt, smoothing the material over the interlocked C and A charm, then put the jacket on and turned to face the brunette.
"Stuff me baby," he smirked.
"I don't know… I'm not into fat dudes," Alex rejoindered while he wrapped the belt around Chris stomach. "Hold the ends and I'll get the pillows in ya."
Together they managed to get him dressed up and at last Chris slipped the gold wire-rimmed glasses on the end of his nose. They shined and stood out against the fluffy white beard.
"How do I look?" Chris asked skeptically.
"You look great babe. If I didn't know any better I'd try to sit on your lap," Alex quipped.
"Ho ho ho!" Chris shook the pillows in his stomach practicing the jolly line.
"Santa, you're finally here."
"Yup, I made it. It was rough flying all the way down from the North Pole. My reindeer got tired so I'm letting them rest out back. Ho ho ho!"
Alex chuckled and walked all the way around Chris carefully looking him over. "I might have been too hasty about fat dudes before."
"See, all that cookie eatin' just makes me sweeter." Chris winked behind his glasses. "C'mere and tell Santa what you want for Christmas."
Chris snaked his arms around Alex and pulled him in for a kiss. Alex tried to find him under all the padding, the squishiness felt strange to him; but he'd recognize those lips and Chris' unique flavor anywhere. It reminded him of the clear spice drops he used to eat as a kid. He licked his lips when they pulled back and allowed Chris to do the same thing.
"Mmm….You're on Santa," he said softly.
After stealing one more kiss Chris finally let him go back to the lobby. Alex found Nicole and told her everything was ready to go.
"Okay, I'll give him a minute to get in the chair and stuff. How does he look?"
"Like he literally just parked his sleigh on the roof."
"Awesome," she grinned. "Did you see Breyer when you were came back up the hall? She was drawing over there but I don't see her now."
"If you lost your own kid it totally trumps last year," Alex retorted scanning the sea of little heads. He found her by the water fountain. "She's right there, I'll go get her."
"Okay." Nicole clapped her hands together, "everyone, can I have your attention please. There is a special guest that just flew in from the North Pole in the auditorium. He's waiting for us, let's go!"
"Hey B, you ready to go see Santa?" He smiled.
Breyer looked up at him like he was a complete stranger; her cerulean eyes were wide and she stepped back when he reached for her.
Alex furrowed his brows, "munchkin?"
"Come on baby, Santa's here," Nicole called.
Breyer ran around Alex and flung herself into her mother's arms. The younger Machine Gun stared after her, but then shrugged; she seemed fine.
"Probably one too many cupcakes," he thought following the crowd in to see Santa.
The kids were all gathered on the steps of the stage mesmerized by the scene in front of them. Nicole stood on the stage by the top of the steps and was helping them up. She controlled the line and let each child sit on Santa's knee for a few minutes before she sent the next one up. Alex watched for a few minutes and realized that the line to get down was getting clogged up. Kids were pawing through the bag of presents and not going to their waiting parents. He hopped up on the edge of the stage and went straight to the bag.
"Okay," he grabbed it and held it up out of their reach. "I'm taking up elf duty guys. You each get one present then you gotta go back to your mommies and daddies."
Chris smiled gratefully at him and held onto the kid that was on his knee until Alex got the rowdy little bunch straightened out.
"Send the next one over Santa," he smiled.
"Ho ho ho, you're the greatest elf Alex. Go on now," Chris urged the little boy to the gift bag.
Once the line had shortened and all the kids were being looked after by the adults they belonged to, Nicole let Breyer come up.
"Come here baby; let's go ask Santa for your bike."
"Mama, where's Uncle Chris?" She asked while taking Nicole's hand.
"He had to bring Gammie something from the store quick, he'll be back to help clean up a little later. Go tell Santa what you want for Christmas."
Breyer hesitated looking back and forth between her mother and Santa Claus. She reached up to Nicole and wrapped her arms tight around her neck when she lifted her.
"You tell him Mama."
"Are you being shy?" Nicole chuckled while smoothing back her bangs. "You must be getting tired; it's been a long day. Alright let's go see him together."
"Breyer, so nice to see you again," Chris smiled. "You've gotten bigger since last year, and even prettier."
