Hello! It is Wednesday and I am back to upload a new chapter and the final Christmas upload of Pikachu Tales. I wrote this one first and as soon as I started planning what kind of festive uploads I wanted for this year, I knew I had to write it. Last year for the fourth Christmas upload, I wrote one that featured the 'happy ending' of everyone at Christmas - where Sammy was with Justin and Lucy was with Eli. And Eli realised that he had at last found a family. I confess to you that shortly after I wrote that, I started planning that eventually, Justin and Eli would rekindle and that would be the final pairing! So it felt right to write this, the new happy ending. But is it really the ending? I can never tell where anything is going to go. But I certainly hope that it remains like this. I so love this group together :3
Ages:
Sammy: 39
Lucy: 38
Katie: 26
Jayden: 29
Justin: 32
Eli: 36
James: 53
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
Sometimes you think that the ending of a story has played out. You think there are no more words to add, let alone chapters. Things had worked out for good and there would be no more twists and turns to catch you off guard. And then you realise how foolish you have been as it dawns on you. You were still in the middle of a tale after all. And there was still much more to explore!
I was thinking of this while enjoying Christmas with my own loved ones. This notion was filling my mind and in particular, I could not stop my thoughts from wondering what other events were happening elsewhere.
Sammy pulled the woman lounging close to his lap ever closer still, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist before they searched for her face, ring clad and tattoo decorated fingers cupping her jawline. Before her porcelain cheeks could become the colour of some of the baubles hanging on the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, an adoring kiss was planted to her cheek.
"Ugh, who needs an angel on the top of the tree with you around, babe?" Sammy murmured just for Lucy to hear but in reality, the love elevating his tones made his voice travel for others to notice as well. He planted another kiss to the opposite side of her face in between using those lips of his to dote on her verbally. "You're my one in a million, on this day and every day."
Although Lucy uttered the name of her boyfriend between clenched teeth and in a manner that was trying to tone down his displays of affection, she couldn't stop the smile that elevated her lips and she held onto his shoulders in return, making the most of the embrace.
Meanwhile, as Sammy finally stopped speaking words to her and allowed his hands to travel back towards her waist and he planted more and more kisses to her face, someone else in the room made a proper attempt to stop what was happening between the couple. Or at the very least, let their opinion be known about it!
Her lips quirking up for a different reason and her head shaking from side to side, Katie moved her attention away from the couple and to the man who was kneeling opposite her, both of them having prior been rummaging through the bauble box together.
Instead of focusing her attention on the red and silver orbs that glittered and reflected light inside of the box, Katie looked right at Justin, care in her eyes as well as a bit of condescension as well!
"Are you doing okay with all of that?" she asked the deep purple haired male, a wave of the hand not being needed to gesture what she was referring to at all because of a tilt of the head and a second glance at her expression made it perfectly clear.
Even so, for a single second, Justin's eyes were the shape of the baubles lounging in the box. Then, after a glance to where Sammy was slowing down the affection after being caught but was still instead resting his cheek against Lucy's, it was Justin's turn to gesture with his hand.
He gestured dismissively and smiled in such a way that caused the fairy lights on the tree to pale to insignificance.
"Doesn't bother me a bit." He told Katie opposite him, his narrow shoulders bobbing up and down before his hands delved back into the box to see if he could find any treasures among the identical baubles. In spite of the fact that he was talking to the one person only, he took a second to glance at the affectionate couple before only having eyes for his best friend again. "I can hardly make it out in my peripheral."
With that, one hand of his plunged back out of the box to wave airily for a second time to prove a point. And while he had not exactly let go of his girlfriend and continued doting on her in his own way, Sammy could relax a bit further as he lounged with Lucy.
The last thing that he wanted was to displease Justin. He would have liked to displease Eli a little more! However, the deep violet haired of that other couple was distracted by bouncing a baby in front of his face. So for once, there would be no winding up there.
Katie knew that Justin would have been (politely) vocal about it if he had been uneasy with certain behaviour so because of this, she knew to believe him when he spoke of the opposite. Even so, she couldn't refrain from looking back over at Sammy and Lucy and especially so as this time, it was the yellow haired of the couple to take her boyfriend's face in her hands.
When she saw Lucy draw Sammy's face closer to hers and plant a kiss on the end of his nose, she spoke words for everyone very much to hear!
"It's not your eyes that I'm worried about." Katie commented and immediately, it made air escape from the nostrils of Justin as his smile widened. He took a brief glance out of curiosity to wonder what was causing her to say things like that. But he quickly gave them privacy again, just sharing a silent look of mischief with his good friend.
Though the orange haired young woman was continually making these sort of comments for a good reason, in hindsight I believe that she must have been glad to be surrounded by a couple who allowed their love to be known. And moreover, they felt this way regardless of who was in the room.
At the very least, Katie must have been impressed at the way that even if Eli had noticed what was going on, he was choosing not to comment on it and was instead nuzzling his nose against the one of Freddy in his hold, still bouncing him up and down lightly.
Ah, the Christmas spirit worked miracles! It turned even the most intolerant to people with all the patience and joy in the world kept tucked inside their hearts.
This would have put a smile on my face had I witnessed it. And it certainly put a smile on James' face who was witnessing everything, taking a bauble from Justin or Katie every time they handed one to him, adding the finishing touches to one of the looming Christmas trees in his household.
He appeared from lurking behind it in order to add some decoration to the back of it, an elevation to his lips and lightness in his eyes that graced his ageing features. James didn't stop himself from looking as Sammy and Lucy's lips found each other there and then as well as their hands, and he ran a hand through his locks as he made his own comments.
"Ah they're just so sweet." For once, his words couldn't have differed from Katie's more if they tried. He accepted a bauble out of the hold of his eldest son and he thanked him for it as if he was the age of one of the children in the room. "Churns your heart, doesn't it?"
