Hello, it is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter! I had so much fun portraying Justin and Eli family cuteness for this update that I wrote back in October. I really just wanted something simple and sweet. Their relationship has been undoubtedly complicated at times and there is still room for difficulties but in this one, you can see the family unit that has been built. I especially love writing the dynamic of Eli with all three of Justin's children. No doubt is it a hugely healing thing for him to be about to help raise children in a loving environment :3 I hope you enjoy!
Ages:
Eli: 34
Darcy: 2
Zack: 6
Layla: 9
Justin: 29
Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!
Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year. I pride myself in being a joyful sort of fellow and so much about that holiday rings with that kind of positivity. I simply cannot help but get drawn into the festivities!
Christmastime and all the memories associated with it are often gladly tucked inside my heart. Sometimes these memories glow like a red nose that has been in the snow too long or the lights embracing a Christmas tree. And even though I wasn't a part of this next tale, it glows in my mind's eye all the same.
Let us begin.
Eli had a similar serenity inside his heart on one December day as he sat cross legged on the carpet of the living room in the house in which he shared with the love of his life, organizing different colored baubles into respective piles while three other loves of his life kept him company.
Baubles shaded silver, gold, red and green perhaps should have taken up all his attention, light reflecting in his eyes the hue of a rainbow as he tried to concentrate. But in truth, despite his diligence to getting the task done in reasonable time, he could not stop those beautifully haunting eyes of his from looking around the room, admiring each little person who offered him their company on that December 1st day.
Darcy is always such a little darling, Eli thought to himself, as his eyes effortlessly tore him away from largening the piles of baubles. He watched the way that she eased a collection of figures out of their box with gentility before cradling them in such a way that she didn't need to even speak how important of a job she felt that she had stumbled across.
Zack is a darling in his own way too, the mouth of Eli began to twitch upwards in the single corner as this thought danced across his mind, no longer just gladness and the baubles reflected in his irises. The little boy had a frown that was leaving concentration far behind and welcoming frustration as he continued attempting to untangle some fairy lights!
Eli, however, left him to it and knew not to jump in there too soon, knowing that if Zack grew too disheartened and frustrated then he would surely tell him with words, and they would be able to find calmer resilience together.
He instead took in the vision of the youngest person in the room, very much minding her own business as well and busying herself with a little Christmas craft game she had managed to ease out of its own box with a bit of observation towards how Darcy had done it.
Immediately, something rushed from the pit of his stomach and up towards his throat that was not simply just joy that the holiday season was finally upon everything. Eli's thick black eyelashes clapped together, only momentarily shutting his large eyes together as he knew he could not just watch Layla and let her get on with things.
Unconditional love was tucked away inside of his heart for all those children, like a beautiful music box that only allowed a tune to tinkle out when it was opened. When it was encouraged. But he had a special twinkle in his eye for Layla. And it was this that caused him to gently tug her away from her own little world, crooning to her.
"Are you having fun there, little monster?" he asked her, a part of him longing to wrap his arms around her but having the sense to softly ease her away from her private game rather than embracing her back to the real world. Literally! "Such a pretty picture you've made."
For a split second, the two-year-old girl possessed a stare like that of an elderly person trying to piece together where she remembered that voice. But barely a full breath later, she was back in the skin of her toddler self as well as the world that she shared with Eli and her siblings, a lopsided grin overtaking her young face as she recognized praise.
Feeling in herself that it was a masterpiece long before Eli had complimented her, Layla didn't hesitate to pull her legs closer to her chest before looking down at the felt creation that she had indeed created, her expression showing a pride beyond her short years on earth.
Layla didn't respond with her own words. She didn't need to. Her expression spoke it all and because of this, Eli knew it was the right time to plant a little kiss on the top of her wispy blonde locks. Her cheeks warmed only furthermore. She possessed the warmth of a hearty fire keeping a house toasty come wintertime.
The two of them might as well have been in their own little world – that world which Layla had only just been in and that she had just created by sticking a Christmas tree, a fireplace, and children of felt on a puzzle board for them to live. And although Eli had indeed – perhaps selfishly some would say - edged the little girl away from where she had been to show his very real need of affection, it was then shown that the world of furry little felts was not the true one that needed to be lived in.
Concentration turned to frustration when it came to Zack then molded to curiosity from the second that he heard Eli interacting with his little sister. He knew straight away that he wanted a part of that!
Leaving the still untangled fairy lights in quite the unwanted heap, he stomped across the carpet in the way that he often did regardless of his mood, at least having the decency to peer down at Layla's creation before coming after what he truly wanted.
Eli watched the siblings interact from the get-go, anticipating how the six-year-old boy sometimes reacted when someone else was getting the attention.
"That's my favorite Christmas game too, Layla." He began, causing the toddler to look up at him when she heard her name being spoken and for Eli's mouth to twitch outward evenly at both corners while he observed. "I love how the same we are."
Zack could have left his affections as being expressed with words but that wasn't his style. Layla, with her little face pointed upwards in the direction of her only big brother, was in the perfect position. The six-year-old boy made the most of such perfection by grabbing hold of her cheeks, smushing them together.
But he did not even leave things there! Before Layla even had a chance to shake her head from side to side, ridding herself of the way that her big brother allowed his love for her to be known, he was crouching down to her level. His arms wrapped around her neck, intending to pull her into an embrace close to his chest.
Layla didn't even need the opportunity to shake her head vehemently that time, trying to wriggle herself away from her brother that meant well but didn't have a clue regarding personal space sometimes. Eli was there like a shot!
