Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Losing My Religion.
Note: All done with school now! Hooray! I'm home now, and have loads more time to do this. And yes, I'm really drawing out the buildup to their relationship, if you couldn't tell by the fact that this is an entire chapter dedicated to Christmas Eve.
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
Sam was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud thump from down the hall. He instinctively moved towards Stacy's room, figuring she'd had another one of her nightmares and fallen out of bed again, but as he peeked in around her door, he found her to be sprawled out on her stomach, sound asleep. He smiled; he'd missed his little sister while he was away. He closed her door and curiously walked to the end of the hall to the guest room. He rapped on the door lightly. "Rory? Hey, you okay?" With no answer coming, he opened the door and found Rory sitting on the floor, looking dazed and upset.
"I had a nightmare," he whimpered. "And I fell…out of bed…oh, this is so embarrassing. I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Sam." He pulled one of the fallen blankets closer around him, shivering against the sudden cold.
"Hey, it's okay," Sam shuffled into the room and sat on the floor next to the brunette.
"No, it's not," Rory shivered still. "I made a fool out of myself."
"My siblings do it all the time, it's really okay," Sam reassured him. "You're shaking, Rory. Here," he pulled the blanket around the brunette even tighter, wrapping him in a sort of cocoon, like he sometimes did with Stacy.
"Thanks," Rory murmured.
"You're good with kids," Sam told him. "Stacy and Stevie adore you already."
"Suppose I have experience with them," Rory shrugged. "I'm sorry for waking you up, Sam."
"I was on my way to the bathroom anyway," Sam lied. "It's okay, really."
"I'm going to try to get back to sleep," Rory attempted to stand up, but tripped over the blankets and would've face-planted if Sam hadn't grabbed him in time. The blonde's breath hitched as he caught the blue-eyed boy in his arms. "Such a bloody idiot," he muttered. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Sam smiled gently. Rory crawled back into bed. "Well…goodnight."
"Goodnight, Sam," Rory waited for Sam to leave the room before rolling over and falling into a strange, dreamless state of sleep. Sam, on the other hand, couldn't sleep at all. He kept replaying the moment when Rory fell into his arms. The boy had smelled so good and looked so beautiful and helpless. He wondered what the nightmare that had shaken the smaller boy so much had been about.
He was awakened by a soft knock on his door. His mother poked her head in. "Honey, I'm going to the store for last-minute shopping."
"Aw man," he sat up. "I forgot to buy stuff for Stacy and Stevie. Can I go with you?"
She smiled. "But who will watch the kids?"
"Oh right," he said.
"How about we make a deal," she leaned against his door frame. "You watch your brother and sister until I get back, and then you and Rory can do your own shopping."
"Deal." Sam yawned. "Well, I'm going back to-"
Before he could say 'sleep', his brother bounded into the room and jumped on his bed, tackling him. "Sammy, get up! It's Christmas Eve! We gotta make cookies for Santa!"
"Oh all right," Sam grumbled. "Go on, get up. Go down in the kitchen. I'll be down in a few minutes, okay?" He slowly got out of bed and went to the bathroom. Rory's door was open, the bed neatly made. He suspected the brunette was already downstairs, waiting for him, entertaining his siblings. He smiled to himself; Rory was so great with kids. He shuffled downstairs and sure enough, Rory had already eaten breakfast and was pulling items out of the refrigerator and cupboards. "H…hey," Sam said awkwardly.
"Hullo," Rory said. "Your Mum said we can make cookies, for Santa Claus. I've got two great helpers here, right?"
"Yep," Stacy wiggled in her chair.
"Right," Stevie nodded.
"Need any help?" Sam asked.
Rory pulled Sam aside, towards the living room. "If you don't mind, I'd kind of like to take charge of this. It helps me when I'm missing my own little brother. Why don't you go shower or something and then we can watch a movie with the kids while the cookies bake and cool?"
"As long as you let me have a spoonful of batter," Sam laughed. "Sure, why not?" He clomped upstairs to take a warm shower, reveling in the warm water. His mouth tingled as he smelled the heavenly scent of cookies baking in the oven. He quickly dressed and ran into the kitchen, where he found Rory and his siblings cleaning up. "Oh my God, that smells so good."
"Here you go," Rory handed him a spoonful of batter. "As promised."
Sam ate it in one bite. "Oh wow, that's fantastic! What's in this?"
