A/N. I'm so sorry for the long wait, guys (and I've fallen behind on reviews too!). I just finished school though and I'm off until January 24th, so hopefully I'll be able to get back on track with my reading and writing. Here's chapter three and I hope to have another one shot done soon as well. I don't own anything.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on, our troubles will be out of sight." - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine.
Carlos is the first to wake up the next morning. He stretches, stiff from sleeping on the floor, and confused at first. Glancing around the room, he sees Logan still fast asleep a few feet away, and he realizes he's in his best friend's basement. Then he remembers what happened yesterday and what he's doing at Logan's house.
He gets up slowly, being careful to wake Logan. It's odd that Carlos is awake first because Logan has always been a light sleeper and an early riser. But as he looks at his best friend closely, Carlos can see just how tired Logan looks and he immediately decides against waking him. Instead, he'll surprise him with chocolate chip pancakes. Logan's favorite breakfast to have has always been chocolate chip pancakes and it's one of the few things that Carlos actually knows how to make.
Fortunately, he's also familiar with the Mitchell's kitchen so it's easy for him to find everything. Carlos crosses his fingers, hoping that he won't wake Logan up with all the banging around that is pretty much inevitable and then he starts getting everything out. Almost right away, he fails in Part One of his good intentions and he pulls the electric skillet out from under a pile of pots and pans, sending them to the floor with a loud crash.
Cringing, Carlos stays frozen in place, waiting for the last pan to stop spinning around so he can listen to hear if the noise woke Logan up. He's pretty sure that it did, since normally the slightest noise can disturb Logan from sleeping and this particular incident was the equivalent of an earthquake to him.
"Carlos?"
Disappointment floods through Carlos but he shrugs it off and calls out in reply. "In the kitchen!" Stupid klutz, he scolds himself.
Logan appears from the hallway, staring in confusion at the mess all over the kitchen floor and Carlos standing still, holding the skillet with a guilty expression on his face. Despite his confusion, Logan smiles a little bit. "Carlos, what are you doing?"
"I, um," A blush heats up Carlos' face and he sets the skillet on the counter and then drops to the floor to pick up the scattered pots and pans. "I was going to make breakfast and. . . all of this fell out of the cabinet."
"You didn't get hurt, did you?" asks Logan somewhat anxiously. He joins Carlos on the floor to help him pick up, but he's studying his friend carefully.
Carlos shakes his head quickly. "No, not at all." he assures Logan. "I don't think I broke anything either."
"You didn't." Logan takes on the reassuring role as he stands up.
"I'm sorry I woke you." Carlos mumbles. He stands up too, but keeps his eyes on the floor.
Logan's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "It doesn't matter, Carlos." he says gently. "It's almost 9:30 anyway, I should be up. I wasn't expecting you to be up already." he adds with a small laugh.
Carlos can't help but laugh as well. "I know, me neither. But I did wake up and I was going to make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. You know, to surprise you."
At the mention of the planned and failed surprise, Logan's face brightens. "Really? That's awesome, Carlos! But we can still have chocolate chip pancakes. I'll just help you." He crosses the room to the pantry to search for the pancake mix and chocolate chips. Glancing over, he sees that Carlos is still looking slightly disappointed and he softens just a bit. "Thanks for the thought, buddy. You're awesome, did you know that?"
It's impossible to be upset for very long around Logan, especially when he's so happy like he is now. Carlos grins and gives a small shrug. "Yeah, I know it. You're pretty cool too, Logie."
The boys fall into an agreed silence then and simply work. The pancakes are from a boxed mix, so it's not difficult and it doesn't take too long at all. Right before they sit down, Carlos switches the radio on to the local Christmas station and then grabs a pad of paper and a pencil.
"So," he says, making room for the paper. "What do you want to do today?"
Logan's eyes are big as he considers Carlos' question carefully. "Well," he begins, seeming to forget about breakfast. "I don't know. . . what do you think we should do today?"