And the side of him which was the reason that Justin felt more than comfortable leaving his children with his partner while he gallivanted off on tour allowed itself to be shown.
"Hey, hey, hey." His voice sounded, barely raising a level above its usual volume but the added depth to his tones causing all children to look over at him, even Darcy who was on the outside of it all and brushing dust out of the eyes of one particular figurine. "That's a little tight, don't you think?" Eli's arm shot out between the two siblings, acting as a barrier between them both before he assisted Layla in getting free. "Not everyone enjoys spontaneous cuddles like you do."
This was before the teenage years when Zack would wish for his little sister to stand up for herself and before Layla could moodily mutter that she didn't need anyone else to fight her battles for her.
With youthful gratitude, Layla accepted Eli's offer of help and gently wiggling her away from her big brother even if he meant no harm. Her little hand lingered on the hand of her father's boyfriend and proved the bond that they had.
Few children liked to be told no and Zack was no exception. Eli waited for his disposition to have another switch up and for those feet of his which had nonchalantly stamped across the carpet to stomp in a new way. His voluminous hair might have twitched in displeasure, but he did not rage in ways that he could be known for.
Maybe the holiday spirit was seeping into him as well!
"I was only being nice." Zack insisted, his feet remaining softly planted on the carpet but his arms constricting around his chest in such a way that told Eli everything that he needed to hear. He could still see the bewilderment disguised as stubbornness streaking across his features. "Hugs are nice."
When it came to children, lessons were always there to share and if wisdom was there to be passed on then Eli was always going to seize this opportunity. After settling Layla back into her own world and giving her a bit of space from her big brother, Eli focused all his attention on Zack.
He knew as much as anybody that any grumpiness from him was usually a hunt for connection.
"They can be a nice gesture but not everybody likes being smothered in them, especially when they're having a bit of alone time." Eli began, watching Zack's eyes revolve in his sockets as he listened to this but still didn't make all that much sense to him. Eli knew exactly what to do. "Your hugs are priceless though, Zachariah and even though Layla isn't feeling one right now, I would truly treasure a hug from you."
And with that, while Zack's snub nose was beginning to scrunch up at the remembrance that his little sister hadn't kicked up such a fuss at the gentle peck from the other male, Eli held his arms outwards, waiting to see how he felt about the proposal and for the six-year-old to make his way to him.
Justin firmly believed that his own stubbornness was merely being a driven person and more than anyone, Eli knew that he had passed this particular trait down to his son! He waited for a nose like a crumpled piece of paper to fully form and for Zack to, instead of wrapping his arms around him, constrict them around his own skinny frame in a clear gesture.
He had been rejected by Layla to he was going to reject Eli!
But as driven (stubborn) as Zack was, there wasn't anything he liked more than the comfort of an embrace. And though he didn't fully understand all of Eli's words, he garnered enough.
Meeting his unrelenting behavior halfway, his lip curled as he threw himself into the arms of the older man but the more that he lingered there and he felt the way that Eli firmly drew him close to him, relishing in the contact as much as the little boy was, the quicker any remaining attitude faded away.
It was all about connection with Zack. And in the same way that it was for Eli with Layla, he felt very connected to that little boy. Zack, of course, felt likewise. But that didn't mean that he didn't call him out on certain things when he noticed them.
His ever-expanding locks shook from side to side as Zack momentarily freed himself from the closeness of Eli, eyebrows forming such a tight union that they were practically plaiting together.
"Hey, how come Layla gets to play with the felts and have fun?" Zack questioned. And from the get-go, Eli's head began to tilt to the side as, for once, he didn't know what he was talking about. Zack's tight sprigs of hair nearly uncoiled! "You had me over there working my butt off with the knotty lights!"
Perhaps Eli should have had a little more self-control when it came to being spoken like that by a child! He could not stop the natural amusement from not only coursing through him but spilling out of him, causing him to double over with chuckles.
After he had managed to pinch the corners of his own nose a few seconds later in order to compose himself, he looked back at a scowling Zack, trying to maintain a straight face but his tone of voice being decorated with laughter in between words.
"I never gave any of you tasks to do. I was unboxing all the Christmas bits and you joined me!" Eli exclaimed, seeing the funny side of things before seeing even more hilarity to the situation, causing him to rest his forehead down against Zack's shoulder as he was back standing on the carpet and Eli was sitting. "And please don't tell your father that!" Eli had to force back a hiccup as he pulled away from the six-year-old boy, covering his nose with his finger before he snorted. "I don't want him to think I set you work the minute he turns his back to do his own job."
At first, Zack did not know why his complaining had tickled Eli so and, to tell you the truth, things had not been cleared up the more minutes that passed. But like it often was with children, sometimes the questioning stopped and that happened there and then.
Zack decided that it was no wonder that Eli was laughing with him – he was hilarious, and he knew that. His sisters knew as well – Darcy who was still watching the situation while quietly sorting things herself and Layla who didn't know what was going on really, who kept her eyes fixed to her own creation but still giggled so as not to be left out.
Although he copied Eli's finger to nose gesture but in a separate way, almost ridding himself of some of his coolness, a clear smirk tugging up the corner of his mouth in triumph, he was still determined to have the last word.
Arms folding back over his chest for a third time in that short space of time, he grumbled.
"Get Layla working, I say." He spoke. His attempt to bring the conversation back to the subject at hand didn't exactly work.
Eli's eyes widened as he wondered where the child had heard that sort of sentence before and then he allowed himself to melt into chuckles all over again, his shoulders shaking.
