Not me deciding that I only have to write as much of this Christmas chapter as I want to, which was just the Christmas Eve scene with Boyd's trio of parents.
Also, thrilling news? I have an ao3 account! It has the same name as this account! The only story on it is Built From The Same Stuff, which I mentioned in the last chapter. Go check it out if you want, after Chapter 30 (end of Arc 2) I'll go back and edit all thirty chapters and post them on ao3. Much love to Sally for helping me figure out tags so far.
"How'd you hurt yourself again, dear?" Tara asked as Boyd poured them steaming mugs of tea and they huddled around the Christmas tree. It was Christmas Eve and Louie and Boyd were spending it with the Drakes and Gyro in the beach house. Louie and Boyd had the most room for having people over and Boyd was still constantly fretting over Louie's injury since it hadn't even been a full week since Louie had been shot. Once again Mars was grumpily locked in the bedroom and every few minutes they heard a displeased yowl.
"I was shot. My sister-in-law and I were mugged except the guy forgot to do the taking the money part and just shot me and ran. I think the cops have caught him now, though, so no worries." Louie noted that Boyd nearly crushed an empty mug in his hand like it was a styrofoam cup but was able to catch himself before he did anything destructive.
"Oh, you poor dear. That's so horrible," Tara said sympathetically.
"Well no one really likes being shot," Louie agreed, not mentioning it was not the first time he'd been shot, "but every time I go to the hospital Boyd gets me a bear from the gift shop so isn't it worth it in the end?"
"No," Boyd said instantly.
"Well," Yuri said, noticing how upset his son was as they discussed this, "We don't have to worry about that right now. It's Christmas Eve, let's do presents."
"Oh!" Louie lit up, "Yes! Let's do presents."
"Louie is a bit of a fanatic about gift-giving," Boyd warned, stopping Louie before he got up, "Let me pass out the gifts, dear."
"Fine. You can play Santa this year but next year…"
Boyd blushed hard about the fact that Louie was already thinking about next Christmas together. It was really cute that Louie believed so strongly in their relationship. It gave Boyd butterflies.
Boyd dug out the presents for his parents and passed them around. After Boyd sat back, Tara handed him and Louie two nicely wrapped boxes of varied sizes. Louie felt bad that he'd just stuck the presents for his future in-laws in gift bags but he was notoriously horrible at wrapping presents and when Boyd had tried he kept getting tape stuck to himself.
"I almost don't want to unwrap this, it's so pretty," Louie said.
"Oh, honey, " Tara laughed, "You can save the paper if you want. You boys go ahead and open your presents."
"No, no, you're the guests, you guys go first," Louie insisted, smiling warmly at Tara and Yuri. Gyro was also there, of course, but he was just sipping his tea and waiting to be told to open the gift from Louie and Boyd. He didn't know that the bag in his lap had been entirely picked out by Louie since the tag read from both of them. Boyd liked receiving presents but his ideas of giving them had always been more practical (I.E. groceries) than fun.
"Alright, if that's what you want," Tara said, after noticing Yuri and Boyd exchange a look. Father and son knew their partners could go on for a while with their politeness charades and both of them wanted to open their gifts.
Tara opened her present first, revealing a pretty pink and purple scarf, a gold locket necklace, and a gift card to a nice restaurant.
"I uh, I made the scarf," Louie said, "I just started learning how to knit so it's not the best but…"
"I love it," Tara said, beaming from ear to ear.
Louie let out a sigh of relief and smiled, feeling much better.
Gyro unwrapped his present next, he'd been picking at the tissue paper since it had been handed to him and finally couldn't wait anymore.
"Oh, a scarf, nice," Gyro said, offering a small smile. He'd also gotten a new vest and bowtie, both of which matched his aesthetic fairly well.
"Do you like it?" Louie asked. It was blue and green and he'd worked his hardest on that one, desperate for Gyro's approval.
"Oh, yeah, it's nice." That was the kindest thing Gyro had ever said to him. Louie looked over at Boyd and beamed and Boyd gave him a thumbs up.
"My turn, I think," Yuri said with a laugh, "I wonder if I got a scarf."
Louie laughed, "It's a mystery."
Yuri did in fact get a scarf in blue and purple. He also got a disposable camera since he'd once told Louie that he liked casual photography, as well as a gift card to a different fancy restaurant.
"I figured you guys should have some date nights," Louie explained.
"Thank you so much, Louie, these are all wonderful gifts. You're very thoughtful," Yuri said.
"I'm glad you like them! I was worried about getting or doing the wrong thing," Louie admitted.
"Aw, honey, you don't have to worry about that. You're the most thoughtful and kind person Boyd's ever dated."
