Brian and the True Meaning of Christmas
As Brian slid open the heavy loft door, Justin dropped their duffle bags with a
thud. The flight back from Canada wasn’t that long but due to bad weather,
turbulence and increased security ‘pat downs,’ the boys were tired and
frustrated. Not to mention that Brian was in a foul mood having to remain ‘full
of good cheer’ in front of Gus and the Munchers for a week. Justin was pissed
because Brian had refused to decorate the loft for Christmas, stating that it
was a waste of time since no one was going to be there to see it or appreciate
it. Justin lost the battle of wills even when he pleaded that it would be nice
to come back to a tastefully decorated loft after their travels. Brian had dug
in his heels, refusing a wreath on the door or displaying the hundreds of
seasonal cards the boys had received.
Yes, even Brian Kinney received Christmas cards.
Justin stomped into the bedroom, heading straight for the shower leaving Brian
to deal with their bags.
In preparation for the inevitable argument that he was sure would follow, Brian
called their favorite Thai takeout to order dinner. He then picked up the bags
to bring them into the bedroom. An hour and a half later found the boys sitting
on the floor picking over the remnants of their dinner.
“I still don’t understand why we couldn’t have had at least a small fake tree in
the alcove,” Justin whined as he took a pull at his beer.
“Because it’s just fucking tacky, that’s why,” Brian said as he rummaged through
a container of noodles with his chopsticks.
“Oh, and eating takeout on the floor isn’t?”
“No, it isn’t. That’s a picnic without the ants.”
“You are so full of shit that I can’t begin to tell you just how wrong that
sounds,” Justin said with a scowl.
“Justin, we just spent a week with Gus. We played every conceivable video game
with him, read to him from every book he had in his room and if I had to hear
just one more time how inconsiderate I was for buying him that beginner’s drum
set he wanted, I would have gone postal. Is it too much to ask to come home to a
nice quiet loft devoid of anything shiny...?”
“Other than your gleaming stainless steel state of the art appliances,” Justin
snarked.
“...twinkling or smelling like artificial pine?” Brian continued, ignoring
Justin’s remark.
“No, I guess it isn’t,” Justin conceded.
It had been one very noisy and sensory overloaded week in Canada. The boys had
purchased practically everything on Gus’ wish list and included JR since Mikey
didn’t have the means to get half of what Melanie had wanted for her. Plus,
unbeknownst to Justin and Michael, Mel had demanded monetary compensation as
well. Why she felt it was Brian’s responsibility to financially back up the
Munchers' failing relocation to the northern tundra was beyond him, however, he
refused to allow the children to suffer. Even though one of those kids wasn’t
his.
“Besides, when the time comes I promise you and I will celebrate the true
meaning of Christmas at the appropriate time of year,” Brian said smugly.
“What are you up to?” Justin wanted to know. The expression on Brian’s face was
more than sufficient to raise the hackles on Justin’s neck.
“Oh nothing much. I arranged for Gus to spend a week with us in April.”
“Here?”
“Yes, here and I guarantee you it will be a Muncher-free week and we can
celebrate Christmas.”
“Christmas not Easter?”
“No, Christmas and if it happens to be Easter at the same time then we can have
the Easter bunny come in dressed in a Santa suit.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I’m surprised, that you my little 1500 on your SATs, isn’t up on the latest
research regarding the real birthday of Jesus,” Brian said as he began to
collect the leftovers and garbage.
“Okay, I’ll bite...”
“Oooo, kinky.”
“Stuff it, Brian, and explain,” Justin demanded.
“Fine. Scholars from around the world have been pondering the question of when
Jesus’ birthday ... if he really existed,” Brian had to throw that one in,
“...really occurred. They took a good look at the passages in the Bible and
scriptures, used star charts and interviewed local farmers and shepherds to
determine the time of year when the “star” that guided the kings to baby Jesus
was actually visible in the sky.”
“Shepherds?”
“Well, it does say that the shepherds minding their flocks could see the star.
Now a shepherd wouldn’t be out there in the middle of winter, so that means it
had to be a different time of year.”
“Okay, I’ll grant you that.”
“And the calendar as we know it today is vastly different from the one in place
back then.”
“True, we use the Gregorian calendar and that wasn’t put together until 1582.”
“Correct, my dear Watson! Which was over fifteen hundred years after the birth
of Christ. It was done for the church’s convenience, having little to do with
historical fact.”
“And this has what to do with you not decorating the loft, how?”
Brian sighed but continued.
“It has been proposed that the real birthday occurred on or about April 17, in
the springtime when the shephrds would be out watching over their flocks at
night. And not on December twenty-fifth which if you think about it, December
should have been the tenth month of the year not the twelfth.”
“Okay, Mr. Science Guy, I get your point about the calendar.”
“What it boils down to Sunshine,” Brian said gently as he crossed the loft to
where Justin was standing then wrapped his arms around the younger man. “We will
celebrate the true meaning of Christmas at the correct time of year and in our
own way. Just the three of us; you, me and our son.”
“You mean that?” Justin asked as he looked up at Brian’s sincere face and the
glittering hazel eyes.
“Yes, I do,” Brian promised. Justin had no doubt that Brian would keep his word.
Justin tightly hugged his man. Brian could feel all the fight flow out of Justin
as well as the tension they both had accumulated over the past week.
The lovers kissed then went about the task of locking up the loft for the night.
While Brian showered, Justin turned down the bed then got ready for some real
man on man action.
“So does that mean I can decorate the loft?” Justin asked before Brian barely
got himself situated under the duvet.
“Yep.”
“Any way I want to?”
“I leave you in charge,” Brian said almost regretting the words as they left his
lips.
“Yee Haw!” Justin let out a shout then pounced on his unsuspecting mate, pushing
Brian over onto his belly.
As Brian felt himself being expertly prepared, he mumbled, “I think I’ve created
a Christmas monster.”
“Ho! Ho! Ho!”
~end~