Christmas Eve

"There has to be some catch to this," Brian said as he lit the fireplace and sat down on the floor to watch it. "We don't have any place we have to go and it's Christmas Eve."

"I hope you're not disappointed, Honey," Justin told him, "It's just that you keep saying we don't get enough time alone together at the holidays and so I tried to arrange this for us."

"You know it's what I want. And like everything else you try to do, you succeeded," Brian told him. "I'm glad I know you, Mr. Taylor."

"Likewise I'm very sure, Mr. Kinney," Justin answered as he got himself located very close to Brian on the floor in front of the fireplace. "It's been a busy season already, and we still have tomorrow to get through, so I'm glad we have tonight all to ourselves."

"I kind of like the visiting around on Christmas Day, Brian," Justin went on, "I'll be glad to see our families and friends but the best thing will be the trip to Children's Hospital."

"You better hope that Molly doesn't grow up to be like Clare," Brian mused, "But she doesn't show any signs of that yet and Clare was already a bitch when she was Molly's age."

"Don't you think you could try to warm up to Clare a little bit," Justin wondered, "In the spirit of the holiday season. Maybe if you would just make the first move…."

"If you want to break your record of success in doing things you want to do," Brian replied, "Keep pushing on that button, Baby. I can't see it happening ever - holiday season or not."

"Well she's letting the boys go with us to Children's Hospital tomorrow," Justin protested, "Isn't that a start, maybe?"

"She doesn't like anybody, Sweetheart," Brian insisted, "Not even her kids. She's glad we're taking an interest in them because it gets them away from her for a while. And I know it's good for the kids. Even my mother says the kids are a lot better since they've been spending some time with us."

"You are really a great guy, Brian," Justin told him.

"Well don't spread that word around, Baby," Brian told him back, "I have my reputation to keep up, you know."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Honey," Justin informed him, "Everybody knows what a good guy you are now. Your reputation, as you pretend you like to think of it, is dead as a doornail."

"And whose fault is that?" Brian wanted to know.

"I'm not taking the blame," Justin defended himself, "You were a really good guy before I ever met you, only nobody knew it then. Everything that happened since is a kind of a coincidence."

"Nothing with you involved is ever a coincidence, Baby," Brian countered, "I bet you're even behind Debbie coming with us to the hospital tomorrow. Who in hell ever heard of Mother Christmas?"

"Oh no, Brian," Justin insisted, "I swear I had nothing to do with that. That was Daphne and Debbie. They were talking one day last month at the diner and then it happened - Mother Christmas was born."

"And so I repeat," Brian said, "Who the hell is Mother Christmas?"

Justin laughed at him. "Brian, if we resort to history, we know that nobody knew about Santa Claus until the eighteen-hundreds. Now look how big Santa Claus is. Maybe in a hundred years or so, Mother Christmas will be just as important as Santa Claus," he told Brian.

"And we will have been part of it," Brian laughed too. "Well, as long as Debbie doesn't try to make Mother Christmas as important as Santa Claus tomorrow."

What did you like best about the Christmas season so far, Brian?" Justin decided to get the discussion away from Mother Christmas. "I'll bet it was the shopping."

"No," Brian responded after a moment's thought, "Of course I enjoyed every single long hour of every single long shopping trip. You know that. But I think the best time was last night when Gus was here."

"I thought that's what you'd say. I watched your face the whole time and I've never seen you look so happy," Justin said, "And what was the best part of Gus' visit for you?"

"If you spent the whole night watching my face, you missed some good stuff, Baby. All right, you're fishing for compliments and I guess you deserve some. Just don't make a habit of it." Brian gave in, "I liked the way Gus especially loved your damn Charlie Brown tree. He liked it because it was his own size. He said the big tree was our tree, and he figured Santa Claus had left that little one for him. He's too young to see what an ugly tree it was."

"But he'll learn, won't he, Brian," Justin mused, "As he grows older, he'll learn. We can't save him from that."

Brian put both arms around the kid. "You're a good man, Charlie Brown," he told him

Brian pulled a small package from his pocket and presented it to Justin. "I want you to open this."

"Brian, we decided to exchange gifts on Christmas morning," Justin objected.

"This isn't a Christmas gift," Brian insisted, "And I want you to open it now, no matter what you decided about when we'll exchange gifts."

Justin was pleased to oblige so he opened the package, and tears came rolling down his cheeks. "They're rings, Brian, the most beautiful rings I've ever seen," he said, "What a great symbol of our friendship. I think I'm going to cry."

"Too late on that score, Baby," Brian responded, "And if you think they're just friendship rings after what they cost, I think I'm going to cry too. Look at the inscription inside."

Justin nervously fingered one of the rings. "It says 'Brian loves Justin now and always.'"

"That one's yours," Brian told him. "Mine reads 'Justin loves Brian now and always.' You have to decide when we put them on. It can be now or anytime you pick, that is, if you want to wear them at all."

"Now," Justin told him very quickly, "Right now and always, just like the inscription says."

"OK then," Brian answered, "Slip mine on my finger."

"Brian, a ring on that finger means…." Justin kind of stammered.

"You never do anything without a lot of talk, do you?" Brian complained. So Justin happily did as he was told, and Brian returned the favor. Justin grabbed Brian tight enough to surprise even Brian, and they clung together as the voices of some carolers outside wafted into the loft.

"This is perfect," Justin said. "The carolers are the perfect thing to go with this moment."

The surprises of the evening were not yet over though. Brian and Justin sat with some apprehension as the carolers seemed to draw nearer. Ebenezer Scrooge had no more dread when Jacob Marley's ghost came up his stairs than did Justin and Brian as the carolers seemed to mount theirs. And they were equally surprised when the loft door slid open and the carolers trouped in.

There were Emmett, Ted, Michael, Ben, Hunter, Mel, Lindsay, Vic, and Debbie, fully decked out as Mother Christmas. They were singing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" to two gentlemen, who were neither resting nor particularly merry just then.

Michael hurried to Brian's side. "I'm sorry," he told Brian. "I know you were going to show Justin the rings tonight, but I couldn't stop them. My mother wanted you to see her Mother Christmas outfit and when my mother wants something she gets it. I'll get them out of here fast and then you can do your stuff with the rings."

Brian showed Michael his hand. "Too late?" Mikey presumed.

"Too much," Brian answered, "Too late."

Emmett was in the process of explaining to Justin, and Brian too, if he was listening, that nobody should be alone on Christmas Eve and that's why they had come. Debbie was modeling her costume with the elegance of a Givenchy fashion show. It was Hunter, who correctly sized up the situation. "These guys were in the middle of something," he said, "We should get our asses out of here." Strangely enough, Hunter prevailed. After just one chorus of "Joy to the World" the carolers filed out of the loft and left Brian and Justin alone on Christmas Eve. Hunter winked at Justin as they left, and that was the beginning of more friendly relations between the two of them.

"Oh Brian, that was awful," Justin declared, "How could they come in and disturb the greatest moment of my life?"

"As you grow older, you'll learn about the ugly parts of life, Baby. I can't protect you from that." Brian told him. Justin smiled so Brian tried to lighten up the situation. "And your record is broken too," He added, "For once, things didn't go exactly as you planned them."

"Well," Justin replied in kind, "If I don't have to worry about my perfect record any more, then it's safe for me to try to get you and Clare to be friends."

"That's an ugly thought," Brian complained.

"As you grow older, Honey," Justin smiled at him, "You'll find there are ugly things in life. I can't protect you from all of them."

"Merry Christmas, Twink," Brian said to him. "Merry Christmas, Bri" Justin told him back.

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