Justin merely smiled and seemingly done with being a little Christmas helper, placed the half empty bauble box down on the floor and stood up off the floor after his hands had momentarily made their way to his knees. He roamed over to the Christmas tree to admire it.
In those few seconds, Katie thought of a response to her Uncle James' words. So responded she did!
"It churns something alright." She quipped and because both father and son were quick to understand wit as well as appreciate it, James and Justin felt their shoulders and knees buckling as they couldn't be more alike to each other if they tried as they quietly giggled to themselves.
And following that, Katie's expression that was pretending to be displeased soon softened with surprise as even in the middle of a kiss, both Sammy and Lucy heard her words. And even Sammy could appreciate her sly comments!
Their cheeks found each other again instead and they rested there as they too smirked at the comments that had been put forth.
Now, maybe Eli had perfectly been well aware of what was going on and he was choosing the perfect moment to get back at Sammy. That possibility became all the more likely as he chose not long after Katie's second round of comments to stop doting on his son on the floor and stand up, making a beeline for Justin as he loitered with his back to him, admiring the tree.
Before he could be aware of his husband's presence sneaking up on him, Eli had one arm holding Freddy securely to his hip and the other was being used to grip tightly yet lovingly between the shoulders and neck of Justin. Katie watched as he needed to go onto his tiptoes to successfully do this.
"My heart churns for you, my love." Eli told him and immediately, it was like the two men were the opposite ends of a magnet and Justin could not refrain from spinning around to face him as soon as he felt the touch and heard the voice of his husband.
Justin had possessed a knot in his brow and arms folded in concentration as he studied the handiwork of his father as he decorated the tree but as soon as he looked upon the face of Eli rather than the glittering lights and shiny baubles, he appeared as he was looking at something far more miraculous.
Cheeks shining like the festive orbs and a besotted grin capturing his features, a hand from Justin reached out to cup Eli under the angular jaw. However, he should have known and Katie should have known that while Eli had turned a blind eye for the sake of Sammy for once, Sammy wasn't prepared to do the same for Eli!
Sammy purposely put on an expression like he had added salt to his coffee instead of sugar and he decided that he needed to be ever closer to Lucy for the comfort of it all.
"Uck. Now it's my guts that are churning." He grumbled, his cheek moving away from Lucy's and deciding that he would be far comfier bedding down into her shoulder, one of his eyes closing as it buried against the curve of her shoulder.
Although Lucy patted him on the head sympathetically and pulled her closer to him, she offered Justin and Eli a bit of an apologetic look. But Justin knew that he was only messing around so his grin didn't falter. And Eli felt that he wasn't messing around and this made him start to smile as much as his husband!
James was fond of the humour and the dynamic between that group of people and often found it highly amusing, as well as similar to situations that he sometimes found himself in. Yet it seemed that on Christmas Eve had had far less tolerance for it. But he still went about it in an easy-going way.
"Come, come let's be done with all the talk of churning things, shall we?" he spoke in such a way that made it clear that although all of his children were well on their way to being fully grown up at that point, there was still a part of him that took command in a fatherly way. Katie found herself gestured to in an equally paternal manner. "Come help me put the angel on top of the tree. Lucy is too busy being one herself to help me out."
And after an innocent wink to the yellow haired woman as he reiterated Sammy's words back to her, James held a hand out to Katie as if she was still knee high so she could assist with putting the last item onto the Christmas tree.
As if she really was just three years old like her own daughter sleeping on the sofa with her father, in spite of all her previous mischievous antics, Katie didn't stop herself from reaching for her uncle's hand in order to assist him with the task at hand.
Justin and Eli and Freddy too quickly got out of the way and they all sat back down in front of the sofa where Lucy and Sammy were still lounging. Funnily enough, Sammy had enough sense to add a bit more distance between he and his girlfriend at the presence of the little family but still rested his arm long the back the sofa, fingers able to just brush against the base of Lucy's neck.
"Look, Freddy, can you see what James and Katie are doing to the tree?" Eli asked the baby still in his hold even though Justin was paying him far more attention than he was! With widening pupils, his head titled as he watched his husband interact with their son. "The angel is going up there."
Freddy had been spun around by his father that was Eli and even jiggled, Justin breaking his gaze away from his husband long enough to help out, pointing to what was being referred to. However, the baby who was less than half a year old could not be less interested if he tried!
Instead, he grizzled as his fingers made their way into his mouth, preferring to focus on that rather than any sort of display that was put on for him.
Both Katie and James made a point of waving over at baby Freddy and pretending to gesture with the angel in slow motions towards the tree but still, this was completely unnoticed by the little boy. So with a joking sigh, James decided to just get on with it and handed Jordan's wooden crafted ornament over to the orange haired woman, breaking the distance between them.
"Are you ready for me to lift you up so you can put it up there?" he asked Katie, not wanting to surprise her as if she really was still the child that she had once been by grabbing a hold of her and hoisting her towards the tree. Justin broke away from his husband and son long enough to see his dad's hands shyly sliding into his trouser pockets as he spoke with Katie. "I know I'm getting old but it used to be a tradition."
Katie might have been quick to use her wit and the harsher side of her around some of the other people in the room but when it came to her Uncle James, she was not hesitant about allowing her true nature to shine.
Using the hand of hers that was not delicately holding the wooden carved and painted angel, she reached out and cupped her beloved uncle under the chin and shook her head fondly towards him. Her hand was soon at the back of his head, fingers running through the hair that she had once so adored styling in so many different ways.
"I'll always want to do this with you." She told him, her fingers sliding back out of his hair in order to hold the angel with all ten fingers, tracing her thumb against its lovingly painted features before her right hand went back to the chin of her uncle as she reaffirmed to him with ease. "And I'll always look at you the same way."
