Disclaimer: I still own nothing associated with Glee.
Beta Credit: jlbassmaster (I highly recommend his story "Trouty Mouth and the Leprechaun".)
The Plan That Actually Worked
Chapter Eight: Christmas
Thankfully, the next morning, Sam and Rory had time to sneak a quick shower before the rest of the house began to wake up.
"Ya know what I wanna do today, Sammy?" Rory asked, looking in the mirror as he fixed his hair. Sam was lounging on the bed watching his boyfriend putter around the bedroom.
"What's that, Rory?" he asked, smiling at Rory's tone.
"I think we should go for a walk through the park down the road. I bet it's really pretty now that it's been snowing."
Sam groaned. He'd hoped that whatever Rory had wanted to do that day involved staying inside where it was warm. Overnight, the ground had been covered with a blanket of snow, and while he loved how pretty it looked, it was cold. The adorable, pleading look on Rory's face as he turned away from the mirror to look at Sam was enough to convince him to go along with whatever his boyfriend wanted to do.
"Alright," Sam said, sighing. "But that look is totally not fair. As if I could say no to that face."
Rory beamed and crossed the room to throw himself on the bed next to Sam. The blonde pulled him into his arms and kissed the top of his head.
Sam scribbled a quick note to his mother explaining their absence, and walked into the living room where Rory was putting his scarf around his neck, his back turned to the doorway. Sam leaned against the doorjamb and watched. Rory quickly turned around to where Sam was, a smile stretched across his face.
Sam grinned affectionately as he walked over to wrap his arms around Rory.
The excitement radiating from Rory was enough to make Sam feel warm, but coupled with the way he looked-wearing a well-fitting red jacket accented by a toasty scarf and red gloves, all topped off by a cute red wool cap that sat back on his head, allowing the front of his chestnut brown hair to peek out from under it-almost made him go weak in the knees.
"You look beautiful, Rory," he said reverently, kissing the tip of his nose. "No," he corrected himself quickly. "You don't look beautiful. You are beautiful."
Rory beamed in response, and Sam took his hand, leaning forward to open the door.
As soon as they got outside, Rory's eyes lit up. He surveyed the snowy landscape with an almost childlike excitement. He absolutely loved the snow. He loved the way it accented everything with a shimmery whiteness. Sam led the pair down the small sidewalk, smiling at his boyfriend's enthusiasm.
"You really like the snow, don't you?" Sam asked curiously. Rory just continued beaming and looking around, not even glancing at Sam as he answered.
"It makes everything look so beautiful."
As he watched Rory's cheeks flush red from the cold, snowflakes gathering on his coat and in the little bit of hair visible from underneath his hat, Sam couldn't argue with Rory's observation.
"Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I can't believe it's finally here," Rory continued, oblivious to Sam staring.
"Oh my God, it's the twenty fourth already?" Sam said, shocked.
"Yep," he answered joyfully. "Tomorrow's Christmas."
"Actually," Sam said. "My family usually opens presents from the family on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning is when Stacy and Stevie open their Santa presents."
"Tonight?" Rory asked, confused. "I've never heard of that."
"Yeah, it's what a lot of Americans do. So, you get to open your presents tonight."
Rory's eyes widened. "Presents? I'm getting presents?" He asked excitedly. He'd bought presents for everyone, but it hadn't even crossed his mind to expect anything in return.
"Of course," Sam snorted. "I couldn't not get you something for Christmas. I'd be a terrible boyfriend. And my mother loves any excuse to shop, so I'm sure you got something from them. I also have it on good authority that Stacy and Stevie have been working diligently on a gift for you."
The Irish boy was almost bouncing. Sam laughed at his boyfriend's pure joy, leaning forward to kiss him.
"I love you so much, Rory," he said casually.
Rory started swinging their arms between them as they walked. "I love you, too, Sammy."
===xXxXx===
The boys had spent the better part of the morning walking through the park until the need for food began to sink in. They had walked back to Sam's house in companionable silence, just enjoying the other's presence.
When they arrived back to the house, Sam's mother had been busy arranging the presents underneath the Christmas tree in the living room. Stacy and Stevie were digging through them, sorting and sizing up their gifts. Sam led Rory through the living room and into the kitchen where his mother was now up to her elbows in cookie dough.
"What are you doing, Mrs. Evans?" Rory asked curiously, letting go of Sam's hand to investigate.
"I am making Christmas cookies from my grandmother's recipe," she said, her voice bright. "Would you like to help, Rory? I could teach you."
Rory beamed brightly. "That'd be grand, ma'am."
Sam sat in a kitchen chair, observing, as his mother and boyfriend worked together to make cookies. Rory giggled as Mrs. Evans handed him a spoon and the empty bowl with cookie dough stuck to the sides. Sam had materialized at his side, gathering cookie dough onto the spoon his mother had handed him. Rory watched as Sam put the spoonful of raw cookie dough into his mouth, nose wrinkling in distaste.