How he loved to laugh, and especially because of the children! A part of him couldn't believe that life hadn't always been that way, that there had once been no Justin and certainly no three little tykes coming along in toe, brightening his life far more than he ever could have dreamed.
That was one of the reasons that, never mind how it made him look, he didn't stress too much when he laughed in front of the children during a serious situation or when he was trying to guide them away from the wrong and nearer to the right way to conduct themselves.
It was one of the best things in the world. And indeed, something that led to great connection.
Eli then, however, had to dial it down a little because again, Zack did not know why he was being so funny and was less glad to be perceived as such that time around. An apologetic hand was waved by Eli before it rested on the six-year old's shoulder, guiding him through the world a little bit more.
One lesson and one step at a time was his motto.
"Oh, but Layla is working just as hard as any of us." That fleeting hand left Zack's shoulder all over again and it turned into a pointing finger, gesturing all around the room while the child's brown eyes that matched the depth of his skin followed its every move, initially bewildered. "Playtime can be hard work too. It's where we learn the most, after all."
Zack's bewilderment quickly turned into a bit of a deadpan as he heard all what Eli had to say. While it was true that he was not quite at the teenaged stage just yet, but that didn't mean that he didn't sometimes possess the mannerisms as well as the attitude!
He simply wasn't buying it. And he showed of such by sidling away from Eli's side for the last time and hoping to search for someone else who had felt similarly swindled.
Zack began making strides towards his older sister rather than his younger one.
"Are you working or playing over there, sis?" he asked, not really caring what kind of answer he got because he knew that he would spin it about regardless. Dramatics were his not so hidden talent!
However, before Darcy even had a chance to look up from carefully dusting all the figurines that she pulled from their places tucked inside the carboard box, let alone answer her little brother and his antics, the doorbell sounded. It caught everybody off guard. Even Layla who had been so previously engaged in making sure the sunshine haired girl was sat in the right position on her canvas.
They were not expecting any visitors on that day and certainly not any gifts by post. Come Christmas time, all gifts were delivered by Santa, weren't they? And he would not be showing up for at least twenty-three days.
Moving on from the confusing, Eli knew what to do so Darcy could continue enjoying her alone time in the room with everybody else, engaged in a task in which she took immense pride in. He looked over at Zack again rather than trying to peer around the corner of the door, seeing who was knocking.
"Can you go and see who that is for me, Zack?" Eli asked before he was shown that he could be beaten at his own game from the way that he quickly decided to abandon the idea of Darcy on his side, dropping to his knees next to his discarded pile of fairy lights and pretending to be happy to be busy after all. "Okaaaay, I'll see who it is for myself." Eli was forced to stand, withholding the groan that he had been sat in cross legged position for so long and his knees had locked together. "It's probably Lucy, she's usually forgotten something."
And whether this was the intention or not, even that last sentence wasn't enough to capture Zack's attention and to encourage him to answer the door after all! Eli had a private smirk tugging up the one corner of his mouth when he noticed this, but it lasted for just a split second. Instead, a different expression taking over his features.
Eli's thick, well-groomed eyebrows danced in unison across his face, privately trying to work out who it was. Unless he had clicked the wrong delivery address after all, and it was an online retail driver delivering one of their presents right under their nose…?
Well, it was a bit of a delivery, but not that kind!
Eli, after a couple of seconds of making those strides towards opening the front door, decided that speculation was pointless. The only way to find out was simply to find out. But what he wasn't expecting was for his hand to fly to his mouth when he indeed found out.
He should have known from the rhythm that knocked on the door in the split second after the doorbell rung out. But why would he have his hopes up? Well, now he knew that he should have.
Justin dropped both hands away from his luggage from the split second that Eli answered before those same hands curled into an excited, frantic sort of gesture that spoke surprise even if that word didn't exclaim. Lightness washed over his features as if it were his turn to be reflected with the light of a thousand baubles.
Eli had to clutch onto the door with the other hand that wasn't covering his mouth when he saw the love of his life standing there, a few days earlier than he said he would be getting away from life on the road.
The whites of his eyes had never been more visible. His heart had never pounded more. And that was saying something.
Justin was home.
"Oh my god!" he initially exclaimed himself from behind a hand before that trembling body part of his fell away from his chin, resting on the side of his own face as if he could not trust exactly what he was seeing. Only these words could tumble out next. "What are you doing here?"
Justin, entirely unfazed by the bewildered welcome rather than loving one merely let his own chuckles be set free, his nose scrunching up on his youthfully benign features as he stood on his own door stop, not yet being invited in.
"Um, I live here?" he answered dryly despite the amusement that tickled at his throat and caused his words to sound amiably to contrast what he had chosen to say.
Eli was quickly beginning to adjust to the reality that he could not believe that he had found himself in, his same hand briefly moving away from his own cheek before heading back that way again, still disbelieved that Justin was standing there even though he trusted that he very much was.
The whites of his eyes shone furthermore as his eyes revolved in his sockets, muttering out breathlessly in response.
"Of course, you do, it's just…" the flustered version of himself when they were first dating took over for a split second before he trailed off, swallowing, and setting free what he truly wanted to say. Embracing who he then was. And who Justin had always been. "What are you doing here? Now? You said you wouldn't be able to get home for the first like you always do."
Justin had grown fed up with standing on his own doorstep and not being invited in but not in that way. He took matters into his own hands, picking up handfuls of luggage once more, walking into the hallway with it and walking Eli backwards.