And with this, yes, James had a smile curving along his lips too but so did Justin and Eli as well. So did Sammy and Lucy for that matter. Freddy, of course, still had fingers firmly wedged between his lips! But I liked to think that he had an inward smile too.
So with that affirmation back to him and after planting a grateful and equally loving kiss to her cheek, James lifted Katie up underneath the armpits as if she was still the child who once followed him around everywhere and he allowed her to place the angel right at the top of his Christmas tree.
Justin and Eli felt the need to share a kiss on the lips as well as one to a cheek each of their son after this was done. Perhaps to prove a point or just because he wanted to be affectionate, Sammy drew the hand that had been reaching out to Lucy backwards and kissed his fingers before swiping that kiss to the porcelain cheek of Lucy.
It soon grew warm. The fire roared warmly in the corner of the room too. Now that the angel had been placed, it was officially Christmas Eve. And seeing the rest of the group had more or less settled now that that deed had been done and Katie had been placed back on her feet, the fatherly side of James felt able to leave the rest of them alone.
But in truth, he had his own side of the house to mix with and bedroom doors to pass by, making sure that the children who were tucked up inside there were sleeping soundly ready for Santa Claus.
So with hands roaming to his hips now that they weren't in his pockets or occupied with holding Katie up, he planted one more kiss to her cheek before going on his merry way. He was off to the 'proper adults' room, he joked with everyone. He knew that all of them were technically adults too but they didn't look old enough – and he certainly didn't feel old enough!
Justin laughed at this and then that dulled down to a smile as he felt the squeeze of his father's hand around the ball of his shoulder before he properly left the room. He made sure to catch his hold before disappeared, fingers having just a moment to brush another set of them. And even though words had not even bothered to be uttered, he felt he knew what was meant by his squeeze.
He had found a family of his own. He had made one. But he had done a good job at finding and creating an even bigger one. A mad one! But a brilliant one all the same. Just like his father.
As it often did when someone departed even if it was just for a brief amount of time, silence befell the room as they were down one person. Sammy still had his arm along the back of the sofa, his middle and longest finger just able to swirl around the fine hairs at the back of Lucy's neck. Eli resumed doting upon his son, holding him out in front of his face and pretending to bite those dribbly fingers of his that were still firmly wedged in his mouth.
Now that his husband was occupied, Justin invited Katie down to sit with them too and his arm soon comfortably draped around her, pulling her close to his side and the two of them were able to glance across at the angel which had been placed in pride of place and was a beautiful white contrast to the forest of the tree and the blush of the baubles.
There was one more adult in the room who was none the wiser to everything that had been going on moments before because he had been asleep. That was still the case! And as silence befell the group and that person's breathing started to become all the more noticeable, Sammy could not stop his attention from finally leaving Lucy and heading there instead.
He left the sofa and started to wander towards and crane over the opposite sofa, his head tilted as he inwardly wondered how Jayden was still snoring even with all of their chattering that had been taken place.
Understandably, Katie's attention shifted over to the way that Sammy was looking at her boyfriend while he slumbered with two sleeping children on his chest too.
"He is absolutely out for the count…" he mused, ring clad and tattoo decorated fingers of his stuffing into the tight black material of his jeans as if he couldn't trust himself not to shake the sleeping younger man and wake him up. After a single glance over to the clock hanging on the wall, he peered ever closer towards Jayden. "I'm going to draw on him."
Out of nowhere, Sammy proved just how important it was for him to be keeping his hands away from him! But it seemed that it was futile as the possibly of drawing a thick black moustache in permanent marker on his upper lip while he dozed was just too tempting.
Hands of Sammy inched back out of his pockets as he drew backwards just enough. Dark and angular features that belonged to him creased in a mischievous manner as his teeth appeared while he grinned. Oh, he was serious!
A hand shot out towards him. It was Katie who needed to lean away from Justin in order to grab hold of one of the chains looping down from Sammy's belt, yanking him back as a warning as much as it was a threat.
"Don't you dare." She forewarned to him after Sammy had threatened to mess up her boyfriend's handsome features while he snoozed. Amusement bubbled in Justin's throat at the yelp that the father of two of his children made as he was yanked backwards but he managed to gulp it back.
However, he could not refrain from turning his head and sharing a private look with Lucy to which she returned. She had just one corner of her mouth sloping upwards as Sammy went on to act like his yelp was a giggle and he at least heeded the warning, coming to sit down on the floor with Katie and everybody else.
She continued to appear unimpressed even at the smile and the laughter that erupted quietly enough from Sammy that squeezed his eyes together and often melted the hearts of any woman or man who had the pleasure of witnessing such carefree noises.
"Oh, come on. He would absolutely love to look like dear old Charlie." He argued, even reaching an elbow out towards Justin and nudging him in the rib cage. The deep purple haired male gave him a look that showed disguised agreement that he didn't fully let form in case Katie turned on him too! "He is such a lightweight." Sammy commented, stretching his legs outwards on the carpet and commenting how he had noticed that the clock read barely past half past ten on Christmas Eve. "How does it feel to always be the third wheel when Jayden falls asleep?"
As soon as Sammy happened to make this comment, Lucy stopped demurely leaning backwards against the sofa and perched more forwards, able to catch hold of her boyfriend's shoulders as he loitered with everyone else. At the same time, Eli leaned so far backwards as he held Freddy over his head that he rested against the shoulder of Justin.
With Jayden asleep, it sure seemed that Katie was the third wheel of all of the couples.
Yet before she could prove her own point by saying this and reach in return for Freddy who appeared to wordlessly clamour for her as the baby was sent nearer to her by the hands of Eli, Justin decided to pipe up and be on his best friend's side.
Lightly shoving Eli away from him before he could lean any longer and so Justin could wrap his arm back around Katie, he smiled at her, forgoing nudging her with his shoulder and instead doing it with the side of his head caringly against hers.