Carlos tries to ignore the unpleasant thoughts of just how clueless Logan is with all the Christmas planning. He's realized by now that his best friend and dad haven't celebrated Christmas in years, but he's still amazed at the full lengths Ryan Mitchell has gone to so that they have completely ignored Christmas all together. "Um" he helps himself to a couple pancakes and pretends to focus on cutting them up so he can think. "I guess we should probably finish decorating around the house and then put the lights on outside."
"And then?" Logan asks, eager to hear more plans.
Logan's enthusiasm is contagious and Carlos starts to cheer up. "I don't know," he says after another short pause. "I guess we'll have to see how much we'll get done today."
"That makes sense," Logan readily agrees. "Carlos, how are we going to get the outside lights on the house by ourselves?"
Carlos has been thinking of the same exact thing since he first came up with the idea to help Logan celebrate Christmas. He leans on one elbow as he thinks. The very last thing he wants to do is actually say that they can't do something and risk disappointing Logan. He knows that Logan will act like it doesn't bother him that much, but he would never be able to fool Carlos. They've known each other for too long. Mentally crossing his fingers, he gives Logan a half smile and then says, "Very carefully."
Logan doesn't go into a list of things that could happen with this potentially dangerous and stupid idea. He doesn't worry over the fact that there are no adults present and that they really shouldn't do this. He doesn't look more excited either, merely hopeful. And somehow that's even worse. "Okay," he says quietly, already lost in thought of what they might be able to do.
They have to do this, Carlos decides right then and there. If this was at his house, then he might be able to brush off the outside lights as a task far too difficult and dangerous without adult supervision. Carlos can be reckless but he's not completely stupid. He knows that this is probably a bad idea. But he also knows that they'll be really careful and probably wind up perfectly fine. He knows that will make it worth it and that they can't forget it as some little detail. It's going to happen.
After breakfast, the boys clean up and then set about the task of finishing the inside decorations, even going so far as to clear away a corner in the family room for a tree. "We'll get the tree after we put the lights up outside," Carlos tells Logan. He doesn't say anything else out loud, but on the inside, he wonders and hopes that they'll be able to find a decent tree so close to Christmas.
"When did you get your tree?" Logan asks curiously as he and Carlos start to pull on their winter clothes so they can go outside.
"A little over a week ago," Carlos replies. "At the tree lot up the street from our house. We drove the van and then tied it to the roof."
"How will we get our tree home?"
Carlos zips up his coat and then glances at Logan who is staring at him with a serious, almost worried expression on his face. "I don't know," he says honestly. "We'll figure out something though, Logie. You have to have a Christmas tree."
Logan is satisfied by that answer and picks up an armload of coiled light strings. "Ready to go out then?" he asks, his voice muffled by the scarf that he has wrapped around his neck.
Bracing himself for the cold, Carlos nods. "Ready."
There's always a small part of him that hates living in Minnesota where the winters are miserable and freezing. He loves playing hockey with his best friends on their frozen pond and he loves having snowball battles with the whole neighborhood, but that's about all he really likes. It snows too much, making it difficult to get around except for on foot and it's often too cold to enjoy himself for very long. Sometimes, Carlos wishes he could fly south for the winter like the birds.
He could have flown south this winter. For a few days anyway. With his family. But then, Logan would be alone. And that's even less okay then getting tired of the snow and cold. So really, everything is absolutely okay right now.
"Do you have an outlet anywhere?" Carlos asks once they're outside in the twenty degree weather.
"Out here?" Logan asks. He points over by the door. "Right there. Is that okay? I bet we have extension cords somewhere in the basement or the garage. Want me to check?"
"Nope," Carlos shakes his head. "Not right now anyway. This outlet should work just fine." He bends down by the outlet and then he sticks one strand of lights in it. "Ha!" he exclaims when they light up right away. "Perfect!"
Logan actually claps his hands together once, still holding onto his own strand of lights. "They look great!" he says happily.
In a way, Logan reminds Carlos of his younger sisters. Except Logan is fifteen. But it doesn't matter. Logan hasn't had a real Christmas in years. He hardly even remembers his last Christmas. Besides, he's normally almost always too serious and solemn. He's allowed to get this excited. It's fun seeing this side of him.
