The grammar in this one read wrong no matter how many times I reworked. Sorry in advance!
"My little bookworm," I teased, taking the novel out of his hands and nudging his thigh as an indication that I wanted to sit down on the couch next to him. "Move your legs."
"Don't lose my place!" he pleaded, borderline frantic. His eyes widened as I started to dog-ear the page, so I quickly righted myself and used the bookmark on the table instead. "And that pet name is not going to be a thing."
"Neither was 'Gar', but I guess that stuck," I grinned at him, laughing when he couldn't resist a smile. I looked down at the pages in front of me. "Steven King, huh?"
"I mean, he's only the best fictional horror writer ever."
"You," I leaned forward to kiss him. "Are a dork."
"It was either that, or Lord of the Rings again," he admitted.
"Lord Thranduil doesn't do it for you?" I had no fucking clue what I was talking about, and by the look on Carlisle's face, I'd just said something horrifically offensive.
"King Thranduil!"
"Don't act like I've committed a crime," I chuckled.
"Garrett, the people of Middle-earth will come for you, and I'm not going to stop them. That's high treason."
"You're adorable," I concluded.
He rolled his eyes at me and settled again, snatching the book back and trying to hide a smile as I turned on the TV.
"First ad of the season, and it's only mid-November," I laughed, watching the Christmas based infomercial play out. It would take the magic out of Christmas; it didn't seem as special when it was advertised all bloody year. I hated that Kate was overly exposed to Santa, as stupid as it seemed. I wished they'd get him off TV to let him keep some of his magic; it really wasn't fair to the kids that he was so overly commercialised.
Carlisle said nothing, not even looking at the TV. His anxious fidgeting raised a red flag though.
I reached over to still his hands. "You okay?"
He nodded unconvincingly, biting his lip as his fingers tightened around the cover of the book.
"You can tell me, Carlisle, it's alright," I reminded him, kissing his forehead.
"…Turn it off…please?" he mumbled to me. The desperate note in his voice made me do it immediately, shutting it down as more images celebration and present openings flashed across the screen.
"What happened?" I tried again. His change in mood from a few minutes ago was confusing.
My boyfriend looked vaguely frightened. "…I hate it…Christmas time, I mean…"
"How can anyone hate Christmas," I chuckled, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and kissing the top of his head.
"…because I've never had one…my father forbade me…I was only allowed to watch the family Christmas…and I'd go back to school and that was all anyone could talk about…" He leant his head against my chest with a sigh. "…I can't get away from it…birthdays are easy; I just ignore them, but I can't make Christmas stop…"
"Not this time, Carlisle. We'll do it properly this year," I promised, hugging him tightly. "You're part of a family now. I have to go Christmas shopping tomorrow; you should come too?" I hated the job, but I'd prefer to have it done sooner than later to avoid the mad rushes. "That is, if you want the tortures as well as the joy?"
"What's so awful about buying presents?" My distaste for it had made him laugh, if nothing else.
"You'll see," I threatened. I'd always had a short fuse when it came down to gift buying, and hoped Carlisle might stop me from snapping at an over-worked store clerk.
.
.
It was a bloody good thing it wasn't December yet; there were decorations out, but nothing overly extravagant, yet the sight of reindeer and Santa was enough to trigger Carlisle into a muted panic attack. I was starting to doubt my judgement on dragging him along, but every time I suggested we go home, he shook his head, insisting he was okay.
"Wanna go get coffee after this?" I asked, rubbing his back as we stood in the check out together. He was keeping a foot between him and our cart at all times, refusing to make eye contact with the wrapping paper I was buying. There were still a few more shops I needed to go to, but I was trying to gauge how much he could handle.
"Yeah, okay," he nodded stiffly, uncomfortable. The woman behind the counter was visibly confused at his behaviour, and I had to admit that his silence and apparently dark mood would have appeared rather shady had I not known what was wrong.
"Are you sure you're alright? I can take you home and do this another day," I reminded him, squeezing his hand as we sat down at a table.
"I'm alright, Garrett, all of this is just really weird…" he mumbled, offering an apologetic smile.
"How on earth do you survive this time of year normally?"
He shrugged. "It's kinda stressful…I pretend it's not happening and wait until it's gone again…"
"Tell me if this all gets too much, alright? Americans have a tendency to be quite, ah, enthusiastic about Christmas, and my family is a good example of that."
Nodding, he already looked a little overwhelmed, but the caffeine seemed to help steel his nerves. I watched while he picked apart a muffin, barely eating it but taking comfort in it's destruction. Not able to face eating anything myself, I waited until he had finished and then we walked hand in hand through another store. Carlisle eventually wandered off, presumably to look at books, leaving me to finish finding the items on my list.
My brother had invited us over for dinner, but I was sceptical of putting my boyfriend through that today as well. I really didn't want to push him too far; I didn't want this time of year to be perpetually traumatising.
"Hey." I slid my arm around his waist as I approached him, and he automatically turned to hug me.
"Hey." Kissing me gently, he was smiling now, seemingly happier. "Are you done, or are you going to decapitate a sales lady?"
"I'm finished," I laughed, rolling my eyes at him. "Eleazar invited us to dinner, are you up to that?"
"Yeah, that's fine." Whatever tension had been plaguing him before was gone now; books were obviously more comforting that I gave them credit for.