Once the door was shut behind him and the luggage was back down on the wooden floor, Justin answered the love of his own life, as joyous as ever regardless of the reaction and seeing Eli's bewilderment exactly for what it was.
Eli was home again now Justin was home. Justin felt the same way.
"Well, I lied!" he announced in a way that went against his serious choice of words, body beginning to shiver from excitement or being back on Kanto soil, Eli couldn't tell. Justin couldn't tell either but regardless, he embraced it, and how he longed to embrace his Elijah as well. "Are you going to give me a proper welcome or not?"
There had been many questions over the years from Justin that had rendered him speechless. They had rendered him speechless and wanting to merrily soar high up in the sky and they had rendered him so without words that he had wanted to bury his head in the sand.
Now, this time, and on that occasion, his voice had been taken from him once more, but his body knew what he wanted. His body knew what he wanted more than ever, and it was lucky that it had a brain of its own and caused him to edge closer to Justin from the second that he held his arms out to him, waiting for him to come to him.
Eli's inquisitive yet sunken eyes fluttered shut before he threw his arms around the neck of his partner, keeping any water droplets from him hidden, but not that he would have cared either way. From the second that their skin began to touch, they continually held onto each other in the hallway, embracing, embracing each other, and embracing the opportunity to be near once more.
It was never too much time between each occasion. Two weeks normally. Three at the most if extra shows on the road got added. But with the two of them, like it was with many souls who had other lives to lead, those spirited selves could not tell the time. All they knew is that they were apart. All they knew is that it felt like infinity. And when they were back together it felt like destiny.
Eli tried not to properly cry when he was back in the arms of Justin. He managed to swallow most of his emotion back but a part of him simply couldn't help it. Like it was with how he set his laughter free when it's urge became known to him, he didn't like to dishonor tears by rejecting them either.
How lucky he was to have somebody to miss. And how overwhelming it felt to be back with him again. The best present for everyone. The best present for all.
Hesitantly, Eli pulled away from the embrace but only after he had planted a kiss to Justin's cheek, right against the dimple that he treasured so much, his nose lingering close to his skin as if he didn't want to let him out of sight again.
But he would have to eventually. In the next moment, he needed to. He might have wished to keep Justin all for himself at one point, but that point wasn't there anymore. Eli felt such joy to know that others needed him equally as much.
Happy tears were pricking back in his eyes again as his head turned away from Justin, hands still lingering against his narrow shoulders, securing them with his wide hands, calling for other people to relish in their joy.
It wasn't just their joy anyway. It was always going to be all of theirs.
"Darcy! Zachariah! Layla! Sweethearts!" Eli called, Justin's eyes flickering rapidly from side to side at the closeness that his face to Eli's neck were still sharing, delightful anticipation catching at his throat as he too was overwhelmed by reuniting with everybody, he loved more than anybody. "Come and say hi to your-"
Eli couldn't finish that word. Darcy, who always chose what she wished to speak before saying it and had been the quietest of all on that winter day found the word before he did.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed, shock and joy catching at her heart and causing it to quiver inside her chest. But even though she longed to rush forward to embrace her father who was back from tour quicker than any of the others with her long legs, she allowed them to dart towards him first.
Justin heard a symphony of the word daddy cried out from all his children and it was a sweeter sound than any melody he could possibly make with his band while out on the road and taking to stages, performing across the Pokémon World.
Even more love throbbed in his heart as Eli did not for a single second hesitate to move out of the way for him to give his children special attention.
"Hello you guys. Oh wow." He couldn't help but exclaim himself as they all came crashing into him, Layla making a point of sitting down on his foot and wrapping both arms and legs around his ankle while Zack embraced his thigh, peering up with his chin against his stomach. "I know we've only just all seen each other but I swear you get so much bigger each and every time."
Justin said these words and then his biggest girl joined the embrace, deciding to wiggle around to lean against the leg that wasn't being held by both Layla and Zack, her arms wrapping around his waist and her eyes shutting as she held him.
Whether it was his own words that made him realize how quickly time went or it was the touch of children ranging from his nine-year-old down to his two-year-old, Justin knew that he had to go along with the urge that overcame his body and he needed to embrace them individually, immediately seeing how much had changed but also how much remained the same.
As he made sure to cup each child around the face and plant a kiss to the tops of their heads before embracing them, he knew that things would never change. No matter how far he wandered or how much any of them missed each other in their absence from each other, coming home would always give him the exact same feeling.
He needed to go out there and tour and perform and meet and greet all kinds of people because that was his path, and he was fortunate that that dream job put food on their table. And yet, when he was back with everybody, he realized something more and more each time that he came home.
That family of his was a different kind of dream. But still a dream. One that he had hardly chased. But had been blessed with regardless.
"I'm going to put your things in our room and then I'll put the kettle on." Eli found his voice while being on the side of the scene but not feeling excluded as Justin and his three children were back to their original positions all over again, embracing each other and relishing that they were all back together once more. "See you all in the living room? We can catch up and really get the Christmas bits sorted."
Darcy, Zack, and Layla all gasped aloud! It wasn't because they had to momentarily leave their father and their shared embrace in order to head elsewhere. For some reason, though they had been occupying themselves with this before, the idea sounded even more magical now that Justin was home.
Justin felt Eli's hand brush across his shoulder once again as he intended to pick up all his discarded luggage to leave it in their bedroom before indeed heading to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. But because he then felt all three of his children leave his side in order to scurry away to the living room, he knew he could not leave things there.