"Say thank-you Santa," Nicole urged bouncing her gently in her arms.
"Thank-you," Breyer repeated quietly.
Chris squinted at his niece's unusual mood. He suddenly hoped this wasn't because of the incident last year. He glanced over at Alex; the younger boy shrugged discreetly just as confused.
"Ah… Ho ho ho, tell me what you want for Christmas sweetheart," Chris patted his knee but Breyer clung to Nicole.
Nicole tickled her daughter's tummy but even that barely got a smile. "You gonna tell him hun?"
"I want a bike please," she replied in a small subdued voice.
"Anything special on it? Hmm… Maybe some pink streamers and a purple basket?" Chris wiggled his eyebrows above the rim of his glasses.
"That'd be nice," she answered.
Chris glanced at his sister, wondering if he should keep trying to talk to her or if they were pushing their luck. Nicole seemed just as unsure herself.
"C'mere B, you wanna pick out your present?" Alex finally asked her.
He walked over to her with the open bag. Breyer didn't reach in it for her gift, she didn't even reach for him; her little eyes kept darting back and forth from Alex to Chris and she was getting more and more agitated.
"No." She put her face in the crook of Nicole's neck. "I want Uncle Chris!"
"Um… Okay. It's getting late and Santa has a long flight back to the North Pole. Say thank-you baby and we'll go start picking stuff up and wait for Uncle Chris."
Breyer mumbled out her gratitude without lifting her head off her mother's shoulder. Nicole rubbed her back and took her out to the lobby. The other kids all waved at Chris and yelled 'thank-you' as they started to disperse out to the lobby with their parents. As soon as the door shut on the last little girl and her dad Chris tore the snow white beard off his chin.
He scratched his jaw roughly. "Man, that fucker itched."
"Kinda tickled too," Alex informed. "I've always wondered what it would be like to make out when we're 80."
Chris laughed and got up out of the chair. He stretched high and then pulled the red hat off. "What was up with Breyer? Do you think it's because of last year?"
"I don't know man. She was fine with Terry, and you heard her earlier today; she was stoked about Santa."
"Nic's probably right; it has been a long day for her. Hell, it's been a long day for me. I can't wait to get this damn suit off. This stopped being fun when that fat little kid dropped the rest of his cupcake on me. I'm all sticky."
"Well come on Santa, let's get you back to the North Pole," Alex said while he followed him back to the costume room.
Getting the suit off wasn't as hard as getting it on and Chris eagerly pulled his jeans back on after dropping everything to the floor. He raked his hands through his hair grateful to have his short blonde locks back. Once he was himself again they put the suit back in the bag and gathered up the stuff that went with it. Alex took it out to the car and Chris went to the lobby to help the clean-up crew. Nicole was condensing and wrapping the few things that didn't sell and Breyer was listlessly coloring at the table.
"What's your picture of munchkin?" He surprised her.
She jumped a little and spun around on her seat demanding he pick her up. "Where did you go? You missed Santa and-… And the presents."
"Oh man, Santa was already here? I had to bring something to Gammie's house. Did you tell him you wanted your bike?"
"Mama did… I didn't wanna talk to him." Breyer looked down toward her picture.
Chris glanced down as well; she had colored Santa and another figure remained half done.
"Why didn't you wanna talk to him munchkin?"
Breyer bit her bottom lip; her azure eyes were wet around the edges when she looked back up at Chris. She took a deep breath like she was getting ready to tell him something important.
"Hey Nic, do you wanna keep the stuff separate or does it not matter now?" Alex suddenly called from the cookie table.
"I guess it doesn't matter anymore," she replied. "Everything's going back to moms anyway."
"Alright. You wanna follow me with those trays babe?"
"Sure, be right behind ya 'Lex"
Breyer glanced over at Alex and Chris watched as her little features morphed into a dark scowl. She squirmed so he put her down and she marched over beside her mother's table and sat down on one of the chairs. Chris' brows shot up at her display; but a yawn fought its way out a second later and he grabbed the empty trays and followed Alex to their car.
~xxx~
Chris pulled in behind his sister in his parent's driveway. He and Alex each grabbed two trays and followed Nicole inside. Pete and Charlie were sprawled on the couch in front of a hockey game playing on television when they trooped by.