I tried to glance at the novel he was holding, but I didn't recognise the author or the title. Trust him to pick something obscure – not that I was overly knowledgeable about them. "I don't know what I'm going to get Kate," I grumbled as we loaded the stuff into the car. "What on earth do five-year-olds want, anyway?"
"She likes painting," he pointed out. "The ones she has at the moment are terrible."
"Kid's paint sets are shit, though, and I don't have a clue about any actual art stuff."
"I'll take you to an art shop tomorrow, and we'll sort it out then," he assured me.
.
.
I was partly ease-dropping on Carlisle and Carmen; I loved that he got on so well with my sister in-law. I knew he liked talking to her – they had similar interests, and he wasn't so shy around her, which was a relief considering the trouble dad gave him. It was probably the only reason he was okay about coming to visit my brother with me in the first place. Apparently, he was comfortable enough to stay in the kitchen with her while Eleazar and I sat in the longue, and I found myself smiling unintentionally.
Kate charged into the room, babbling something incoherent and throwing herself into my lap. "Uncle Garrett!"
Laughing, I scooped her up, sitting her on my knee. "Hi, Katie, how is school?"
She ignored my question. "Why is Carlisle with you all the time?"
Eleazar swallowed a laugh, and I almost choked. That was not what I had expected to come out of her mouth, and her observation had made my face flush. Trust the five-year-old. "Ah, Carlisle is, um, my best friend, Kate," I told her, fairly confident that Eleazar didn't want to have to tell to his five-year-old what a gay relationship was; this was the simplest explanation I could come up with on the spot. The questions would be endless otherwise. "I miss him when I don't have him."
My brother took me by surprise, though. Instead of just agreeing, he explained to her how I loved Carlisle like "mummy loved daddy". Had the gesture not been so sweet, I would have been laughing at the way he tried to describe the concept, but I was taken aback by the gesture. All I could offer him was a shaky smile when our eyes met.
Kate was easily satisfied, accepting it and wriggling away to go and play again, leaving me and Eleazar alone.
"How's dad been with him, anyway?" My brother kept his voice low, glancing back into the kitchen where his wife and my boyfriend stood at the bench together, apparently enthusiastic over some new book about to hit the shelves. Neither of them had heard the conversation.
"Better, I guess. He's still not nice to him, but he didn't shred him last time they were together." I still couldn't stop myself from frowning. "I just feel so bad; dad got on well with him at Kate's birthday party, but as soon as Carlisle was labelled 'boyfriend', he's been horrible to him."
He nodded slowly. "But has Carlisle been, ah, good for you?"
I wasn't quite sure what he was asking, but I knew the answer and couldn't resist smiling at the thought of him. "He's perfect, El. I love him so much."
"Ew, okay, don't be sappy," he grumbled, cringing. "I just need to know your happy with him."
"Honestly, I've never been happier. It's impossible to feel bad around him; he makes me feel good about myself in way I've never thought possible. It's cliché, I know, but…I love him," I shrugged, not sure why I was suddenly baring my heart to my brother. I'd hated it when he talked about Carmen like this; it was just uncomfortable. Maybe it had something to do with him being comfortable enough to explain to his child what the relationship I had with Carlisle really was.
Eleazar was hiding a smile though, understanding. "Why aren't you two living together, then?"
I nibbled my lip, considering my answer for a moment, before sighing. "I'm scared he'll say no, and I don't want to freak him out if he's not ready."
"But you're ready, though," he pointed out.
I just nodded, seeing no point in lying. It was more than true that I tried to spend as much time as I could around Carlisle.
.
.
It was stupid how comforting the weight of his body against mine was. He was more on me than beside me really, his ribs against my stomach as he tangled his fingers in my hair to kiss me. And I liked it a lot; it wasn't often that he was on top of me. Sadly, we were still at my brother's place; it was Kate's bedtime, and they'd left me and Carlisle alone too long in one of the side rooms.
I used the beltloops of his jeans to pull him closer, both of us laughing a little as he slipped and fell into me. I wrapped my arms around him, kissing my way down his jaw and along his neck, and he buried his face in my shoulder.
Eleazar knocked loudly on the open door as he passed. "Don't want to have to explain to my daughter how sex works, Garrett," he warned. "Go and kiss your niece goodnight before she comes looking for you, and finds your tongue halfway down Carlisle's throat." He was teasing. Mostly.
I laughed, a little embarrassed but glad that my brother's reaction hadn't been terrible, seeming as this was the first time he'd really seen the intimacy between me and Carlisle. To Eleazar's credit, we weren't being particularly appropriate, seeming as we were both in his house and it was only early in the evening.
My boyfriend's face immediately became warm and he froze. He didn't sit back, I think so he didn't have to face Eleazar.
"Sorry, El," I called to him as he disappeared down the hallway.
"Keep it in your pants," he grumbled back, out of sight.
Still chuckling, I kissed Carlisle once more before sitting up, rubbing his leg as he frowned. "Don't go getting yourself all worked up now," I teased him.
He rolled his eyes at me, his hands still on my waist. "You started it." Another soft kiss.
"I'll finish it, too," I grumbled at him. "When we get home." Straightening my clothing again, I went to say goodnight to Kate before Carmen had to convince her to get in bed all over again.