"Now," Carlos instructs, stepping back a bit and letting the lights unwind on their own. "We'll drape this strand all over the porch railing. Then we'll do the bushes and-" he glances upwards at the gray sky. It's not snowing now and hopefully it won't later on. "Then we'll see about the roof."
"So do you help your dad a lot?" Logan asks as they work. "With decorating I mean? Is that why you know what to do? I bet James helps his dad too since it's just him and his parents. And Kendall too. I bet Kendall does most of it actually."
"Probably," Carlos agrees with all of it. "Yeah, I help my dad. So do all of my sisters. And my mom. We all help Christmas is a big family-" You're going too far a voice warns him a little too late. "Christmas is a big family thing." he finishes lamely, trying to make it hurt Logan as little as possible.
But Logan doesn't look too bothered by this, much to Carlos' surprise. If anything, he looks even more encouraged. "I bet what we're doing right now," he gestures around them at the pathetically tangled up lights that somehow, miraculously, still work. "I bet it's going to save Christmas for my family. Me and my dad. I bet it'll bring it back for us."
Carlos wishes that James and Kendall were with them too. They're older and besides, Kendall knows how to handle Logan better than anyone else. Carlos is the youngest, almost always the most innocent of the group. He hardly knows what to do with himself right now, much less Logan. What would Kendall say, what would Kendall say?
"Maybe," Carlos winces, hating himself for the only thing he could think of to say. He should have just kept quiet. "I hope." Keeping quiet isn't really his thing.
Logan is too understanding. He smiles at Carlos and tosses him some of the lights. "Even if this doesn't work. . . like I said last night. . . I'll have you."
Carlos wishes it could be easy to believe Logan, but he's still so afraid. He's afraid of Ryan Mitchell coming home and tearing Logan down all over again. He loves seeing Logan so happy like he is now. He doesn't want that to ever go away. Logan deserves to be happy. I hope I'll be enough he thinks, while at the same time he smiles through his fear.
"So," Logan tips his head up at the sky. "How are we going to do the roof?"
Carlos bites his lip and studies the roof of Logan's house closely. "It doesn't look that hard to walk on. We could just crawl out the window and-"
"Carlos, that sounds dangerous!" Logan exclaims, returning to the Logan who Carlos knows so well. We're just kids and we don't have any adults to help us and what if one of us slips and falls? Or both of us? What if we both fall off the roof?"
"We're fifteen," Carlos reminds him. "Yeah, it's not like we're adults, but we're not little kids, Logan. And like I said, we'll be careful. We could at least try, right?"
He waits for Logan's response anxiously. And while he completely expects Logan to refuse once again, he's surprised when the other boy gets a determined look on his face and nods. "Okay. Let's try then."
If it wasn't so heartbreaking, Logan's excitement and determination over every little bit of decorating might be considered funny. It's like he and Carlos ave switched roles sometime in the last two days and Carlos is the responsible one, encouraging and pushing Logan to go a little bit further, while Logan is the one who is acting like a little kid. And when he thinks about it, Carlos really doesn't mind at all. He's willing to do whatever he can for Logan at the moment.
"What if we used a rope?" Logan suggests out of the blue as the boys head back inside to go to the upstairs windows.
"Huh?" Carlos asks, snapping out of his thoughts and turning to look at Logan, slightly confused. "A rope?"
Logan nods patiently. "A rope," he begins to explain. "Two ropes actually. One for each. We'll tie one end around our waist and the other to something sturdy either on the roof or just inside. That way if we fall, we shouldn't get hurt. A safety precaution."
At that, Carlos can't hold back a laugh. Logan is swinging wildly back and forth between childlike excitement and paranoid caution. It's too amusing to not enjoy. "Do you have rope?"
"It should be somewhere in the basement," Logan tells him. "I'll be right back."
"Do you need help?" Carlos calls after him as he starts to leave.
"I'll be fine, thanks."
