Merry Christmas y'all! I'm back with my fourth annual Christmas oneshot. To be perfectly honest, it's less Christmassy than I intended, but I also went a little out of my comfort zone and made this a little bit smutty. So, compromise? :) And remember this is pretty much my first time writing anything particularly smutty, so be nice?

Hope you enjoy!

Nick leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. He began to sigh but before he was halfway through it transformed into a long yawn. On the computer screen in front of him, the image of Jeff chuckled.

"Sorry," Nick said with a half-smile.

Jeff shook his head, the video lagging behind a few seconds. "No, it's late. I should go." He sighed – properly – and rested his head in one hand. "I really wish you were here."

"So do I," Nick replied. Seeing his boyfriend through a computer screen was getting old. But it wasn't as if he had something to compare it to, which was something else that sucked.

They'd met eight months ago through an online chatroom dedicated to fans of The Walking Dead. Jeff had been voicing his unpopular opinion that Andrea had been his least favourite character of the whole series, and Nick had stepped in to support him. From there, they'd continued chatting, eventually swapping Facebooks, Skype names and then phone numbers. As the weeks had passed, Nick had become more and more certain that he was falling in love with the dorky, much-younger-than-expected graphic design student. Three months ago he'd confessed his feelings over Skype and Jeff had blushed beetroot as he admitted he felt the same. Since then they'd started calling each other their boyfriend but much to the annoyance of both, they'd never actually met in person.

Jeff smiled and spoke again, dragging Nick back into the conversation at hand.

"I'd rather spend Christmas with you than working and dealing with my family."

Nick nodded. Jeff's homophobic family were slightly more difficult than his own – while Nick's had essentially disowned him, Jeff's insisted on inserting themselves into every aspect of his life in an attempt to keep him on the straight and narrow. Nick chuckled to himself at his unintentional joke. Jeff raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just thought of something funny. I'd much rather be with you over Christmas too."

Jeff sighed. "Yeah. But it's not like it's going to happen, so there's not really any point in talking about it. How's saving going?"

"Great," Nick replied with a smile "I should have enough to come and see you next year."

"And I'll probably have enough to come see you in about a century." Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Well, at least you know we'll meet before then," Nick laughed. His laugh cut off towards the end as he yawned again.

"You should go to bed. I have to work tomorrow too, so I should probably get some sleep," Jeff said.

"Okay. Text me when you get a chance."

"Will do. Night."

"Good night, beautiful."

He caught sight of Jeff's embarrassed smile before the video cut out and he was left alone in his bedroom. Nick yawned again and scrubbed a hand over his face. He wanted to see Jeff more than anything, but saving up for the plane ticket to New York was taking longer than anticipated. Too many unexpected expenses and incidents had kept them apart for this long, but Nick wasn't sure he could wait much longer.

He got to his feet and flicked the light off before heading towards his bed. He collapsed on it without much thought. As he dragged the blanket over him, Nick's sleepy mind made a decision.

He was going to see Jeff before the year was out.

One Week Later
Christmas Eve

Jeff slumped over the hotel reception desk, resting his head in both hands. He side-eyed the clock to his right and sighed. Still an hour to go until his shift ended. He'd worked almost a full day and now that it was getting late, all he wanted was to get back home and crash into bed. But, he reasoned, an hour's not that long. I just have to stay awake.

He didn't realise his eyes were closing until he heard a voice calling out his name. He jerked upright in the chair and spun to face the source of the voice. The older woman, leaning on a vacuum cleaner, shook her head and smiled.

"Hey Maria." Jeff gave her a tired smile.

"Do you want me to get you something, sweetheart? You look like you need a coffee," Maria asked kindly.

"No thanks," Jeff replied and straightened up in his chair "I'm going home in an hour and I'd like to be able to sleep."

Maria chuckled. "I'll try to keep you awake for the next hour then."

As she started up the vacuum, Jeff ran a hand through his hair and yawned. He glanced around the hotel lobby – just as dead as it had been a few minutes ago. There was nothing that needed doing, as much as he tried to find jobs to occupy his time. He resigned himself to the fact that he'd just have to keep himself entertained until he could go home. Maria's vacuuming was certainly doing a good job of keeping him awake. As he glanced at her for a moment, he caught sight of the front doors opening out of the corner of his eye. Immediately he turned back and smiled, ready to help whoever had just entered and saved him from death by boredom.