"Hey hunnie, how was the back sale?" Pete asked.
"It was good," Nicole answered going straight into the kitchen. "Hi mom."
"Wow, you sold almost everything," Renee remarked as she stirred a pot on the stove. She lowered the flame and went over to investigate the goodies dropped on her kitchen table. "All my peanut butter cookies are gone."
"Yeah, it's so weird; I thought we had more of those then they we did. I feel like we lost half a tray somewhere." Nicole draped her coat over a chair.
"Oh really?" Renee sent a knowing look to her son. "I wonder where they went to."
"Ah…" Chris glanced around the kitchen. "Hey where's Breyer?"
"She's sleeping in the car," Nicole replied. "Pete, can you grab Breyer out of the car?"
"I got her man," Alex yelled. "I gotta go get my phone anyway."
"Thanks," Nicole smiled and began bringing the empty trays to the sink.
"Thanks Alex," Pete said as he passed by the couch.
"He's got a break-away," Charlie boomed and slipped to the edge of his seat.
"Go go go," Pete urged.
"Shut down," Alex snickered. "They're never gonna get anything by that goalie man. He's stopped everything all year."
"But this offense has wrecked every other team. It's been a great game so far." Charlie finished off his beer and crushed the empty can before sitting it back on the table.
"We'll see at the beginning of the second half," Alex said while he went outside.
He found his phone in the cup holder of the civic and then he slid the back door of Nicole's van open. Breyer was fast asleep strapped in her car seat. Her puffy pink coat and hat made her look like she was ready to hibernate for the winter.
"C'mon munchkin," Alex undid the buckles and carefully lifted the little girl into his arms.
He balanced her against his chest and slid the door closed. The slam made Breyer yawn and sit up a little. "Hey B," Alex whispered to her, "Have a good nap?"
She used her mitten to push her hat out of her eyes; Alex smiled at her drowsy expression but once her eyes focused on him she pulled back away from him.
"Easy kiddo, you're like trying bungee jump or something," Alex joked while he fixed his grip on her.
Breyer pushed at his chest again. "Down!"
Shouldering the front door open with a squirming child in his arms wasn't easy, but Alex managed. He released Breyer as soon as they were in the foyer and she ran right for the living room.
"Munchkin, what is with you?" Alex called as he pulled his coat off.
"Hey there sweet pea," Charlie grinned when she ducked behind him. "Did you have a good time today with your uncles and your mama?"
Breyer bit her bottom lip and curled up on Pete's lap. "Daddy, I want my princess jammies."
"Okay sweets, let's go." He moved to the edge of the cushion and let her crawl on his back. "All aboard?"
"Yeah," she tightened her arms around his neck.
Pete stood up with his daughter and they headed upstairs. He paused by the chair where Alex was standing. "You want some free tickles Uncle Alex?"
He moved in to get her but Breyer whined and pulled herself out of his reach. "No."
"Uh-oh… Someone's crabby," Pete bounced her to the center of his back again. "It's gonna be an early night for you little lady."
Alex's whole face fell when she wouldn't let him touch her. She looked back when Pete was on the fourth step and scowled at him as if he was suddenly a puppy killer. His heart clenched painfully.
"What did you do her son?" Charlie got his attention from the couch. "She's never snubbed your tickles before."
"I don't know," Alex sighed coming to sit next to him. "She liked freaked out when she realized I got her out of the car too. And she wouldn't come with me to see Santa earlier. She was practically glued to Nicole when she did go up to see him."
"Munchkin," Chris came out of the kitchen carrying a little dish with cartoon ducks on it, "where is she?"
"Pete took her upstairs to put her pajamas on. I think she's mad at me or something," Alex confessed.
"What," Chris asked eating a forkful of pasta from the bowl. "That's ridiculous."
"She's been weird around me since this afternoon and wanted nothing to do with me when I took her out of the car."
"Well you did just wake her up," Chris explained. "I'm sure she'll be fine once she eats and settles down."
"Is dinner ready?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah, mom's got your plate in the kitchen."
"Nay Nay, you got that bread I like?" He hurried into the food.