Carlos stays where he is then and looks around the house. It looks so much better than it did just a day ago. Warmer and cheerier. How could anyone ever let it get so dark and depressing, especially around Christmastime? He doesn't blame Logan. Logan was practically raised without celebrating Christmas. But he does blame Logan's father and although Carlos has a certain amount of sympathy for the man who lost his beloved wife, it's really not that much. It's one thing to mourn your wife's death and never remarry, but it's another thing entirely to let your grief consume you so much that you practically disappear from everyone's life, including your own son's life. Would it really been that hard for Ryan Mitchell to at least get a Christmas tree?
"Ready, Carlos?"
Blinking is surprise, Carlos finds that Logan is standing right in front of him, his arms full of rope. He bites back another grin. "Is that enough rope?" he asks teasingly.
Logan blushes a little and tosses some of the rope at him. "You'll thank me when we get through this without breaking any bones." he retorts good naturedly.
"You're probably right," Carlos gives in with a small laugh. "Then we'll figure out how to get a Christmas tree."
As they walk upstairs, Carlos starts thinking of a way they could get a tree. They don't have a car and neither of them could drive even if they did. His parents have already left for the airport and there's no chance they could help now. The nearest lot is three miles from Logan's house. On foot is their only option, really.
Logan shoves his bedroom window open and ties one end of the rope around his waist. "The drain pipe will probably be strong enough to hold us. Just be careful when you first go out."
Carlos watches as Logan climbs out on the roof first and carefully secures himself to the house. He wonders how badly it would hurt if they did fall and landed on the snowy yard. It wasn't like the roof was too high. Wouldn't the snow be enough to pad the fall? But he knows better than to question Logan, so he follows his example. They probably look ridiculous to any neighbors who might be watching, but Carlos is used to that.
The job is fairly easy, despite numbed fingers and being somewhat restricted in movement thanks to Logan's "safety precaution". Logan and Carlos have the house fully decorated just after noon time and after a small debate, decide to skip lunch in favor of getting a tree. Since Logan isn't particularly big on skipping meals since it isn't the healthy thing to do, Carlos is reminded again of just how important a tree is to him, and ignores how hungry he is.
"So, where is the tree lot?" Logan asks as they head outside yet again. "And how are we going to get a tree all the way over here? It's not good if you drag them, right? All the needles will fall off."
"Yeah." Carlos shoves his hands inside his coat pocket and stares up at the sky. "Do you have a sled?"
Logan shakes his head. "Mine broke when we were nine, remember? I've always used Kendall's extra sled."
"Right." Kendall isn't here of course. "What if we stopped by my house since it's on the way and grab my sled? We can tie the tree to the sled and pull it. That way we'll be dragging it, but the needles shouldn't fall off." That's what he's hoping anyway.
"You're right," Logan says with a nod. "Great idea, Carlos! Do you have a key?"
"Yup! Let's go!"
All four of them live within a half hour long walk from each other. Logan lives between Carlos and Kendall, while Kendall and James live right down the street. Within ten minutes, they've arrived at Carlos' house. Predictably, the door is locked and the shades are drawn. It's strangely quiet and empty, hardly recognizable without Carlos' large and happy family inside.
Even Carlos is unnerved by the unfamiliar atmosphere and hurries through the house to the door that connects to his garage. "I just took my sisters sledding yesterday," he tells Logan. "So they're right in the front of the door."
"I wish I had a sibling," Logan says quietly. He stops suddenly then, a distant, upset, look on his face. "How much are Christmas trees anyway, Carlos?"
Confused by Logan's abrupt change of subject and attitude, Carlos takes a while to answer. "Oh, uh, I don't really know, It depends on the size, I guess. Hey, Logie? Would you rather have a sister or a brother?"
Logan seems reluctant to continue the conversation. "I don't know," he says with a shrug. "I guess the obvious answer would be a brother, but you and Kendall seem to really enjoy your sisters. So are you ready to go?"