"A Flanagan family secret," Rory smiled. "And these two aren't allowed to tell."
"It's a really cool secret," Stacy giggled.
"Sammy, can we watch a movie? And can we have grilled cheese for lunch?"
"Yes and yes," Sam told his little brother. "Go grab a movie, okay?"
"Come on, Stace. We'll rock-paper-scissors to pick!" He and his twin ran into the family room to squabble over what movie to watch. Sam chuckled as he watched them debate on what Disney classic they wanted to see that day.
"They're so cute," Rory said fondly. "They were a real help with the cookies, too."
"I love them so much," Sam said quietly. "When we were…homeless…I was more worried about them having enough to eat than I did. I took on a job delivering pizzas to try to make enough money for food while my dad was job-hunting. I even sold my guitar for more cash. The rest of the Glee kids bought it back for me. I…I cried," he admitted.
"It's okay to cry," Rory told him. "It doesn't make you less of a man. If anything, it makes you more of a man, because you're brave enough to show your emotions."
There was a moment where their eyes locked, and Sam felt something lurch in his stomach. He wondered how often Rory cried, and why he did, and where he did. The moment was broken by the shrieks of six-year-olds.
"Alright, what's going on here?" Sam asked, standing over the bickering children.
"I wanna watch Toy Story, but she wants to watch The Little Mermaid," Stevie whined.
"Well, how about I choose the movie?" Sam offered.
"Nah, you play favorites," Stacy snubbed her nose. "Can Rory choose?"
"Me?" Rory looked flattered. "Okay. Well, do you have The Lion King?"
"Yeah," Stevie pulled if off the shelf.
"Let's watch that," Rory said simply. "It's a film we can all enjoy." The oven beeped. "I'm going to go take the cookies out of the oven, but why don't you set up the movie and I'll be right back?"
"Okay," the kids agreed, and popped the movie into the DVD player. Sam settled on the couch, one twin on either side of him. They snuggled up against him, having missed their big brother. Rory came in just as the movie started, sitting down next to Stacy, who let go of her brother and cuddled next to the Irish boy.
"Oh," he said, surprised, but let her fling her arms around him and burrow into his side. He smiled softly; sisters sure were different than brothers. Seamus loved this movie, and he had fond memories of watching it over and over with him. He knew almost every word and could sing every song backwards. He hadn't realized he'd been singing along softly to each song until "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"
"You're incredible," Sam whispered.
"Thanks," Rory murmured, blushing. He liked to sing, but was always nervous about singing in front of anyone else but his little brother. He didn't think he was as good as the other guys in Glee club, but he enjoyed being able to sing and have his voice blend in with the others, not being a standout.
Sam couldn't believe what an incredible voice Rory had. The accent completely melted away, but the voice was so rich and deep, and unexpected of a boy like that. Baritones were rare in their Glee club—Rory was the only one to date—and Sam didn't know why the others didn't like him. They should've; Rory was a really great guy. Rory knew all the appropriate call-back lines for the movie, the right times to gasp and laugh (oh, God, his laugh was so cute) and cry.
In short, he was perfect, and Sam wanted him.
Later, Sam and Rory were in Sam's car, heading to the mall. "Have you ever been to an American shopping mall?"
"No," Rory played with his phone.
"Oh boy," Sam grimaced. "It's a bit of sensory overload, just gonna warn you now."
"Don't worry about me," Rory was distracted by a game of Pac-Man. "It can't be as bad as London during the holidays. We did that once, as a family. Never again."
"Alright," Sam sighed. "I just have to get things for my parents and siblings. We won't be too long." He also wanted to get something for Rory, but that would involve purchasing it in secret so the boy didn't see. He found a parking spot that wasn't a mile away from the mall and the boys hustled inside, bundled against the cold. "Hey, why don't we meet in the food court in an hour? It's upstairs, you can't miss it."
"Okay," Rory nodded. He ventured off towards the left, and Sam made a dash to the toy store to shop for his brother and sister.
Later that night
"Alright, it's present time," Mrs. Evans said cheerfully.
"What do you mean?" Rory frowned.
"Well, on Christmas Eve, we each pick one family present under the tree and open it. We save the Santa presents for tomorrow," she explained.
"I choose…I choose this one," Stacy pulled one from the bottom of the pile.
"Hey, why do you get to go first?" Stevie protested.
"Because I'm older," she stuck her nose in the air.