"Don't worry about it, lovely." Justin began and although Katie had a smile gracing her lips at the contact with her best friend, she turned to look at him quizzically, frowning, as she wondered why he would think she was worrying. "You can always be the companion of Elijah's ratty little creature this evening."
Justin told her with a grin stretching open his mouth wide and causing dimples like the craters of the moon to appear on his face. The reflectiveness of his eyes could have certainly given the moon a run for its money as well.
Immediately, Katie forgot all about peering at her best friend, puzzled, and as soon as she heard these words, she did a rare thing by pulling away from him in order to look at him properly. Her disposition was sunshine to match the sunflower orange of her locks.
She could not easily contain the smile that enveloped almost all of her face.
"Is she here?" Katie replied, her eyes then breaking away from the sight of Justin in order to crane her neck and peer some more, seemingly not worrying about the way that her voice elevated and it might have woken her boyfriend up.
In that moment it seemed that she had no qualms about being the one to snatch him from his slumber!
Katie continuously tried to look around for the 'ratty little creature' that Justin was referring to but it was to no avail. After Eli gave his husband a light shove for using those kind of words and shaking his head at him disappointedly, he turned to the orange haired young woman in a far softer manner and explained to her.
"No sorry, my love, I don't know why Justin is being cruel to you too. He argued against the little lady being brought here tonight." Eli told her, the same gentle knot forming in his brow being mirrored by Katie as it became clear to her that his cat was not in the household on that particular night after all. After another purposeful, steely glance over to his husband, Eli looked back at Katie and added. "He mentioned something about her and the Christmas turkey being mixed up…"
Eli's gaze could not help but fall back on Justin all over again as his tone declined, looking at him in such a manner that he often did not bestow upon him! While Katie found herself looking at Justin equally as disapprovingly, Lucy was the opposite.
She finally piped up after mostly enjoying the conversations of everybody else and basking in the company of all of the people that she held dearest to her. Her hands still rubbing at the back of the shoulders of her boyfriend's leather jacket, she said something to break the gazes that were burning into the snowy white skin of Justin.
In hindsight, I wondered if she was looking out for him.
"Katie really loves that cat of yours, Eli." Lucy affirmed to him though the way that Katie lit up at the possibility of the hairless feline being present on Christmas Eve spoke enough for itself. The orange haired young woman's cheeks flushed in the warm of the fire but it wasn't down to that. "You wait until you see the little knitted present that she made herself."
There was a part of Katie that still wanted to squirm at then being the centre of attention and especially at the way that part of her had flashbacks to her childhood when Lucy spoke about her, feeling as though it was because she didn't speak up enough for herself and needed others to do it for her.
However, times had of course moved so far forward. So she recovered quickly enough although she still felt continually warm with a wan smile upon her face. And then, she fully forgot her previous concerns at the expression that encapsulated Eli's features next.
"Is that so? Did you make my darling another gift?" he asked Katie, his full attention being bestowed upon her as Freddy sat on his lap, nonchalantly drumming his little hands against one of his kneecaps. It was Eli's turn for his expression to be sunshine to contrast the moon that hung outside the window in a perfect curve, the same as his mouth. "Oh, you are an angel too." he spoke, suddenly handing Freddy off over to his other father before he reached for something else instead. "I think you deserve one of your presents now."
And with that, Justin could only half watch with Freddy then in his hold instead as Eli crawled away from being on the carpet and went onto his hands and knees, rummaging under the then fully decorated Christmas tree for one of the presents for Katie that he had picked out for himself. Apparently it was these kind of antics that got a reaction out of Freddy and he finally took his fingers out of his mouth long enough to giggle, his wide brown eyes tracking his father as he searched.
Sammy managed to not have a fish hook in his eyebrow as he watched Eli and he watched Justin watching Eli and then he distracted himself from saying anything else by tilting his head back towards Lucy. After he was consoled with a peck on the lips from her, he was wiping any remnants of lipstick from his girlfriend away when he decided to say some words that he deemed reasonable.
"If Katie is getting one of her presents now then we all might as well open one each." He suggested, his hands reaching backwards behind him to the ankles of Lucy for one more jolt of affection before he at last pulled away from her for quite some time, deciding to join Eli with rummaging under the Christmas tree for a present to open.
A very purposeful look from Lucy stopped him from colliding his foot with Eli right at the moment that he decided to draw backwards, present for Katie then in his hold. Sammy decided to leave it alone. It was his turn to be on all fours as he rummaged right at the back of the tree, where he knew that he had seen quite a big one with his name on it.
Following the look that she gave her boyfriend, Justin and Lucy then shared a glance with each other at the way that those boys still interacted with each other. And probably would always interact with each other.
Thankfully, it didn't cross Eli's mind to yank Sammy out from under the tree by his ankle and give him carpet burn in the process like it would have done once! And for this, Justin and Lucy needed to be very glad. It was a miracle that they could all celebrate together. And that was the thing to focus on.
Apparently other people couldn't help but focus on other things. Out of everything that he been chatted about on that Eve, it was amusing that it was the words of Sammy that had woken Jayden – and not the ones that were a threat to draw on him while he snoozed!
One eye only just opened, he heard the words that Sammy spoke for everyone to hear and knew the reason why he was searching so deep in the tree rather than just scratching at the surface.
"You're not meant to open anything that Dad got us until he gets back." He warned, catching a great many people off guard despite the fact that he spoke with gentility because there were still two sleeping children lounging on his chest, apparently not done with dreamland like he was.
Justin turned and smiled at his brother, fondness creasing his features as it dawned on him how long he had been unconscious. Katie followed suit, taking it upon herself to go and open the present that Eli had kindly handed over to her by the sofa that Jayden had been sleeping on rather than the previous one they had all been leaning up against.