He's surprised now. Logan has never seemed so bent on avoiding talking about something before. In fact, Carlos realizes, they've never talked about him having a brother or sister before. They hardly talk about his family, but never about the fact that he's an only child. "Sure," he answers Logan, letting the subject drop. "Let's go."
So they leave for the tree lot, dragging the sled behind them Carlos listens to Logan talk on and on about the decorations for the tree. "I made a lot of them when I was younger. My parents and I had this tradition. . . until I was about eight I guess anyway. . . we made an ornament every year. I think my mom did most of the work until I was probably four, but it was always fun."
"Maybe we can make another one this year," Carlos suggests, hoping to make up for his earlier mistake that was pushing Logan into talking about being an only child.
"Sounds good to me!" Logan agrees cheerfully.
They reach the tree lot, which is unfortunately, very scare of any decent trees. Actually, they look only a little better than Charlie Brown's tree from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Glancing in concern at Logan, Carlos is relieved to see that he doesn't look too let down. "I'm sure we can find something here," he says encouragingly, just in case.
"I think we will," Logan agrees, sounding a lot more confident. "And if not. . . well, we'll find something."
They walk down the aisles together, inspecting the trees. Most of them are obviously bad choices, with huge bald spots or crooked trunks. Or they're way too tall or short or fat or skinny. Carlos knows that they can't find the perfect tree, but he was hoping for something better then the somewhat pathetic selection they have here.
"I think," Logan says after a while. "I think that we just need to pick one and take it home. It looks like they all just need a little love."
It would be funny if Logan knew A Charlie Brown Christmas to know that he was practically quoting Linus in one of the scenes. But Carlos just nods in agreement. "You're probably right, Logan. You pick one. It's your tree."
"Our tree." Logan corrects, distractedly as he looks around him. He sighs and points off to his left. "This one doesn't look too bad," he says after a while. "What do you think, Carlos? You know more about Christmas trees than me."
Not that picking a Christmas tree is exactly a science. But Carlos doubts that would make Logan feel any better. He joins Logan by the particular tree and looks closely at it. It's small and there's one fairly bald spot, but they can turn it to the wall. "I think this one is good. You like it, right?"
Logan walks around it a few time. "I do," he says at last. "Let's go see how much it is."
"Can I help you boys?"
Just in time, the owner of the lot walks up to join them. He recognizes Carlos and smiles at him. "I thought you and your family already got a tree."
"We did!" Carlos tells him with a smile. "But my friend Logan needs a tree. This one doesn't seem to have a price tag though."
"It must have fallen off," the man tells him. He glances at it and then shrugs. "I'm sorry we don't have a better one for you boys to take home. Tell you what, since it's so close to Christmas and it's a pretty sad tree, how about we say it's a present from me to you?"
Logan turns bright red and shakes his head. "Oh no, I can't let you do that! It's too much to ask for."
"Logan, right?" the man asks, waiting for Logan to nod. "It's not too much to ask for at all. Take it home and have a good Christmas, okay?"
Logan is about to protest again, but Carlos elbows him gently and nods. "Thank you so much!" he says pointedly. "That's really generous of you!"
Logan gets the message and gives in. "Thank you," he says quietly, looking at the tree with new eyes. "I won't forget this."
"Merry Christmas, boys!" the guy tells them with another huge smile. "Get home safely, okay? It's supposed to start snowing again soon."
Carlos pulls out the extra rope they brought and together, he and Logan lower the tree carefully to the sled, before tying it on. "When we get home," he tells Logan as the first flakes start to fall. "We'll put it up in the stand, but we won't be able to decorate it right away. It's tied too tight right now, so we'll have to let the branches relax."
"We can eat lunch while we wait," Logan decides. "Let's just get home before the snow gets worse."
They may not have gotten the best tree, but at least Logan is happy with it. Carlos mentally checks Christmas tree off of his list of things to do and then immediately starts to concentrate on the rest of his plans. They're well on their way to helping Logan have his first Christmas in years.
A/N. I'm off to see the Nutcracker with my family! Christmas tradition, yay! Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you all enjoy your weekend!