"By three minutes," Stevie grumbled.
"Stacy, you can go first. Then Stevie, then Rory, then Sam," Mrs. Evans reasoned.
"Yay," Stacy wiggled excitedly, ripping the paper off of the package.
"Who's it from?" Mr. Evans prompted.
"Oh, um, it's from Rory," she said, surprised.
"You didn't have to get the kids anything," Mrs. Evans told him.
"I know, but I wanted to. I'd feel bad if I stayed here and didn't get you anything in return. Think of it as a thank-you present for allowing me as a guest in your home," Rory said politely. "Besides, they remind me so much of my own brother…"
"Oh! The new Barbie that I've been wanting!" Stacy exclaimed. "Thanks so much!" She ran over to the blue-eyed boy and flung her arms around him.
"You're welcome," he chuckled. "I'm not sure what girls like, but I figured a doll would be nice, and the lady in the store said this one was very popular."
"My turn," Stevie proclaimed. He picked out Sam's present for him and opened it eagerly. "Oh, wow, a remote-control car! Thanks, Sammy!"
"Anything for my little squirt," Sam rubbed his brother's shoulder affectionately.
"Rory, here's one for you," Stacy said sweetly, handing him a box.
"I…I didn't expect any gifts," he said honestly.
"It's from me and Stacy," Stevie told him. "We made it when you went to the mall with Sammy."
"Well…well, thank you," Rory said, stunned. Why was everyone being so kind to him? He unwrapped the gift carefully. "Oh, this is so nice," he held up a clay sculpture of…well, he wasn't sure what it was of, but it was the thought that counted. "Thank you, Stacy. Thank you, Stevie. I'll treasure this always." He set it aside to admire later.
"Here's one from your mother and me," Mr. Evans gave a package to Sam.
"Cool," Sam smiled. "Oh, awesome, I needed more guitar strings and picks. Thanks, Mom and Dad!"
"You're welcome, son," Mrs. Evans smiled. "And now it's time for two little twins to get to bed!"
"Aww, but we're not even tired," Stevie whined.
"Yeah," Stacy yawned. "Not even tired one little bit."
"Wait," Rory paused dramatically. "What was that?"
Sam looked at him strangely. "What was what?"
"I think I heard…bells…sleigh bells, to be exact," Rory gave the blonde a sly grin.
"I think you're right," Sam said with a gleam in his eye.
"No way," Stacy's eyes widened.
"Way," Rory winked. "I think Santa's near. You best be getting off to bed so he can eat those delicious cookies we made and leave you guys your presents." Zoom; the twins were off and running and had their lights out, in bed, within ten minutes. "Works every time," Rory laughed. "Seamus always fell for that one."
"You love kids, don't you?" Mrs. Evans smiled.
"I do," Rory said softly. "I want to work with them someday."
Sam looked at him in wonder. How was Rory a better person than he was? How was he so sweet and good with both adults and children? How did he have such an incredible singing voice and that great accent…not to mention those deep blue-green eyes…Sam felt his stomach lurch for about the hundredth time since he'd met Rory. "I'm going to watch a movie in my room," he mumbled.
"May I join you?" Rory asked, unfailingly polite.
"Sure." Sam's heart fluttered again, rat-a-tat-ing in his chest. He climbed the stairs, saying goodnight to his parents, and ducked into his bedroom, Rory close behind him.
"I…see, Seamus and I always watched Frosty the Snowman every year on Christmas Eve," Rory said quietly. "And…well, I don't know what your traditions are, but…"
"We can watch Frosty, sure," Sam shrugged. He flipped through the channels and found it just as it was starting up. Rory looked around awkwardly for where he was supposed to sit. "Ah, sorry," Sam apologized. "I used to have a chair but it got lost in the move. Here, come sit with me on my bed." Rory nodded and silently did so. He sat cross-legged towards the front of the bed while Sam kicked back against the pillows. He loved watching Rory's facial expressions as he watched the classic TV special. Rory knew every line verbatim, and his eyes lit up at certain scenes, no doubt recalling fond memories of watching it at home with his little brother. Rory's smile took his breath away, more so than Quinn's ever had.
I'm not gay, he told himself. It's just one of those man-crushes, no big deal.
But even long after they'd said goodnight to each other and gone their separate ways to bed, Sam couldn't stop thinking about the blue-eyed boy.
To be continued…