The Warmth of Family

December 24, 1999

Dinner long since over, the family had scattered throughout the house as they finished up their last minute Christmas preparations. Molly could be heard singing loudly and horribly off-key along with the carols that were playing on the radio in her bedroom.

Jeremy was in the kitchen, getting a head start on the food that was needed for the next day's party. He'd realized that he was missing a few key ingredients for his specialties, so Robert had come to the rescue, donning his coat and heading out into the snowstorm to make a run to the store.

Justin crept down the stairs carefully, the huge pile of gifts in his arms obscuring his view. He breathed a sigh of relief when his stockinged foot came in contact with the tile floor of the foyer. He walked into the living room, flipping on the switch for the overhead light with his elbow. Crossing the room, he placed the gifts with the others underneath the huge tree, plugged in the lights then stood back to admire the view. After a moment, he dimmed the main lights and sat down on the floor next to the tree.

The Christmas tree stood nearly eleven feet tall, the top nearly grazing the high ceiling. Justin and Robert had decided on a Mardi Gras theme, and had worked together for over a week, hand-painting the various masks that now adorned the tree. Strands of purple, green and gold beads dripped from the branches, glittering in the glow of the mini-lights. A garland made from peacock feathers and gold iridescent ribbon had been draped on the tree as the finishing touch.

Justin wrapped his arms about one leg, resting his chin on his knee, and stared pensively at the tree as he thought about the past year as well as his near future. He was going to turn eighteen in March and had been accepted at PIFA, where he would be starting in the fall. The art show at the GLBT center had been a success, and best of all, he was with Brian.

Brian. Just the thought of him made Justin grin. He still couldn't believe his luck, and sometimes when he was with his lover, he pinched himself to make sure he was awake.

"Hey, Jester, whatcha doin'?"

Justin turned his head to glance at his sister. "Not much, Mollusk, just sitting here thinking."

As Molly approached him, she snagged an afghan from the couch and threw it around her shoulders. She plopped down beside Justin, asking him with a grin, "Wow, does it hurt?"

"Don't be a brat, Molly, or Santa won't bring you any presents."

"Dufus. I'm twelve! I don't believe in Santa."

Justin peeked over at her, an expression of feigned shock on his face. "Molly! You don't believe in Santa?" he gasped.

"You're such a dork."

Bumping her lightly with one shoulder, Justin reminded her, "Remember what Uncle Jeremy said. When you stop believing in Santa Claus, the only presents you'll get are from us. And that'll make your haul a whole lot smaller." He chuckled when Molly rolled her eyes at him.

"Geeze, Justin, I'm not stupid, you know. That's why I've never said anything to him."

"Yeah, that's why I haven't told him either," Justin admitted, causing Molly to giggle.

Molly edged a bit closer to Justin and turned her face up to examine the tree. "You and Robert did a great job, Justin. It's beautiful."

"Thanks, Molly."

The two siblings sat there together for a while, enjoying the silence. Finally, Molly broke the silence, asking hesitantly, "Do you ever think about Mom and Dad?"

"Sometimes. Why?"

Molly shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I just don't remember them, and sometimes I really wish I could." She looked up into Justin's face and said, "I love Uncle Jeremy and Robert, but sometimes I feel like I'm missing something, ya know?"

Justin hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against his side. Molly snuggled in, laying her head on his chest with a quiet sigh. "You can't expect to remember them, Molly. You were just a baby when they died."

"I know. I just wanna know something that I did with them."

Justin tightened his arm, placing his cheek on the top of her head before he said quietly, "The Christmas when you were about eighteen months old, Mom had bought this sleeper thingie for you. It was like a mini Santa outfit, complete with a hat. She dressed you in it so Dad could take pictures while we opened presents."

Molly laughed, "I must have looked stupid."

"Naw, you were kinda cute, actually. Your hair was really curly, and whenever you took off the hat, it would stick up all over the place. Anyway, in between playing with the boxes and the paper, you spent the day pulling it off and hiding it so Mom couldn't find it. Mom made a game out of putting it back on your head, and you laughed and clapped your hands whenever she did. You loved it. In fact, if I remember correctly, you carried the silly thing around for days, trying to get Mom to play with you."

After a few moments of silence, Molly whispered, "Thanks, Justin."

"Not a problem, kiddo." Justin brushed a gentle kiss on her hair before standing and pulling her to her feet. "Now, how about we go into the kitchen and grab a snack? I'm hungry."

Molly poked him in the side with her finger. "You're always hungry."

Justin leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I know where Uncle Jeremy hid those chocolate-chocolate chip cookies you like so much."

"What are we waiting for?" Molly laughed before taking off at a run.

Justin stayed in the living room for a few minutes, a slight frown creasing his forehead as he went over his conversation with Molly. There must be some way he could help her. Sighing, he shook his head and walked into the kitchen. As he entered, he couldn't help but grin at the sight of Molly sitting at the breakfast bar, her face already dusted with cookie crumbs and the opened container resting in front of her. "I see she found your hidden stash, Uncle Jeremy."

"Yeah, she tortured me with tickling until I gave up." Jeremy smiled fondly at his niece and nephew as he stirred something in one of the pots on the stove. "I think there's enough for you as well, Justin."