Firstly, the orange haired young woman reached out and patted his hand as a greeting for him being awake to which he instantly moved that hand of his elsewhere, cupping the side of her face.
He was happy to wake up and see her most of the time. But especially on Christmas Eve.
"Dad didn't say anything." Eli responded to Jayden, acting as if he had been awake the entire time with no mention of the fact that he had fallen asleep before even some of the children in the household. His eyes were saucers as he argued but still had a tone of voice that didn't want to displease anybody.
The arch that took over Sammy's brow when he heard Eli refer to his father in law as 'dad' as well could not be denied! You could practically feel it bursting through the Christmas tree. But thankfully, Jayden responded once again before the Alolan male could appear from the foliage with an expression and words to boot.
Although he was speaking directly to the Unovan male as well as the Alolan one too, Jayden only just tilted his body upwards from lounging on the sofa so as not to wake up the sleeping girls.
"He shouldn't need to say. It's tradition." He retorted. Justin started to feel that it was going to be harder and harder for his younger brother not to wake Honey and Layla up from the way that he stated his words, a bossy tone taking over his sleepy voice.
A pause. A silence. It was unlikely that Eli was going to get into a disagreement about traditions on Christmas Eve but you never know!
Fortunately, someone else broke the momentarily air that had taken over the room by rather comically (and recovering from his prolonged yet mellowed rivalry with Eli), Sammy sprung out of the tree and with a box in hand as well as glee written all over his angular face.
"He wouldn't tell us what to do on Christmas! And it's just one present." Sammy answered. And with that, he shuffled out from underneath the tree fully, one hand brushing away any pine needles that stuck to his leather jacket and the other one only just able to hold the one present from James.
The one present was putting it lightly! Lucy would go on to comment why exactly.
"That is a very big box…" she put her two cents in, unable to shake her head with dismay that soon turned to fondness as she realised why her boyfriend had not been foolish in searching for that particular one from Justin's father. As Sammy hopped back onto the sofa with her, these words filled his ears: "He's very generous to you, isn't he?"
And like comments often did, this particular one went over the head of Sammy as he smiled in a child-like fashion, resting the long and flat box over his lap and at least having the courtesy to wait for everybody else to get a hold of a present before he tore open the black skull and red rose wrapping paper that wasn't exactly festive but was just for him.
It goes without saying that Justin caught on to the meaning behind Lucy's words. And after gesturing to Eli to head back under the Christmas tree to get everybody else's presents from his dad out to go along with his words, he answered the yellow haired woman.
"He is generous to everyone." Justin replied, his tone not inflecting in spite of the meaning behind his own response. Freddy lounging on his hip and reaching out to his long locks, he had to be quick to free them from the vice grip of his five month old son. "Especially to me." He added, puzzling Lucy and Katie until Justin leaned in to whisper into the ear of the child that was buried beneath thick black locks. "I hid Lij's cat in Sammy's box. That hairless thing is his problem now."
And fortunately, Eli was still delving under the tree so he was none the wiser to these words! Otherwise he would have given Justin a right telling off for the joke and a very real one too.
Despite the meanness towards the Unovan male's beloved pet, even Katie could not help but giggle at the humour. However, when Lucy began to look very alarmed as she peered at the box of Sammy, gingerly making sure that it was too flat for that to be the truth and there were no meowing noises coming from inside, Katie reprimanded Justin in her own way.
"Come and sit next to me and help me open this. It'll keep you out of trouble!" she told Justin and of course, he was more than happy to comply. With Freddy he practically trotted over to join Katie by her side in order to see for himself what his husband had treated her to as he wouldn't reveal anything to him in all those months before.
Jayden was still recovering from his long sleep that evening and was still a little bit grumpy that no one had supported him in keeping James' presents wrapped up until the appropriate time! Nevertheless, he soon could not stop intrigue taking over himself as well and very slowly and carefully, he began to roll off the sofa and he left Honey and Layla dozing together.
He joined Katie and Justin on the floor and because he had been so used to snuggling up with the children even though he had been in dreamland, he decided that he missed it as soon as he was awake. And so he quickly offered to take Freddy off Justin so he could properly see what Katie was opening without his hair being yanked out!
Needless to say, Justin was quick to gratefully comply and soon enough Freddy was in the hold of a man with coiffed hair firmly gelled away from any wandering hands. As for Eli, he had finally appeared from underneath the tree and after having piled all of James' presents to everyone for them to take if they wanted to, he started to hand out one present out of the bundle that he had got everyone to their respective recipient.
He mumbled to himself and the people as he outstretched his arms.
"For you." He handed the first to Jayden, curious if he was going to wait until actual Christmas like he often promised to himself. Then he moved on to Lucy, giving her hand a kiss as he handed one box over to her. "For you, my love." Eli smiled at the yellow haired woman, then shuffling on the floor over to Justin, then noticing how he had been encouraged to Katie's side to keep out of trouble. "And just one for you, lover boy."
Justin was told by Eli. Then he felt a kiss being placed on the top of his head and company close to his side, focusing on that and the sound of his voice as he rattled one little box in teddy bear Christmas wrapping paper in front of Freddy in Jayden's hold.
It didn't matter to Justin a single one of the words that Eli was speaking. The sound of his voice brought him more than comfort. He was home. He never thought he would be home in front of so little people rather than the crowds that he was often used to performing in front of. But that was the truth.
"Can I open mine from you as well as James' one?" Sammy asked, surprisingly still managing to not rip open the wrapping paper until everybody else had started on theirs. Lucy remained curiously looking down at the present lounging on his lap. Even she hadn't noticed that Eli was seemingly done with present opening.
Surprisingly, Eli didn't ignore Sammy even though he was interacting with his son. He handed the box for Freddy over to Jayden so he could rattle it around for the little boy and help him open it when the time came too. Then, the Unovan male's attention turned towards the male that hailed from Alola.