While it was true that he had received quite the welcome from Eli after gawking at him like a scaled covered creature initially, he decided that he wanted that extra bit more! He couldn't help himself. He had even more love for him thumping in his heart than ever when he knew that his future husband put his children first equally as much as he did.
"I want to see you a bit now." Justin murmured to Eli, catching him off guard from the way that he was not allowed to catch hold of his luggage and instead Justin caught hold of his chin with his two fingers and planted a kiss to his lips that turned into multiple pecks.
It was not quite the greeting that they would have usually offered one and other! But they had to be sensible, didn't they? The children might have sauntered off to the living room, but you simply could not be too careful.
Either way, Eli practically melted away and nearly entirely forgot about the tasks that he had intended to see through as he decided to peck the same number of kisses back to Justin in return, rendering him equally as much of a blushing schoolboy as had happened vice versa.
It was lucky that the children were out of sight!
Or were they?
Muffled giggles from behind hands from children who were peeking around the corner of the living room door made it obvious that they weren't as alone as they thought they were.
Perhaps it should have been the other way around, but Justin's knees nearly gave way and he practically died when he was caught red handed! Eli, on the other hand, decided to take it in his stride and while his cheeks began to nearly match his red long sleeved collared polo shirt, humoring the children in return.
It made them only shriek increasingly.
"Eww, we are just so gross, aren't we?" he copied Zack's noise before pressing a loud, innocent kiss to Justin's cheek all over again, amusement rather than only plain bashfulness washing over his face as he witnessed Darcy and Layla continuing to giggle and even Zack too despite it all. "Get busy, kids. Show your daddy how we do it around here."
And with that, Eli pressed a genuine kiss that was not for show to Justin's cheek, the opposite one this time to even his own stinging blush out, and picked up the luggage properly, intending to truly set it neatly in their shared bedroom before bustling off to the kitchen.
A kettle wished to be boiled and tea to be concocted and juices for the children had to be poured! And as for Justin, children were there to join in the living room and decorations to unbox and a tree to erect and baubles to hang from every inch of its spines.
Life was there to not only crack on with but to enjoy too. And overwhelming joy caught at the throat of Eli as he busied himself with making drinks after he had stacked luggage in the bedroom to unpack over the next few days, trying to remember a time in which he felt such a way as that.
Of course, he felt that way every time Justin got back home from tour – or when he and the children visited him wherever he was. But this occasion was different. This day was different. Justin was back home for Christmas. He was the greatest gift he could have received that year.
He made a mental note to tell him exactly that.
All the while Eli bustled around in the kitchen, putting tea bags into mugs and juice into cups and even putting a selection of Lucy's home-made cookies on a plate and some of their Uncle Jorginho's too, he could hear Justin's voice and it teased him.
Not in the way that it did when they were younger. Or rather, when Justin was younger. Justin was talking with his children. But even if he weren't doing that, it would be equally the same and not the same.
Eli heard his tones through the wall, and it delighted him. He knew without needing to listen to the actual words that whatever he would be saying would fill his heart with joy. He was a very special man. And the more that he thought this, the giddier that he was when he finally arrived back in the doorway of the living room, ready to spend time with them all again!
He was trembling so much you would have thought that he was suffering from low blood sugar levels and needed to munch on a biscuit or two to give himself extra strength. But in truth, all he needed was to be around them all.
Like Justin, this was a little family that he had not sought to stumble across. But it was a little family that fulfilled all his dreams. And made him feel wholly full indeed.
"One more big pull! Come on, lad, I know you can do it." Justin encouraged Zack and it encouraged Eli back to the present realities of being part of a family, amusement rather than just trembling happiness tickling at his throat as he watched. "I believe in you." He encouraged one more time and then success happened. "Whew! That looked just like taking a beanie off your hair, that."
Justin showed his humor by ruffling the hair that Zack was known for before flashing him a big smile, them both chuffed to bits with the six-year-old's achievements and the way that he had managed to pull the Christmas tree out of the box without hardly any physical effort on Justin's part but just a lot of encouragement from father to son.
Apparently, it wasn't enough! Well, while it was true that Zack's chest elevated at how much he had impressed his father, he wanted Eli's attention and his approval as well. That became obvious from the way that his eyes searched for his from the second that he walked back into the room.
Eli didn't hesitate to give him what he wanted. He would never dream of depriving any of the children of anything, but certainly not in front of Justin!
Nodding his head approvingly, his words did the talking as much as his actions had done.
"Trying hard often leads to great things." Eli led with wisdom, and it caused Justin to flash a long-toothed grin even if he had to fight the urge to roll his eyes at the way that his partner turned everything into a philosophical lesson! He, however, was glad he held it back when the cookie plate was held out towards him after it was offered to Zack. "A strong boy needs to keep up his strength."
Cookies were passed around and savored. A mug of tea with milk just how he liked it was handed over to Justin and juice in various cups planted on coasters on the carpet next to the children. Eli kept his own mug of herbal tea tucked comfortably between both of his hands, warming him through but not as much as the decision of Darcy to move away from the nativity scene in front of the fireplace that she had set up for all to enjoy.
Justin had only just complimented how precisely she had displayed it just like her other father had taught her when she set her heart on doing something else and seized that opportunity.
Eli felt delightfully touched when he felt her sidle up to his leg like she had done to Justin in the hallway and wrap her arms around his waist (or rather, his torso; she wasn't his father!), wondering why he was receiving some sort of greeting when he was always there for them. He would soon find out.
Not that anybody could tell, and she was glad about that, Darcy's cheeks warmed through as much as Eli's herbal tea mug towards his hands as she asked something of him, not having to crane up too far to meet his gaze back down at her.