Louie was surprised when she said that. It was a nice comment, for one thing, but it also made Louie start thinking about the partners Boyd had had in the past. They'd never talked about it, their past relationships. Boyd knew, because of Lena, that Louie had never had a serious relationship before Boyd, except maybe that time he'd thought he was straight. Louie had never stopped to consider what experiences Boyd had had before.
Boyd placed his hand on Louie's leg and squeezed, noticing that Louie was distracted. He didn't want Louie to worry about the past when the only thing that really mattered in this moment was their future.
"Let's open our gifts," Boyd suggested, and Louie nodded.
Louie opened his gift first, revealing a beautifully painted little garden pot.
"I know you like flowers and stuff, I thought you might want to start your own little garden," Tara said.
Louie beamed, gently hugging the pot, "This is perfect, I'll ask my flower guy for advice on what to plant."
"I'm glad you like it, honey. Boyd, do you want to open your present now?"
"Yes," Boyd said with a laugh, "I have been ready for this all evening."
Tara leaned over to Louie, "Boyd has always been impatient about presents, he gets it from his other dad." Tara nodded at Gyro, who was distracted by looping his new scarf around his neck.
Louie giggled and when he looked back over to Boyd the impatient man had already ripped the paper off his present.
Tears sprung to Boyd's eyes as he held the framed picture out in front of him.
"We were tidying up a while ago and found some of your old art, we thought you might want it framed," Tara said.
It was a marker drawing of Boyd, his childish caricature of how he might look as an adult, wearing a lab coat and glasses and flashing a thumbs-up, the writing beneath it reading, Dr. Boyd.
"I wish we'd been able to give this to you when you graduated, but we just wanted you to know how proud we are of you and who you grew up to be," Yuri said.
"Thank you so much," Boyd said, trying not to cry. He looked so proud and happy as he held the picture. Louie took his other hand and squeezed it, proud of Boyd as well.
"I think we should hang that up in our room," Louie whispered, and Boyd laughed again, having an even harder time trying not to cry.
"I love all of you guys," Boyd said.
"We love you too," Tara assured.
"I didn't get you anything as nice as that," Gyro said, throwing Boyd a lumpy package that was wrapped in newspaper.
"I can't believe they still print newspapers," Louie murmured.
Boyd tore into the gift and revealed two identical packages of Christmas socks.
"These are so cool! Why are there two packages?" Boyd asked. Gyro cleared his throat and glanced at Louie.
"Oh! That's so nice of you, Dr. Dad. Thank you so much!" Boyd passed one package of socks to Louie and Louie hugged them close, overwhelmed with emotion.
"I'll be sure to wear these tomorrow," Louie said, "We'll match."
Gyro smiled a little, "Don't read too much into it, they were buy one get one free."
"I still appreciate it," Louie said.
When the night winded down the 'rents headed out and Louie and Boyd were left alone, cuddling on the couch.
"Boyd?" Louie asked, resting his head on Boyd's shoulder.
"Yes, dearest?"
"Have you had a lot of partners?"
"Does it matter?" Boyd asked.
"I suppose it does not," Louie sighed.
"It's nothing you have to worry about, love. You're my partner now, and, well… I got you a little something for Christmas. I know tomorrow will be crazy so I thought you and I could exchange gifts tonight."
Boyd produced a small box and Louie was suddenly worried that Boyd was going to propose. Now, Louie wanted to marry this man more than anything in the world, but he'd also been planning on proposing in February so he didn't want Boyd to steal his moment.
But when he unwrapped his present he didn't find a ring or a proposal, just a promise. A very cute little Christmas ornament that read, "Boyd and Louie: Our First Christmas."
"First, Louie. There are going to be so many holidays in the future. We're going to be together for a long time."
Louie leaned over and kissed his boyfriend deeply.
"I'm so excited for our future," Louie said, "I'm excited to start a family with you."
"Me too…" Boyd said, kissing Louie again, long and slow.
"I love you," Boyd whispered before adding, "do you have a present for me?"
Louie burst out laughing.
"Oh my gosh, you're like a little kid. Yes, it's in your stocking."
Boyd squealed and raced over to his stocking, pulling out an equally small box. He opened it up and let out a loud guffaw. It was the exact same ornament except it said "Louie and Boyd" instead of "Boyd and Louie." Boyd collapsed on the sofa, unable to contain his giggles.
"We share a brain cell," Boyd giggled.
"Same mind, same socks, same targeted Christmas ornament ads," Louie laughed, resting his forehead against Boyd's, "I think this is gonna be a really great first Christmas."
"Only thing that's missing is mistletoe," Boyd murmured, leaning in close.
"I think we can make do without," Louie said, pulling Boyd into a kiss.