Sam paused at Rory's expression, spoon still in his mouth. "What?"
"What are you doing?"
"Um...eating the leftover cookie dough...?" Sam answered, confused by Rory's reaction.
"Why would you do that? It's not cooked."
Sam smiled and gathered another spoonful. "Open your mouth."
"No!" Rory shot back quickly.
"Rory," Sam prompted.
Rory began to protest and Sam quickly took advantage of the opportunity, sticking the spoon into his unsuspecting mouth before he could react. His eyes widened as he tasted the cookie dough, a smile stretching across his face. Sam's expression was smug as he pulled the spoon out of his boyfriend's mouth and folded his arms across his chest, waiting.
"Oh my God," Rory laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. "That is so good!"
"Told you so," Sam said, smiling.
Sam and Rory sat at the kitchen table cleaning every last bit of cookie dough from the sides of the bowl, abandoning their spoons and just using their fingers after scraping the remainder from the bottom of the bowl became too much work. When his mother wasn't looking, Sam put a dab of cookie dough on his lip and pulled Rory forward. The younger boy giggled as he removed the sweet from his boyfriend's lip with a gentle kiss.
"Go on boys," Mrs. Evans said, grinning. "I'll call you when the cookies are done."
Rory took Sam's hand and the two skittered out of the kitchen toward Sam's bedroom, collapsing onto the bed and curling into each other.
"So..." Sam started, stroking Rory's hair lightly with his hand. "What do you wanna do?"
"Hmm..." Rory said, thinking. "Let's watch a movie."
"Which movie?"
"I don't care. Whatever you want to watch, Sammy."
Sam nodded his assent and slid out of Rory's hold to hop off the bed and crouch in front of the DVD player for a moment, busying himself with putting in a disc, before settling back onto the bed. Rory immediately tangled himself back up with his boyfriend.
The movie started. Sam was paying attention to the screen, fingers idly dragging through Rory's hair as the boy's head rested against the crook of his neck. He hadn't even noticed that Rory had fallen asleep until he began to hear his soft snores. He glanced down to find Rory's face relaxed with sleep. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of his hair and slid his hand across his back in a slow rhythm as he continued to watch the movie and enjoy the complete tranquility of the moment.
About halfway through the movie, Mrs. Evans opened the door.
"Sam, Rory," she started to call. She quickly assessed the scene and hushed her voice. "Sam, sweetheart, dinner's ready."
Sam smiled and answered in the same hushed tone, stroking Rory's hair lightly. "Would it be okay if we skipped dinner tonight? I don't want to wake him up."
"He looked a little tired earlier," Mrs. Evans noted, gesturing to where Rory slept peacefully against Sam's side.
"Yeah, he had a bad night last night."
"Okay, sweetie, let him sleep. I'll have your brother and sister come and get you both for presents."
"Thanks, mom," he said, smiling. Mrs. Evans returned the smile and closed the door.
As the movie was drifting to its close, Sam felt Rory start to stir under his hand.
"Good morning, sunshine," Sam joked sweetly. "Guess you were pretty tired, huh."
"More tired than I thought, apparently," he mumbled sleepily. "What time is it?"
"Almost seven thirty. I was going to wake you up soon. Stacy and Stevie should be in here any second to get us to open presents."
"What about dinner?"
Sam laughed. "You slept through it. I didn't want to wake you up, so I didn't go either. Guess we'll just have to have cookies as we open presents."
Rory smiled up at Sam. "I can live with that."
Right on cue, the twin siblings came bursting through Sam's door yelling about presents, pulling insistently on Sam and Rory's arms in an attempt to physically drag the pair out of bed.
"We're coming! We're coming!" Sam insisted, wrenching Rory's arm free from the grip of his little sister. "Go on and start passing out the presents. We'll be right there." The kids were sufficiently appeased and tore out of the room like the wind.
"Ready," Sam asked quietly.
"I suppose," Rory said, a smile stretching across his face.
Sam rolled out of bed and offered Rory his hand, helping him up. The pair walked into the living room, a picturesque scene of a happy family. Mr. and Mrs. Evans watched with love as their two youngest children bounced around the room handing out presents. Sam and Rory sat down, fingers intertwined. The grins on Sam's parents' faces intensified as they saw their oldest son smile again. They'd waited so long to see Sam happy again, and they'd never seen him happier than when he was with Rory. Plus, it made it better that they absolutely adored Rory. They'd already welcomed him as a part of the Evans family.
"Sammy," Stevie called. "This one's for you!" The little blonde boy hustled over to Sam's seat, handing him a guitar case with a big red bow. Rory looked eagerly over his shoulder. Sam's eyes lit up as he popped the latch open and looked at the sleek, shiny black guitar inside.