He allowed a silence to ring out. His expression didn't alter an inch. It didn't falter once to indicate what was going to come next. In fact, his brow did not even draw together.
"I didn't get you anything this year, dude." Eli answered, those eyes of his appearing haunting a lot of the time and certainly when they were bedding, unblinking into the gaze of Sammy. His tone did not alter. "I let you have Lucy. Isn't that enough?"
It's funny how a group with so many varying personalities can all have a similar reaction there and then. Even Freddy seemed to sigh out from his pursed lips when Katie, Lucy and Justin all breathed out Eli's name in response to what he said.
Sammy was the only odd one out. While he knew better than to laugh in order to not encourage the behaviour from the deep violet haired male, he had a bit of a smirk itching to lace on his face as he started to see the man from an angle as he drew backwards too.
It was Justin, however, to actually address the issue with proper words.
"Elijah…" he spoke to him after uttering the shortened version of his name with everybody else. Freddy was out of his hold yet he had more of a paternal look about him as ever as he looked over at his husband while having the same slope of the neck as his former life partner. "That's very uncalled for, don't you think?"
And Justin didn't need to allow his eyes to flicker towards Lucy who didn't find it the worst comment in the world but like Sammy, didn't want it to be encouraged either. And in truth, Eli didn't need telling off either. He knew that his words were a bad choice. That was why he said them. But for the same reasons, he actually apologised rather immediately.
His expression finally had some more readable qualities and after he bit down on his bottom lip before sucking it and doing the same one to his top lip too, his eyebrows danced and then his apology came. Tentatively, he reached behind him where he had had a present all along and held it out towards Sammy.
"I'm sorry, I won't say that again." He squirmed a bit but he still made the effort to say, his unblinking eyes twitching for a moment before they focused more steadily once again. "It was only a joke. Your present is small. But I thought about it the longest."
And with that, a thumb sized box was pressed into the palm of Sammy. And the Alolan male couldn't help but feel it was worth it that that comment had been made because in the end, he was able to open both of his presents!
Eli wasn't expecting to be welcomed back to Justin's side after he spoke the words that he had spoken. But he had apologised and he knew that it had been a joke but he wanted him to know that he hadn't encouraged him to apologise just for Sammy's sake.
And after an arm roaming around the back of him that stopped at and traced along the shaved parts of his curled hairstyle, Eli was encouraged to move onto the sofa with Sammy and Lucy and sit next to the yellow haired woman to make it up to her as well.
At last, everybody was seated and everybody had a present in in their hold so they were able to open them. Poor Katie had waited the longest! But she was one of the most tickled pink when she unwrapped the wooden figurines that Eli had got Jordan to carve for him but he himself had taken the time to painstakingly paint them just for her.
Katie was leaving the side of Justin for just a moment to pull Eli momentarily off the sofa he had just seated himself in to embrace him closely as Jayden forwent opening his own present and helped Freddy with his. The five month old boy was placed down on the carpet but up against the bent leg of Jayden so he could still be supported.
The dual haired male looked down at his nephew as he rattled the box a few more times before opening it in front of him.
"What do you think is inside it, mmm? I like the paper, don't you?" Jayden spoke to him, running his thumbs along the print of the wrapping paper before he carefully unhooked the tape as well as the folds of paper, intending on neatly freeing the gift rather than ripping it to shreds like Sammy would go on to do.
Freddy actually listened to Jayden and focused on the pattern that was being pointed out to him. A solar system filled with planets and stars as Eli hoped that it told his son that he was the centre of his galaxy no matter what.
But of course, he would not know this message for a very long time. And he would go on to get impatient, wondering what on earth was inside the package and why it rattled every time it was shaken! Freddy groaned and grizzled and this prompted Jayden to actually see what Eli had bought for his one and only son.
And then while other people set forth to revealing their own gifts, Freddy wasn't the only person who grizzled. No, it wasn't Eli when he found out that Justin had hidden his beloved cat in Sammy's box after all!
Layla had woken up from being asleep on the sofa and felt quite bewildered to see everybody opening presents but hadn't woken her up from her slumber, leaving her to wake up to the rustling noises of wrapping paper all by herself.
Dual toned aquamarine orbs watering from previous sleep, Layla rubbed the corner of her eye and swung her legs over the edge of the sofa, preparing to get herself down and join everybody else.
"Santa came?" she asked doubtfully, only five years old but knowing well enough that she usually awoke to Father Christmases presents in the morning sun rather than with candles to light the low lit room as well as the tree shimmering in the corner. "Can I open mine now too?"
She practically wriggled as she jumped down from the sofa and it wasn't out of the effort that it took for her to stand on her feet. Her eyes searched for her two dads to quickly grant her permission but instead of that and rather than smiling at her as they realised that she was awake, they looked at one and other, taken aback and wondering how well it would go down with the other children if they let her open one of her presents without waking them to do the same.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Jayden thought that she was speaking to him because she had only just been sleeping on his chest while the rest of the room was alive all around them.
"We aren't opening anything from Santa. He hasn't been yet." Jayden smiled at her, causing Layla to nod as she knew that Santa wasn't the only one who bestowed presents on Christmas Day. She followed her own uncle's gaze to where her dads were still wordlessly conversing what they were going to do. "You had better ask your Daddy and your Pápa if you can open one as well."
Again, Layla wasn't met with the response that she wanted. While it was true that she was offered a smile and fairness from Jayden, the way that Justin and Sammy shrugged their shoulders at one and other, a clear gesture of uncertainty as they didn't know what to do, told the five year old everything that she needed to know.
Her little face crumbling on Christmas Eve, she knew not to bother with rushing to either of them because they had other children to think about. Layla knew where she was going to get unconditional sympathy. She wasn't silly.