"Can we hang the baubles on the tree together once it's up?" she asked, her arms tightening around the torso of Eli even though she tried to keep her private longing as casual. Additionally, privately she thought about adding more words, but she refrained.
She wanted to say how much she admired the neat piles of baubles that he had sorted so she trusted that together, the two of them could make a tree display that was entirely stunning. But in the end, she said only these words, and these were the only words that she said.
Darcy would go on to realize that this was probably for the best! Surprisingly not mellowed from the victory of freeing the tree from the box and from satisfyingly having cookie crumbled lips, Zack heard her words as doubt that anybody – and certainly not him – would do as neat of a job as those two.
This could have been correct from the way that he had almost kicked Eli's neat piles over and sent all colors crashing back together again multiple times since being back in the living room!
"Why do you have to be in charge?" Zack grizzled and, fresh from tour and then sitting with Layla and running his fingers through her hair while she leaned against him and continued her felt creation in front of him, Justin smiled fondly while anticipating an outburst from his son rather than inwardly groaning. "I'm a strong boy! I can do things like that too."
Like Darcy, Eli would have loved to speak words back to her and affirm to her how much he would love taking his time in decorating the tree with her while discarding the mug onto the top of the fireplace and touching both of her cheeks with his warm palms.
However, though Eli managed to set his mug aside and he did touch one of Darcy's cheeks with the one of his hands, he knew when time was to keep everybody happy. And he knew when to keep Zack happy. Otherwise, there would be no baubles left and only fractions of multicolored splinters scattered across the carpet!
"We're all in charge and we all can sort the tree out together." Eli began, leaving Justin smirking over how on earth any of them got anything done when he was away on tour if he decided to be fair all the time. But he had faith. How could he not? How could he have anything other than that for the man who repeatedly proved himself to them all? "Zacky, you are such a strong boy, so you can help me get this thing up."
Jobs started to get assigned to everybody in the room. Together, Eli and Justin were to unfurl the Christmas tree and get it looking as presentable as possible before it was time for strong boy Zack to take over and help Eli get the bottom point of the tree into the base and stood proudly upright. Then once that was done, it was time for Eli and Darcy to get their creative caps on and to decorate with baubles.
Anybody else was free to scatter candy canes, nutcrackers, snowflakes, and miniature wreaths anywhere that they chose. But baubles were a job for two particular people.
Eventually, Zack stopped grumbling about this and grumbled about something else, wondering when Layla was going to finish with her little project and pull her weight.
Justin, this time, was there to defend her. He had an adoring smile dashing across his features as he ran his hands through her hair some more, seeing just how absorbed she was in getting the picture to depict everything that she wanted.
"She's working hard herself, making it look exactly how she wants it too." He glanced down at Layla once more time before he looked over at Zack, seeing the way that that wasn't quite good enough in his books. "Besides," The way Justin's nose scrunched up and he pretended to whisper, a hand shielding his mouth made him listen to these words instead. "If she's occupied, that's one less person to fight to put the angel at the top of the tree, huh?"
For half a second, even though Justin had Zack's attention from the moment that he pretended to whisper just to him, making him feel very grown up, he then wondered if he was bluffing, being misleading in the way that adults sometimes were to keep the peace.
But then even Zack remembered who he was dealing with. While both Justin and Eli too did enjoy a peaceful life, they embraced all the children creating a bit of ruckus and a lot of talking back because, as much as anything else, it created a mightily strong next generation.
Zack narrowed his eyes with suspicion at his father. But then, doing a full one hundred and eighty degrees, he decided to copy his smirk in return and nod his head, his curls smiling as much as his face. He figured that Justin's words would be proven true or untrue in such a long time that he would forget about it anyway.
After all, this was Eli and Darcy in question and how quick they could get the Christmas tree looking in a way that they were both happy with! But like anything, no matter how long and drawn out something seems, eventually, everything comes to an end.
At long last, the two chief decorators were happy with their work and Justin was happy to just sit with his youngest daughter and answer whatever question came from his only son as they popped up.
The biggest question of all soon enough came and this time it wasn't from Zack. It wasn't from anyone really. It was just a knowing between them all. It was a knowing that this needed to get done. It was tradition. But not yet existed a tradition of how it had to get there.
Eli stood back, a satisfactory smile on his face at the hard work that he had Darcy had put in and his heart thumping with love at the memories that they had made by bonding together in such a way. His arm snaked around her shoulders, pulling her close to him but addressing everybody else in the room, not just her.
"There's just the angel at the top of the tree left, I guess." He said, not allowing his touch to drop away from Darcy and his Adam's apple bobbling in his throat through he breathed through it to speak when she wrapped her arm around his torso again in return. "Who wants to put it there?"
Immediately, guessing that he would not hesitate to pipe up, Eli's eyes searched for Zack's and while they were looking at him in return without hesitation, this was because he misread the situation and believed he was being caught putting the last cookie into his mouth without offering it to anybody else first!
Crumbs very obviously attaching themselves to his lips, he had been caught red handed.
But before Eli's narrow mouth had a chance to twist up into a portrayal of amusement, Justin piped up. He took a chance by deciding before consulting all his children who were headstrong in their own way.
Upon future reflection, I realize that he trusted that there was no doubt that they would argue that anybody else deserved it more.