"Don't come in here like a bull and tear that cupboard apart," Renee admonished. "Your bread is on the table with your dinner. Boys come on."
Alex and Chris joined the rest of the family in the kitchen and each made a plate at the stove. Pete brought Breyer in and put her in her seat. "Mom's got yours sweets," he kissed the top of her golden curls.
"Here baby," Nicole placed her duck bowl in front of her. "You want some juice?"
"Yes please Mama," she replied picking up her matching fork.
"Can I sit you next munchkin?" Chris asked putting his plate down by her small one.
"Yeah," she smiled at him. "How come you got the leaves?"
"Salad is good for you, makes you grow big and strong."
"Not when you drown it in Bacon Ranch dressing," Alex teased taking a seat next to the blonde.
"It gives it flavor," Chris argued. "Here, you wanna try some munchkin?"
He cut a piece of tomato off and held out his fork to her. Breyer accepted it and chewed it thoughtfully.
"Mmm… It's yummy," she finally concluded.
"See," Chris grinned proudly.
"Try one of these B, they're sweet you'll like them." Alex held out a red pepper stick to her.
She stared at it and then glared at him. She turned her whole body away from him and took the juice her mother gave her. Alex's chin fell at her blatant slight; Chris was just as shocked. He put his hand on Alex's knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Breyer, why are you being so mean to Uncle Alex?" He asked.
"I don't like him no more," she stated matter-of-factly.
"What?" Renee sat down in her own chair. "Of course you do sweetheart. You love Uncle Alex."
"No, he's a liar," she frowned at him. "And I don't love him no more."
"Breyer!" Nicole admonished, she was shocked at her daughter.
"I don't wanna eat." Breyer pushed her duck plate away and slipped down out of her chair. She weaved around Pete's legs so she wouldn't have to walk by Alex and ran out of the kitchen.
All eyes fell on the youngest member of the Guns as he watched the little girl dash away. Huge, glassy brown eyes turned back to Chris.
"What the hell happened?" Chris looked over at Nicole.
"I have no idea. She's never been this upset before, and she's never acted that way toward Alex. Did something happen at the bake sale today?"
"No," the brunette shook his head. "She wouldn't come with me when it was time to go see Santa but I didn't do anything or say anything. She was fine when we were outside on the swings and that was only a little while before."
He looked helplessly at Chris. "She really hates me."
"No she doesn't baby," he assured giving his knee another gentle squeeze. "She's just upset. C'mon, you wanna go talk to her?"
Alex bit his bottom lip, "maybe I better not."
Chris laced his fingers through his boy's. "Come on 'Lex."
The Guns found Breyer up in her room, which used to be Nicole's; she was sitting at the little table she had set up for tea parties. The boys stood out by the door for a few moments and watched the little girl take a very deep breath and put her chin on her fist like she had all the weight in the world on her tiny shoulders.
Chris knocked lightly on the door. "Munchkin, can I come in?"
"Uncle Chris," she turned around. "Are you mad at me?"
"No sweetheart," he sat down on her bed and patted the spot next to him. Breyer left her table and climbed up beside him. "But you're mad at Uncle Alex for something. What did he do?"
She hung her head down and crossed her arms over her chest. Chris waited for her to answer but after a second realized she wasn't going to.
"You really hurt his feelings munchkin. He thinks you don't love anymore."
"I don't… He did a bad thing," she whispered.
Chris looked outside the bedroom door to where Alex was waiting in the hall. His chocolate eyes were confused by her confession.
"What did he do Breyer?"
"I can't tell you… It would make you sad," she sniffled.
Chris pulled the little girl onto his lap. He turned her to face him and lifted her chin; the streaks running down her cheeks nearly broke his heart.
"You can tell me sweetheart, you can tell me anything. Now what's bothering you?"
"I saw him… I saw him do it." She worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Do what?" Chris encouraged.
"He kissed someone else the way he kisses you."
"Wh-what?" For a moment the world jerked to a stop and Chris' insides slammed into the front of his body. His breath clawed its way down his throat and stabbed his lungs. "When did you see him do that munchkin?"
"Today at the bake sale… You were gone already."
"I was gone?"
"You left to come to Gammie's."