She ran and she collided straight with Eli's arms and was scooped up, placed onto his lap and embrace. He spoke immediately in response to her sniffles and her tears that did not come even if an upside down rainbow shaped mouth did appear.
"Awww I'm glad that you are awake." He told her, not bothering to comment on Justin and Sammy's 'meanness' and giving Layla everything that she wanted in that single sentence. She stood up on his lap rather than sitting so she was able to bury her head in his neck and sniff some more. "You can help me open one of my presents, can't you, sunshine?"
And with that, Eli used the one of his arms not embracing Layla to reach for the pile of James' presents so he could open his one that was there. He wasn't silly either. He could distract her with the biggest and the widest present.
Just like Sammy had been enamoured by the size of it too, Layla's non-existent tears soon dried up when she was able to properly sit back down on Eli's lap and have the present lulling across her lap and they could open it together.
Sammy oddly recovered far quicker than Justin when their daughter ran to Eli rather than to either of them. Competition as well as curiosity lacing his eyes, he was pleased to sit on either side with Lucy and to have the same exact sized box as Eli lounging across his own lap.
Layla could not help but be distracted by the pattern of the wrapping paper. The desert scenes and shapes and symbols were not festive but they were just for Eli. So she loved it. She loved un-wrapping it with him. She loved while everyone un-wrapped their own things.
After Jayden, Justin and Lucy like Katie had been done with revealing their presents from Eli and they stored their gratitude and thankful displays inside of them for when he was done cheering Layla up, they all glanced over at Eli and Sammy and saw what had been offered to them by James. Knowing that they were in for something similar but varied just like how the wrapping paper was, they couldn't resist the urge of opening their gifts themselves. Even Jayden!
Soon enough there was paper strewn all over the floor and gifts had been unwrapped and opened. Justin and Jayden loved the custom aftershave bottles that had been picked just for them and how much they differed yet had the same sentiment to the other people. Lucy and Katie adored how theirs were a perfect match.
Sammy had ripped open a handful of other gifts as well as the ring from Eli too and with that new piece of jewellery lingering on his pinkie finger, he still couldn't help but be enamoured by the skull shape aftershave bottle. In the process of holding it up to the light of the Christmas tree, he had inadvertently captured the attention of Freddy.
Eli watched while still holding Layla as Jayden handed his nephew over to Sammy in order to give Katie a little gift of his own now that the gaggle of people had quietened down a little bit.
"I don't think I'll be able to turn this into a bottle that you can drink out of it but I can try if you like, I guess." Sammy spoke to Freddy, one arm around him as he held him on his hip, his tones laced with laughter as the baby leaned forward to try and get his mouth around the glass of the empty aftershave bottle. "Let's hope that James has got you one of your own, eh?"
Justin looked over at the way that Freddy was trying to break out of Sammy's hold in order to get his entire mouth around the novelty skull shape. But more importantly, he focused on the way that he was still in his hold. Putting any gifts to one side, unwrapped or not, Justin decided that for the moment, they were the least of his concern.
He pulled his legs to his chest and watched. He listened to as Eli piped up from the other side, Layla still not leaving his lap.
"Hopefully this little lady gets treated to one as well." Eli commented, his lap jiggling against the legs of Layla as she copied one of her dad's by holding Eli's glass bottle against the light, watching the way that the light bounced in and out of the pyramid shape.
In truth, as Lucy watched almost as much as Justin did, it didn't matter if James got one for Layla or Freddy at all. She knew that they were both likely to give up their gifts to the children. They were the same in that way. They were the same in more ways than they knew.
For this, Freddy stayed lingering in Sammy's hold just like Layla was doing in Eli's for quite some time. Truthfully, more paper had been strewn across the floor and they still stayed exactly where they wanted to stay.
And eventually, it was creeping closer to midnight and James had returned from enjoying the company of Jessie, Jordan and Lynne as well as putting a sneaky child back to bed every once in a while as one snuck out when they weren't supposed to.
Seeing paper all across the floor and in a perfectly neat tangle and with a glass of grape juice in his hand, he sauntered in and didn't bother to comment on the fact that his gifts had been opened against the usual tradition of waiting for him. Instead, he commented on something else, his ring clad hand that was not holding his glass reaching out and ruffling the hair of Jayden.
"Awake after all, my boy?" he asked, Jayden's cheeks becoming the hue of the liquid in his father's wine glass but it wasn't due to the warmth of the room and it wasn't embarrassment either. He relished the touch long after it faded away and James looked to everybody else. "Is anybody else feeling tired?"
Jayden had since stopped being joined at the hip with Katie and having a burst of energy from the touch of his father, he started to shake his head in between reaching for a plastic bag in order to discard the unwanted wrapping paper there. And Lucy had felt comfortable enough to leave Eli and Sammy on the sofa without her in the middle so she was then on the other side that Katie was to Justin.
It was the yellow haired woman who piped up and responded to James' words even though a great many of them grumbled and shook their heads, grins taking over their features as they felt as though they were children at a sleepover.
"Is that your way of saying that Jordan has long since fallen asleep and you're left to entertain the ladies on your own?" Lucy humoured him in a knowing sort of way; all the same her teeth appearing shyly as she spoke. She added. "That's becoming a bit of a tradition by itself, isn't it?"
And with that, James didn't have it in him or he didn't have the energy on Christmas Eve to come up with a witty and humorous sort of response. He couldn't hide the truth!
Tiptoeing around the sofa to not wake Honey as she had outdone Jayden and Layla by sleeping the longest, James loitered by Lucy and touched her on the top of the head, this gesture and this gesture alone speaking in response to her words.
She looked up at him, a twinkle in changeable green eyes. James changed the subject, holding a finger up that wasn't occupying the head of Lucy or the glass of grape juice.