"Who is that from?" Stacy asked, in awe, as she peered into the case.
"Umm..." he said, closing the lid to look at the tag stuck to the front of the case. "It's from-" he broke off, looking up toward Rory, shocked. "It's from Rory."
Rory was smiling brightly behind Sam. He leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. "Merry Christmas, Sammy."
"Rory, this must have cost...I don't even know how much," Sam said breathlessly.
"I've been saving up for it. I know that you love the guitar you have now, but it's worn out, and if you're going to play music for me, you've gotta have a guitar that can keep up with your talent."
A tear slid down Sam's face as he listened to Rory. "I love you so much," he said incredulously. He pulled the brunette close and kissed him on the lips. It was a bit too intimate, considering the audience, but no one seemed to care. Sam's mother cooed at her son's excitement.
Sam broke the kiss, suddenly realizing that they were being a little too 'coupley' in front of his parents and siblings. He laughed quietly as he threw his arms around Rory and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. Not just for the guitar, but for everything."
"You're welcome, Sammy." Rory said happily. "I love you."
The kids had already grown bored of the show of affection and returned to the veritable sea of presents. The sound of paper tearing filled the small room. Rory watched everyone open their presents with cheerful curiosity. Sam frowned as he saw everyone holding a gift except Rory. He threw himself off the couch and went to dig around under the tree and returning with three brightly colored boxes. He dropped them on Rory's lap and smiled widely.
"Here, baby," Sam said happily. "I don't want you to feel left out."
"Sam, just being here, I feel so included. I feel like family. You really didn't need to go out of your way to get me anything."
"You are part of the family, Rory," Mr. Evans chimed in. "And, because you're family, we bought you a present."
"Thank you all so much for making me feel at home. You have no idea what it means to me." Rory tried to keep his voice light, but emotion crept into his words.
Sam swallowed thickly at the implications in Rory's words. Sam did know what it meant to Rory to feel welcomed, to feel a part of a family. He had been embraced by Sam's family in a way he hadn't found in his own home. He almost felt guilty for being raised in such a loving home when Rory had to go through so much. He wrapped his arm around the Irish boy's shoulders, as he began to tear open the presents in his lap.
"This one is from Mr. and Mrs. Evans," he said, reading the tag before ripping open the paper. Inside the small box, was a new watch with a wide, dark brown leather band embellished with a flowing design in a lighter color. He opened it quickly and Sam helped him put it on. He twisted his wrist dramatically to see how it looked, smiling brightly. "Thank you so much! I love it!"
"You're welcome, sweetheart," Mrs. Evans said, reaching across the couch to pat Rory's cheek.
"Okay," Sam insisted. "Open more!"
Rory laughed at his boyfriend's enthusiasm. "This one's from..." he said, checking the sticker on the front of the box, laughing at the messy writing on the tag. "Sam, this one's for both of us. It's from Stacy and Stevie."
The siblings looked up expectantly from where they were sitting on the floor.
Rory tore open the package, a feat considering the amount of tape encasing the wrapping paper. He opened the box underneath the paper to find a green stuffed bear wearing a necklace made of plastic beads. Stacy spoke up first.
"We know how much you love green, and Sammy loves teddy bears, so we saved up our piggy bank money to buy it. Stevie named him Clover, but you can call him whatever you want, and we made the necklace together. The beads are blue and green to match yours and Sammy's eyes." Stacy smiled triumphantly.
"Thank you both very much!" Rory said, standing up to go hug the two little blondes. "I love it!"
It was true. He'd never received a present that meant more. They'd obviously put an enormous amount of thought into the gift.
"What do you think, Rory?" Sam asked, holding up the bear. "I think we should call him Clover. I like it."
"Me too," he said, smiling at Stevie.
"You've got one more present to open," Sam said, settling the stuffed animal into his lap and lifting up a small box, smiling broadly.
"Let me guess who this one's from," Rory answered, sitting back down next to Sam, grinning. He checked the tag anyway. "It's from Sam," he said, turning to smile cheerfully at the older blonde.
He turned the box over and slid his finger underneath the tape, popping it up and opening the paper. He immediately recognized the box as containing an iPod Touch. "No, Sam," he said breathlessly, pushing it toward the blonde. "It's too much. I couldn't possibly-"
"Rory, it's not too much. I'm sure my guitar cost more than your present."
"Sam," he protested, only to be silenced by Sam's hand covering his mouth.
"Merry Christmas, Rory," he said, smiling. "I want you to have all the best things I can possibly give you. You deserve it."
Rory smiled broadly against Sam's palm. The blonde removed his hand and Rory leaned forward to kiss him softly on the lips. "Thank you, Sammy."