As he locked eyes with the man who stood at the doorway, Jeff's jaw dropped.

He'd never been good with faces and recognising people out of the normal environment he saw them in. He'd once heard Jack, another of the hotel reception staff, calling out to him from across the street, but hadn't recognised him out of uniform. And he'd always been paranoid that when he finally met the man he was in love with, he wouldn't recognise him either. But there was no mistaking the fact that the man who had just taken a few steps into the lobby, one hand on the back of his neck and the other shoved deep in his coat pocket, was Nick.

And if he'd had any doubts at that point, they disappeared when Nick said with a shy smile, "Merry Christmas, beautiful."

He'd been incapable of moving up until that point, but as soon as Nick spoke it seemed that Jeff's entire body thawed out and he stumbled to his feet. He tripped over the chair and nearly fell but caught himself on the desk. In seconds he'd escaped the confines of the desk and was running across the lobby. He didn't wait another second to wonder why Nick was here, or how. He collided with the other's solid form and wrapped his arms around him tightly. In that moment all those months of texting and Skype melted away and everything became suddenly, perfectly real.

Nick hugged him back and Jeff closed his eyes with a grin. He inhaled deeply, committing the smell to memory. He didn't know how long he was going to have Nick this close and he wanted to make sure he remembered everything – how strong his arms were, how his body shifted a little against him, how he nuzzled his face into Jeff's shoulder. He didn't want to let go but eventually Nick pushed at him a little and he drew back.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice weaker than he would have liked.

Nick smiled. "I came to see you. Spend Christmas with you."

Jeff blinked. "Oh. Wow. How long are you here for? How did you get here? You said you didn't have enough to fly here."

"I'm here 'til January second, so I can be here for Christmas and New Year's. I hear it's fun in New York."

"Seriously?" Jeff grinned. Nick laughed. "Yeah."

"Where are you staying?"

At that, Nick ducked his head a little. "Here."

Jeff frowned. "You're joking."

"No," Nick smiled "But I only managed to get a room for two nights, so I was kind of wondering if you knew of any other places to stay?"

"Well, it would have to be close to me," Jeff replied with a cheeky smirk.

"Of course."

"I think I could work something out."

In the few moments of silence after Jeff spoke, he heard someone clearing their throat behind him and turned to see Maria with her arms folded and eyebrows raised. He blinked. He hadn't even realised she was still there. Now that he thought about it, the vacuum had been turned off for a while.

"Maria, this is Nick," Jeff said, gesturing to him. Nick gave a little wave.

Maria pursed her lips. "So this is the one you told me about. He looks older than I imagined."

Jeff frowned. "He's only twenty eight."

"Yes, but you're a baby in my eyes, sweetheart," Maria replied with a smile.

"I'm twenty one, not a child." Jeff rolled his eyes but smiled.

Maria shook her head. "Whatever you say."

She turned back to the vacuum and Jeff realised with a jolt that he was still technically working. He looked to Nick and opened his mouth to speak but, apparently reading his mind, the other beat him to it.

"You should get back to work. How long have you got left?"

Jeff glanced at the clock. "Forty five minutes."

"Then maybe I'll see you in room 36 in forty five minutes or so?"

He spoke in an innocent, unassuming tone, but behind them Maria coughed loudly and disapprovingly. Jeff had to stifle a laugh at the blush that spread over Nick's face as he tried to stutter out an apology.

"I'll see you then," Jeff said, interrupting the other. Nick smiled, relieved.

As he watched Nick go, he sighed deeply. It took a few minutes before he could shake himself off and return to his seat behind the desk – and then the long wait began.

Nick paced up and down the room, flicking a glance over to the clock on the bedside table. Jeff's shift had finished five minutes ago. He hadn't stopped moving since he'd made it to the room and shut the door behind him – he'd paced, sat on the bed and rocked back and forth, constantly played with his hands – all in an effort to occupy his thoughts until Jeff knocked on his door. Knowing that he was going to show up any time now gave Nick butterflies, and he ran a hand through his hair.