"Speaking of tradition…" he took a pause to look at an invisible watch on his wrist before he looked over at the clock. But he knew what time it was! He then gestured to the rest of the group who were always eager for what he had to say. "You better close your eyes and get your Christmas wishes in now before the clock strikes twelve and they don't come true."
And as if they really were all children on a sleepover, some of the people looked at each other and giggled and whispered, filled with anticipation in case they really did miss the time slot.
Yet witty as ever, Katie couldn't help but notice the state of Justin as he snuggled up between both her and Lucy, a cheek resting on each of their shoulders and being one of the rare quiet ones in the rest of the group.
"Justin has had his eyes shut for a little while now. He must have been wishing all of this time." She giggled and her head was already turning towards Justin but everybody else's followed suit. His right cheek grooved and swivelled a bit as Lucy's body turned towards him, one of his cheeks still against her shoulder.
Lucy shared the same giggle as her good friend, a hand fanning her mouth. Her eyes creased all the more as everybody was taken off guard in between their own smirks and antics as that close eyed person found their voice.
"Yes, I'm making a very long and well planned out wish." Justin murmured but from the way that his body went entirely still once again after mustering up these light-hearted words in response, it made everybody realise why exactly Christmas was mostly anticipated by children.
They were the only ones who could stay awake. It was their sleep deprived parents who had a hard time celebrating!
James couldn't hold back his laughter at his son. Merriment on his face, it was Justin's turn to feel the comforting palm of a hand on his head as his father spoke to everyone but also poked fun at him as well.
"Well hurry up and get your eyes shut and your wishes in, everyone!" James encouraged, keeping the magic alive as if they were a bunch of wide eyed children rather than the wide eyed adults that they were. His touch twitched on his son's forehead. "Justin, maybe you had better open your eyes and make a wish otherwise you'll never make it to midnight."
Eli's head tilted on the one side after he kissed Layla on the cheek, encouraging her to make her very own wish while his hold didn't falter around her middle. He watched as his husband pretended to muster up the energy to sit up straight and open his eyes to wish but he then decided he was much comfier against the girl's so he settled back there.
He had faith that he would make it to midnight. Eli didn't! But Eli didn't mind. He fluttered his eyes shut after wanting to fill his line of vision with as much as Justin as possible and realised that he understood the sentiment about needing a long time to make a wish.
In that moment, he didn't have much else that he could wish for. And he wondered if everybody else felt the same as their eyes fixed shut for quite a long time before finally opening as Sammy was not only one of the first people to finish what they were doing but was also the first to break the silence.
Typical!
"So what did everyone wish for?" he asked, jiggling Freddy against his hip and unsurprised when he saw his warm brown eyes as wide awake as ever, those particular orbs not shutting for a single second and too busy trying to grab at the padlock around his neck.
Eli might have liked to be granted the opportunity to dance his eyebrows together at Sammy's words, telling him off for trying to get information out of everybody and being the one to interrupt the formation of their wishes.
But because Katie was rarely one to not go against her Uncle James' magic, it was her that spoke the typical words back to him, her eyes pricking with water as they adjusted to the Christmas tree lights again after having her eyes fluttered shut.
"They won't come true if we tell you!" she reminded him, those glossy eyes of hers with happiness as well as anything else flicking to the clock just to make sure that it was not midnight yet. It wasn't.
Her wish still had a chance of coming true. But like Eli was thinking, what else could she wish for? Everything was pretty magical the way that it was.
And even though it was a well-known fact that telling wishes made them not come true, people started to whisper together, teasing the other, trying to get them to tell what they wanted when they closed their eyes. They even started making things up! This made each other laugh. They laugh as they denied. Some people acted in a snooty manner, pretending to be offended. While others eyes darted from side to side, acting as though they had been caught out.
James just laughed, his own eyes darting all around as he took in the faces of the people who were his loved ones too. It was then that he noticed how quiet Jayden was. That could often be the case. Especially when he was falling asleep! But James noticed that his son was more thoughtful than usual.
However, he didn't have a chance to place his palm upon his head and ask about it out-rightly. In fact, in spite of the fact that no one asked Jayden what he had wished for, he came out with it anyway.
He told all. His voice echoed around the room on that Christmas Eve.
"I wished that every moment could be exactly like this one." He said, his mouth not needing to quirk upwards and his eyes not even needing to dance around the room either. He didn't bother to nod his head.
His words spoke for themselves. And once everybody heard them, not only did their heads turn to swing around towards him but they took their turn to have their own eyes glittering in their sockets. Their heads did not need to bob up and down either. On that Christmas Eve, it was perfectly clear.
Everybody else felt the same exact way. They wished that every single moment could be like that one. That they would always feel that love. That they would always feel that companionship. That they would always feel that peace. It had been a long time coming and now that it was present, it was treasured.
That was their greatest gift on Christmas. They had reached a happy ending. But in truth, even that wasn't the ending, was it? That was their happy middle. And they could feel that warmth right in their middle. And travelling up to their hearts too. Heating it up. Making it thud. Keeping it alive. Not just on Christmas Eve. But forever.
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :) As much as I adored the bigger details of this like getting to write the word 'husbands' for Justin and Eli, and Sammy and Lucy being in a long-term relationship too, it really was the smaller moments for me that made this so lovely to write. Sammy and Eli still having their (playful) rivalry! The mention of Eli's cat that is indeed hairless and not so treasured by Justin as she is by Eli. And of course, Justin calling him 'Lijah' or 'Lij'. It was a big moment way back when he learnt of his real name of 'Elijah' and how he was not to speak of it. Now it flows out like second nature. And I love that for them :) Of course, in the New Year, I shall write even more of this time in their lives! But for now, thanks again for reading and I shall be back on the 28th for a festive upload of Dear Darlings. Have a wonderful Christmas if you are celebrating, and however you are celebrating! See you soon :)
Amy signing out!