The kids were on the floor playing with their new toys and Mr. and Mrs. Evans had gone into the kitchen to have coffee. Sam pulled out his new guitar and leaned back against the couch and started strumming idly. As Rory watched the simple beauty of the scene, he felt at home. He didn't feel like someone who was spending Christmas with his boyfriend's family; he felt as though he was a part of the family. He rested his head against Sam's shoulder and listened to the music.
After a short while, Sam's parents came back into the room. Sam looked up at them and then to the clock on the wall.
He smiled and nudged Rory. "Wanna see two little kids move at the speed of light?"
Rory nodded, grinning widely.
"Hey, Rory, do you hear that?" Sam asked, winking at Rory before the kids turned around, their interest piqued.
"No, what?" Rory answered.
"I thought I heard bells outside, like...sleigh bells."
"Hmm, that must mean Santa's close," Rory offered.
"I hope he doesn't skip our house because you guys are awake," Sam said, directing his comment toward his siblings.
Stacy and Stevie exchanged a nervous glance before jumping up from their spot on the floor and darting out of the room without a second glance.
As soon as the kids were out of the room, Sam and Rory dissolved into laughter, Mr. and Mrs. Evans joining in.
Rory stood up and began picking up the wrapping paper scattered across the living room floor, putting it all in the trash bag he'd taken from Mrs. Evans' hand.
"Thank you, Rory," she said. "You have been so helpful ever since you got here."
"It's my pleasure, ma'am," he answered smiling. He quickly finished tidying up the small room and tied up the bag. Sam took it from him and set it on the back porch. When he came back in the room, he sat down next to Rory, lacing their fingers together.
Rory looked meaningfully into Sam's eyes. "This has been the best day of my life, Sam. Thank you so much."
Sam smiled and pecked him on the lips. "You have no idea how happy you make me."
"Okay, boys," Mrs. Evans said pleasantly, breaking into their conversation. "Why don't you two go to bed. We're going to put out the Santa presents and then turn in for the night ourselves."
"Yes, ma'am," Rory said, standing up. "I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me. You'll never know how much I appreciate it. You've made me feel so welcome."
"You are welcome, Rory. We feel like you're part of the family already, sweetheart."
Sam's father clapped Rory on the shoulder and smiled kindly at him.
Sam squeezed his hand and smiled.
Rory leaned forward and pulled Sam's mother in for a one-armed hug, Sam refused to let go of his hand. He whispered a quiet thank you in her ear before pulling away. She smiled and patted his face.
"Goodnight, mom," Sam said, kissing his mother on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, baby."
Sam towed Rory toward the bedroom and pulled him onto the bed, wrapping his arms around him. "I love you so much. You have no idea."
Rory smiled and connected their lips. There was no urgency, no need, only love in the kiss. Sam broke the kiss and stroked Rory's cheek with his fingertips. "Let's watch another movie. I'm not really tired."
"Me either," Rory added.
"That's probably because you slept all afternoon," Sam replied, laughing quietly.
"I was exhausted," Rory defended. "A movie sounds good though."
"I know the perfect movie," Sam said matter-of-factly, rolling out of Rory's arms and off the bed. He busied himself with the DVD player and settled back onto the bed. Rory had taken off his jeans and slid under the blankets, so Sam did the same. He quickly pulled Rory into his arms. Rory rested his head in the crook of Sam's neck as the movie started.
Rory looked up, confused. "What is this?"
"It's The Nightmare Before Christmas," Sam said. "I watch it every year. Haven't you ever seen it?"
Rory shook his head.
"Well, then I'm afraid we're going to have to break up," Sam said. "I simply cannot be with someone who has never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas."
"Oh, be quiet," Rory laughed, snuggling closer to Sam's chest as he watched the strange movie.
===xXxXx===
Christmas morning had come and gone. Stevie and Stacy had woken Sam and Rory up at the crack of dawn, and the Evans' had even surprised them with another present. They had both gotten the collector's edition of Avatar.
Sam's grandparents showed up around noon to eat Christmas dinner with the family. The introductions had gone smoothly. Neither set of grandparents seemed to mind that the person that Sam was in love with was a boy. They pretty much agreed with Sam's parents. It had been too long since Sam was able to be happy, that they welcomed anything that brought his smile back.
By the time bedtime had rolled around, Sam and Rory had eaten so much over the course of the day that they were exhausted.
As they closed the bedroom door behind them, Rory whispered into Sam's ear, half-asleep. "This has been the best Christmas ever. I love you."
"Yes, it has. I love you, too," Sam mumbled back, kissing Rory softly on his full lips.
They collapsed onto the bed and wiggled into each other's arms before falling fast asleep, warm and entirely content.
A/N: Reviews are always appreciated. You guys will never know how much I appreciate every single review that I get. It makes me feel like a rock star. :)