Seeing Jeff for the first time had been amazing. The look on his face had been worth the debt he now owed his friends, the long phone conversations with the hotel over getting a room this close to Christmas, and checking in when Jeff had been on his lunch break. He'd do it all over again if it meant he got to hug Jeff again.

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts and he stopped dead in the middle of the room. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous. It wasn't as if there were any real uncertainties in their relationship. But regardless, the butterflies continued to tickle his stomach as he walked over to the door and opened it.

Jeff stood on the other side, dressed in a hoodie and jeans now. A shy smile graced his face as he looked up at Nick.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," Nick replied with a smile of his own. He stepped back to let the other in, calming down a little. Dressed down, hair a little messy, hands in his pockets – this was the Jeff he was used to seeing through his computer. He could handle this. He shut the door and turned back to see Jeff looking at him with his head tilted to the side.

"You never actually said how you got here. You told me you didn't have enough money."

Nick shrugged and stepped a little closer, but still kept a healthy distance. "I borrowed some money off some friends."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to though."

Jeff ducked his head. "I'm glad you did." Then he chuckled. "This is so weird. The last place I ever expected to see you was where I work."

Nick laughed. "I wanted to surprise you. I figured this was as good a way as any."

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Well, consider me surprised."

He looked around for a moment and then sat down on the edge of the bed. Nick did the same, sitting next to him and brushing his arm against the other's. A second later he dropped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Jeff followed his lead, stretching his arms above his head and letting out a sigh. For a few minutes they lay there in silence. And then Jeff said in a quiet, somewhat-nervous voice, "Can I kiss you?"

Nick released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding in. "God, I thought you'd never ask."

Jeff chuckled and in seconds, he was kneeling over Nick with another of his shy smiles. He gave him a moment to back out but Nick reached up and rested his hands on the back of Jeff's head and neck. Without any more hesitation Jeff lowered his head and kissed him.

Nick had never been so happy. He smiled into the kiss and slid one hand down Jeff's back to grab at his hoodie. Jeff shifted his knees to take more of his weight and cupped Nick's face. After a few moments Jeff pulled away and, breathing a little faster, their eyes met.

"This is great," Jeff said.

Nick tried not to laugh. "You're telling me."

Jeff grinned and kissed him again. He splayed one hand out over Nick's chest, then curled his fingers into his shirt. Nick kissed him back strongly as he dragged Jeff's hoodie up so he could run his hands over his back. Jeff shivered and arched his back at the touch. With only tiny breaths between long kisses, Nick was sure he was getting light-headed as Jeff grabbed handfuls of his shirt and tried to pull himself closer. He couldn't think straight – only kiss back and remember to breathe when he got the chance. Although having Jeff sitting across his hips might have had something to with his light-headedness, and also the fact that his pants were becoming increasingly tight.

Nick pushed at Jeff's chest and twisted until he was the one on his knees over the heavily-breathing blonde. He looked him over for a split-second – cheeks flushed, hoodie pushed up to his chest, hair even messier than usual. He moved to kiss him again, rolling his hips down against Jeff's as he did. A soft moan escaped him in the space above Jeff's lips but even as he captured them, he felt the tension building up in the blonde's body beneath his hands. Immediately he pulled back.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

Jeff bit his lip, which had Nick biting on the inside of his cheek to keep himself in check.

"I-I haven't… I've never…" he stuttered "Not with a guy before."

Nick brushed Jeff's fringe away from his eyes. It hadn't even occurred to him that this might be new to Jeff. Suddenly he was in unfamiliar territory. "Okay. Do you want to stop?"

Jeff blinked and thought about that for a moment. "N-No. I don't… just…"

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to," Nick said. "How about we just keep going until we find what you're comfortable with?"

Jeff huffed out a breath in relief and smiled shyly. "You really are perfect."

"Mmm, you are too, you know." Nick lowered his head and kissed him once, then pulled back again. Toying with the hem of Jeff's hoodie, he asked, "Can I take this off?"

"Only if you take yours off too," Jeff replied with a cheeky, yet still nervous smile.

"Now that's an offer I can't refuse." Nick reached up and pulled his shirt over his head. He tossed it away somewhere, not really caring where it landed – how could he, when Jeff was looking at him with wonder in his eyes?