"Why don't you put it there, Lij?" he suggested, with one final caress of his hand over Layla's scalp, leaving her to sit there on her own and moving to join his partner standing there with his eldest daughter, hand reaching out to squeeze the ball of his shoulder like he had done to him in the hallway. "A bit of an angel to all of us positioning the angel…"
Eli should have been flattered hearing Justin trailing off and feeling his touch lovingly attaching itself to him. And he was. He showed that by the color in which enveloped his tanned cheeks as he turned over his shoulder, behind at where Justin was lingering close to him and Darcy.
But regardless of how sweet Justin's words were, there were some things for children to get the most memories out of and fair was fair. Besides, he very much could argue that he felt that all of them were the angels so how could he let anybody else other than one of them add the final addition to the tree?
"How very sweet you are. But I couldn't." Eli's head began to move from side to side, the curls at the top of his own head unraveling just a touch as he reached for Justin's hand that was on his shoulder and to clasp it within his own instead. He was left with something in particular clasping at his throat when he felt not only Darcy but Zack too peering expectantly at him, agreeing with their father's words. "Oh, I couldn't. Everybody else has worked harder than me. I've just been playing around."
Eli could feel Justin sighing behind him, but he didn't know why. The children and certainly Darcy figured it out, knowing it wasn't merely the comfort of feeling the other male's fingers clasping over his own ones after many weeks on the road.
Maybe this was why she decided to pipe up. Or maybe it was because she wanted to show Eli that people listened to him as much as he took the time to listen to other people. It was Christmas time. And you didn't let opportunities pass up around that time of year.
"Playing around is hard work, though, isn't it?" she reiterated to him, and she looked at him in the eye before slinking away from him to not only give their dad more time with him but to stand with her brother, hoping to form a very clear union with him.
Darcy could not have prepared for the union that she would indeed meet. Justin moved closer to Eli and rested his chin against his shoulder from behind but not suffocatingly so. He knew that, in the end, he was only going to do what he was going to decide to do and that was okay.
Still, in the same way that Darcy was caught off guard, he was too in the way that Zack decided to pipe up. It was usually anybody's guess what he was going to say when he opened his mouth! But on this day, Zack solidified more than just Christmas plans. He reaffirmed Eli's place in their little family.
He may have revolved his eyes vehemently in his sockets. But he stood with his sister. And they shared the same sentiment, an unrelenting voice that couldn't be argued with getting his own point across before Eli could insist that someone else deserved it more than him.
He could get his turn in the future.
"Everything is always somebody else's turn." Zack said. And in that simple sentence, he said everything. In that simple sentence, he not only solidified Eli's place in their family but made Justin know deep in his heart furthermore that he made the right decision when he went off to fulfil his other dream.
He left his children in the safest hands possible. The most loving hands possible. The most selfless.
Zack was right without needing to say it. Eli always put other people first. Yes, now was his turn.
It was Justin's turn to feel a little bit misty eyed and he disguised it by blinking a lot even though he smiled at Eli, meeting his eye as he reached for the angel in question before slipping it into his hold before he could object anymore.
Justin agreed with his children.
"You deserve to say yes too." He uttered words that might have had such power between just the two of them but held all the power for all to know as well.
A quick kiss was planted to the shoulder of Eli while he tried to debate some more, his throat bobbing and wet, wide-eyed expression conveying that he wished to argue again but, in the end, he decided to relinquish.
Like getting back together with Justin, like having these children worming their way into his heart and being the man that he had always been destined to be, Eli decided to relinquish. He hid a sniff first. But then he allowed himself to be lifted around the waist by the love of his life – tradition and usually how it went down when one of the children placed it there – and he copied the way in which it was usually done.
The angel was placed. Darcy and Zack clapped. Justin did too once Eli was back on his feet. The lights were switched back on. Jubilations were had. The Christmas season was truly upon them. And because they were still in the company of little ones, all Eli could do was plant a lingering kiss on Justin's cheek even if he wanted to do far more.
That was another thing in which, eventually, he would get his turn. But for the time being, that was enough. That was more than enough. He had felt light on his feet from the second that Justin trailed his hands across his stomach, let alone when he was actually in the air and placing the angel where it needed to be.
That sensation didn't leave him when he was back down on the ground with his future husband. And it didn't even depart from him when in the next little while, Darcy and Zack grew bored and remembered Justin often hid presents for them in his guitar case so rushed off to the bedroom to see if they could find them there.
Still in the presence of Layla who was no bother and hadn't been for that entire day, them both decided to sit cross legged together in front of the fireplace and the tree as well, their mugs of drinks in their hands. Their beverages had long since gone cold. But their love for one and other ignited each other on that day and beyond.
Eli couldn't believe the way that the day had turned out, let alone that entire year with not only Justin but Darcy, Zack, and Layla too. He felt more and more at home with them each day. Partially he couldn't believe that he had once hidden in the shadows, once been afraid for anyone to see him brush his lips against Justin's, let alone the children.
Not anymore.
Eli put the mug down and reached for the side of Justin's face in one hand, tucking his long locks behind his ear with the other and tracing his thumb and forefinger against the silver hoop that hung there.
That had always hung there.
Ever since he had laid his eyes on him and fallen in love with him at once.
"You coming home on this very day is the best Christmas gift that I could wish for." Eli began, needing time to collect what he wanted to go on to say and needing to plant a kiss to Justin's lips during the pause, a contented fire in his belly that grew more and more each second. "I would be greedy to ask for anything more."
Justin chuckled in response, his hand making his way around the back of Eli's head, ruffling, and feeling the way that the shaved part of him was growing out and curling like it always did when it was allowed to grow longer.