"Who did Alex kiss?"
Breyer looked down again and despite her tears, a crimson blush stained her cherubic cheeks. "He kissed Santa Claus."
Chris felt the air whoosh out of him in a laugh and he hugged his niece to his chest.
"You aren't mad?" She asked.
"No, why should I be mad?"
"'Cause Uncle Alex kissed someone else and he's only s'posed to kiss you."
"Oh sweetie no, he didn't…" Chris clamped his mouth shut. "Um… maybe we should talk to Uncle Alex now. It'll be okay."
"I don't wanna… He's not nice anymore. He's s'posed to love you." Breyer declared crossing her arms again.
"'Lex come in here babe," Chris called.
Alex slowly entered Breyer's room. He got on the bed and slipped up behind Chris.
"Hey B."
"I don't wanna talk to you… You lied to Uncle Chris. You can't kiss anyone else but him," she glared.
"But you don't understand munchkin, I didn't kiss anyone else."
"I saw you kiss Santa Claus on the stage before Mama told everyone he was there. You went with Uncle Chris and I went to look for you when you didn't come back. Uncle Chris was gone and I saw you kiss Santa."
Chris was trying to hold in his laughter. He glanced back at a gaping Alex and was rather proud that his sweet little niece had his back if Alex ever did stray. The younger boy pinched his side slightly; finding nothing to laugh at in this situation.
"Jesus," Chris jumped. "Leave some skin."
"Well this isn't funny," Alex huffed. "Breyer, I did kiss Santa today, but that wasn't the real Santa Claus. That was your Uncle Chris. He dressed up like Santa for the kids."
"Why?"
"Yeah Chris, why?"
"Well… Your mom asked me to. She tried to get the real Santa to come but he's so busy this close to Christmas that he couldn't make it to the fundraiser. So I dressed up like him."
"So you did it to trick me and my friends?"
"No… not to trick you," Chris replied brushing away some of her curls. "We just wanted to make you guys happy. Your friends liked seeing Santa."
"But what about the things we told you we wanted? How is Santa going to know what we want now?"
"I'm gonna tell him. I'm gonna write him a letter telling him what everyone wants. Do you wanna help me do it later?"
Breyer finally smiled. "Yeah!"
"Good. I'm gonna need your help remembering stuff." Chris nodded. "Should we let Uncle Alex help us?"
Breyer looked over his shoulder at the other half of the Guns. She squinted at him like she was really trying to see him. "It was really you pretending to be Santa Claus?" She asked.
"Ho ho ho," Chris sounded just like he did at the bake sale.
Breyer giggled. "You didn't really sound like the real Santa then either."
Alex snickered at his blonde's crestfallen features. "I thought he did a pretty good job."
"Have you ever kissed anyone else besides Uncle Chris?"
"Well… yes I have, but that was before I knew I loved him."
"When did you know that you loved him?"
Alex smiled and leaned forward to kiss Chris' cheek softly. "It was a while ago, before you were born munchkin. I met him while we were training to be wrestlers and we became best friends. I liked hanging out with him we always had fun, and then before I knew it I hated being away from him. We were down in Lansing, for a wrestling show and he had a match with one of our friends. He won and he got the belt for our company and I was so happy for him, I knew that I didn't care if I was ever happy again as long as he always was. And when he came backstage and I could finally see him… I got this feeling in my stomach and I knew that I loved him. And then he went to Japan for a month and left me."
Chris chuckled and shook his head. "I couldn't help that. It was booked weeks before then."
Alex snickered and rested his chin on Chris' shoulder. "I haven't kissed anyone besides Uncle Chris since then, 'cause I don't love anyone but him."
"You really love him?" Breyer asked.
"I love him very much. And I love you very much too B."
Breyer smiled brightly and dove into Alex's lap. She squeezed him tight. Chris smiled at them and tackled them both back on the bed into the pink and white pillows.
"Umph," Alex huffed. "Can't breathe guys."
Chris and Breyer giggled and two pairs of blue eyes turned bright with mischief. Alex yelped when fingers were suddenly attacking him from all sides. He laughed and squirmed trying in vain to get away from their tickles.
"Okay… Okay," he wheezed. "I tap."