He smiled as Jeff lifted a tentative hand to touch his chest. His fingers were feather-light across his skin and Nick shivered. Jeff bit his lip again. "You're really hot."

"So are you." Nick took the other's hand and rubbed his thumb across the back. He let go when Jeff wriggled underneath him to sit up a little – a movement he was going to have to tell him not to do for his sanity's sake. For a few moments Jeff struggled with getting his hoodie and the shirt underneath off, his face reddening more and more the longer it took. Nick helped him with a smile and a gentle kiss once it had been thrown aside. He didn't miss the way Jeff looked away from him and wrapped an arm self-consciously around his stomach. He kissed the blonde's jaw and then slowly trailed his way down his neck, mumbling between kisses, "You're beautiful, you know that?"

Jeff jerked his arm away quickly and stammered, "I-I'm sorry, I know it's stupid."

Nick's teeth grazed across the other's collarbone. "You don't need to apologise."

He pushed the blonde gently to lie back as he continued his way down his chest. He fought the urge to grind his hips down, though it was hard when he ran his hand lightly over a particularly sensitive spot on Jeff's side and the blonde bucked his hips up a little with a breathy gasp of surprise. But now that he was expecting it, Jeff seemed a little more eager. He slid his hands down to the small of Nick's back and tried to push him down. Nick obliged, moving to suck at the other's neck while rolling his hips down. Jeff was as turned on as he was and his quiet moans only made it that much harder to keep control of himself.

He hadn't even realised Jeff's hand had moved until it was tentatively cupping the front of his pants and a low noise escaped his throat, lost in the other's hickey. He lifted his head and crushed their lips together, driving down into Jeff's now-firmer grip. Jeff's other hand clung to the back of Nick's neck and his fingers tangled in his hair.

Breaking apart for half a moment, Nick stumbled over his words. "Are… are you…"

"Yeah," Jeff breathed before kissing him again.

He wasn't sure how much longer his arms could support him, or how much longer he'd last. In the back of his mind he was a little embarrassed about the latter, but the thought was shoved aside in an instant, replaced by the sound of Jeff's breathy pants in Nick's ear. He opened his mouth to warn him how close he was but only a long, low 'fuck' escaped into Jeff's neck as he came.

He collapsed over the blonde, mouthing at his neck lightly. He felt Jeff move his hand and when he realised what he was doing he quickly swatted it away from the front of the blonde's jeans and replaced it with his own. Jeff sucked in a breath and bucked his hips up into Nick's hand. He came only a few minutes later, dropping his head back with a short, low moan.

Nick slid off a little to let Jeff breathe but stayed pressed up against his side. He waited until the blonde was coherent and functioning before saying, "Good first time with a guy?"

Jeff laughed breathlessly. "Yeah, I'd say so." A second later his voice was a little shakier. "Was I okay?"

"Beautiful, you were great." Nick snuggled a little closer but as he moved he was suddenly aware of just how sticky and gross he felt. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and smiled at the look on Jeff's face – a mixture of happiness, exhaustion, confusion and contentment.

"What are you doing?"

"Putting some different pants on," Nick said, getting to his feet and grabbing a pair from the bag against the wall. Jeff groaned and rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"I don't have any other pants." He pouted and Nick laughed.

"Here," he said, throwing him another pair. "You can borrow those."

He headed into the bathroom and quickly cleaned up and changed. Walking out, he saw Jeff making his way towards the bathroom with the borrowed pants slung over his arm. Nick pulled him in for a kiss as he passed, grinning as he headed for the bed and Jeff shut the door.

Nick pushed the blankets back on the bed and collapsed onto it. When Jeff came out of the bathroom a minute later, dressed in the other's too-long pants, they both smiled at each other.

"Are you staying or going home?" Nick asked.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "As if I'm going home."

Nick grinned and patted the bed next to him. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Jeff shut off the lights before climbing into the bed and curling up next to the brunette. Nick pulled the blankets over them and they settled down. Nick wrapped an arm around the other and mumbled, "Is this okay?"

Jeff nodded into his shoulder. "Yeah. This is great."

As he listened to Jeff drifting off to sleep, Nick smiled to himself - he had to agree.

Everything was pretty great.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!