In his heart, he knew that he would shower Eli in everything up until Christmas day and beyond! But he knew where he was coming from too.
His chuckles died down to a smile, irises alight with a brightness that the rainbows of the baubles could not even comprehend.
"Today has been magical already." He agreed, gently leaning forward to touch his nose against his before being unable to resist the urge to stare into his hauntingly enticing eyes once again, a grin not stopping itself from spreading across his face. "So just imagine what we have to look forward to all together."
A hitch in Eli's throat caught him off guard. It shouldn't have done. He was used to Justin rendering him breathless. He was used to all four of them doing that to him. But Eli has a very fertile imagination, you see. Sometimes it can give Justin's a run for its money. And there and then, he could not stop all the images from flicking through his mind.
They had already experienced the joy of getting the tree all ready, but he had a bit of an idea of what was to come and that made his knees buckle even if he was sat down.
The Christmas shopping, all together. Seeing the children at their nativity shows. Snowball fights. Hot chocolate in front of the fire. The children's merry faces on Christmas morning. Their sleepy faces on Christmas Eve, trying to wait up for Santa but unable to resist giving into the warmth of slumber.
Cold lipped kisses from Justin. Noses nuzzling to keep warm. Gloved hands clasping each other. Getting tangled under the sheets to simply express their love. Exchanging of gifts. Exchanging of trust. Exchanging of vulnerability. Hanging onto each other for dear life. Cherishing each other for that Christmas and beyond.
Eli could see it. Eli could see it all. He felt as giddy as he did when he was lifted off his feet. He, however, felt giddy in a more grounded way.
But he could not help but gaze into Justin with pooling eyes as he clasped a hand on each side of his cheeks, feeling two secretive dimples tucked and hidden underneath his palms, speaking to him words that he hoped summed up everything.
He shook his head.
"Christmas was never like this until I met you." Eli told him, and it was lucky that he had two hands on either side of his face because he needed someone to support him while he heard these words.
Even so, he maintained the gaze into the eyes that he had been gladly hypnotized by since the very beginning and he swallowed all his emotion, determined to get his own words out that put across everything.
That was hard sometimes. Every night that he got up on stage and he sang, he sang loving words for Eli. Whether the songs were about him or not, they were still partly all for him anyway because he was everything. He had always been everything. Even when he had kid himself that they meant nothing to each other.
Some bonds could not be denied. Some loves could not be denied. Some words could not be denied.
Eli had said his piece. Now was Justin's turn.
He swallowed a second time, choosing to rest his hands against the shoulders that once carried the weight of the world but now carried what could only be described as love.
"No?" he murmured in response, acknowledging Eli's reply which was a shake of the head and the word no that tried to form but ended up being carried away like a whisper in the wind. Justin courageously swallowed. His nose touched his once again. And then looked into his eyes some more. "Well, it can always be this way then. I promise."
Eli didn't need Justin's promises. They had long ago promised to dedicate their hearts to each other and only each other and that was the only one in which they both needed. But on that day, regardless of desire or need, Eli welcomed the words in which Justin had to say. And he welcomed them in one truly perfect way.
None of the children cared about their displays of affection; they never had done. They might have pretended to make a show and Justin and Eli might have made a point of being respectful but in that instance, they had love in their hearts and it needed to be shared. It needed to be shown. To anybody who cared to look. And each other.
Justin and Eli pulled each other into their arms, and they kissed. They kissed and they kissed, and they kissed, holding each other, tracing their hands along each other and embracing the knowledge that they were in it for good. This was something they always remembered. But it was still good to know.
One thing they would go on to know was how much their dedication to each other affected everybody else. It was a lie to say that the children didn't care about their displays of affection. They did. But not because it embarrassed them. It gave them their own affirmation of what exactly love was and how it could be.
You would think that at the tender age of two that Layla was clueless. But this was not the case. She had a secret smile all to herself as she glanced over at her father and her future stepfather holding one and other before she went back to finishing off her creation.
One last bit of felt in place and it was perfect.
She had placed the tree long before the real tree was up in their living room. The fireplace had blazed all along. A girl etching had been placed minding her own business. A littler girl had been placed with a protective older brother gazing down at her. An angel was attached to the tree not long after the real one made its appearance.
The father of the house sat down on the carpet. And then, the final piece, his counter part was situated.
Yes, everything was perfect. Life imitated art and art captured life.
Layla giggled to herself as she looked lovingly down at what she had created. She knew that she was part of something truly magical. And both her father and her future stepfather were right:
The best days were still yet to come. And some of them happened at Christmas Time.
They always do, don't they?
The End.
There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 In spite of the title of this chapter, this isn't actually this little family's first Christmas together. Technically, Justin and Eli were back together the previous Christmas as well but because it was a bit raw and Sammy didn't have his relationship with Lucy going on, it was a little tougher to be so filled with joy. There is a freedom for them at this point. And it's lovely and even healing for me to imagine how a blended family can be if they choose to move forward :) I love that I included the line about Jorginho and his cookies before even writing the chapter that I uploaded previously. It's nice that these two stories are almost connected in that way :3 Thanks again and I will be back on the 28th to update Letters That Changed Everything! In the mean time, if you're celebrating, have a lovely Christmas. Also, because I get the bulk of my views on this particular story, I'll say it here as well that in January 2023 I will not be updating Pikachu Tales. I'm going to take some time to focus on writing rather than uploading and will hopefully see you in February for some good content! As always, I appreciate every view that I've had this year. Knowing that other people care about these characters too means more than I can say :) Merry Christmas, see you soon!
Amy signing out :P