Justin took the milk from the refrigerator and poured two large glasses before taking a seat next to his sister. He nibbled on the cookies as the three of them talked and joked with each other until Robert got home. Once the groceries were put away, Molly fixed a plate of cookies and got out a carrot while Justin poured another glass of milk.

"There, Santa and his reindeer won't go hungry this year; their snack is all ready for them," Molly announced with a sly look at Robert and her uncle. "I'm going to put these in the living room then I'm going to bed."

"Hmmm," Jeremy said noncommittally, smiling. "Good night, sweetie." He and Robert hugged Molly before she carried the plate, carrot and glass out of the room.

"Night, Mollusk," Justin called out.

"Good night to you too, Jester!"

After helping Jeremy and Justin to clean up the kitchen, Robert said, "I'm beat. It's time for bed."

"No kidding. I have to be up early to finish everything before people arrive. What time did we tell everyone," asked Jeremy.

"Ten, I think, but knowing Debbie, she'll be here by nine," Robert answered, yawning widely into his hand.

"Wait, guys, before you head upstairs. I need your help." Justin smiled hopefully at Robert and Jeremy, who looked at each other before nodding.

"Sure, Justin. What do you need?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laughter filled the room as everyone found seats around the Christmas tree. Justin sat on the couch beside Brian, his head resting on his lover's shoulder. He avoided looking at Robert and his uncle, feeling guilty about the exhausted expressions that were on both of their faces. Stifling a yawn, Justin firmly told himself it had been for a good cause. Now, he could only hope that the effort would be appreciated.

"Hey, can I play Santa?" Emmett asked. "That way, I get to shake the presents." He settled onto the floor near the tree, gracefully arranging his long legs in a comfortable position.

"You look more like a fairy than an elf, Emmett," teased Ted as he helped Lindsay set up Gus' carrier next to her chair. "But go ahead if you want." Once he was finished, he went to sit beside his friend.

"Alright! Let's see." Emmett handed out the gifts, making sure everyone had one in their hands. "Okay, we all know the drill. Everyone opens their presents one at a time, so we can see who got what. Me first!" He started to rip the paper off the box in his lap.

While everyone was watching Emmett, Brian asked Justin quietly, "So what's up with the dark circles?" He touched the fragile skin below one eye gently with a fingertip.

"You'll see. It's a surprise," Justin replied, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Why don't you take a nap? Nobody will notice; they're too busy."

Justin shook his head. "No, I want to watch." He glanced up with a grin. "Why don't you keep me awake, Brian?"

Brian raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Oh, is that what you want?" He lowered his hand to Justin's chest, finding and lightly pinching one nipple. "I can do that."

Justin squirmed in his seat, suddenly feeling much more awake as Brian continued to caress his chest. He could feel his dick beginning to harden. Reaching down, Justin tugged on his jeans, trying to adjust himself without anyone seeing him. He shivered when Brian laughed softly in his ear.

"Like that, Sunshine?"

Moaning quietly, Justin tilted his head to one side, allowing Brian better access. "God, Brian, that feels... really good."

"Hmmm," Brian hummed, his tongue skating wetly along the edge of Justin's ear to the pulse point directly below. He bit down lightly on the soft skin there as he slid his hand down Justin's taut abdomen to cup his groin. Brian squeezed gently as he asked, "Wanna get out of here for a while?"

"I... I can't, Brian." Justin was having difficulty breathing as Brian continued to rub on his dick. "Christ, Brian, you're making me crazy here." He was getting ready to stand up and haul Brian upstairs when a brightly wrapped box landed in his lap. Justin glanced up, startled, and met Emmett's laughing gaze with a blush.

"Okay, you two, save it for Babylon so we can all watch the floorshow," Emmett taunted, smiling kindly when he noticed how flustered Justin was.

Brian leaned over and kissed Justin tenderly. "We'll finish this later," he whispered before straightening to watch.

"Right." Justin laughed shakily as he began to pry the tape off the package. He grinned over at his uncle and Robert after pulling out several CDs he'd been wanting from the box. "Thanks, guys."

Justin relaxed against Brian and enjoyed the morning with his friends and family. Once Emmett had handed out the last gift that was under the tree, he stood up, walking over to Jeremy. "Ready, Uncle Jeremy?"

Jeremy nodded as he reached beneath his chair and pulled out a beautifully wrapped box. He handed it to Justin with a wink, saying, "You give it to her - it was your idea, after all."

Justin went to Molly, kneeling down in front of her as he placed the gift in her lap. "Here you go, Molly. This is from Uncle Jeremy, Robert and me."

Molly looked confused, glancing from the box she'd just been given down to the huge pile of loot she'd opened earlier. "But, you already gave me something, Justin."

"So, consider it a bonus. Now, open it, you little brat."

Smiling cheekily up at him, Molly ripped open the paper. As she lifted the lid, Justin moved so he was sitting on the armrest of her chair, leaning over her with one arm braced along the back. "What is it?" Molly asked, pushing the tissue paper to the side to reveal a large book.

Justin ruffled her hair gently as he answered, "It's a scrapbook, Molly. Uncle Jeremy, Robert and I went through about a million boxes last night, looking for pictures of you, me, Mom and Dad." He flipped several pages as he pointed out, "Uncle Jeremy chose which pictures to include, Robert put them on the pages and I wrote out the stories that went with each one."

"Your mom sent photos of practically everything you ever did to your grandmother, Molly. When Grandma died, her stuff was put into storage. I retrieved it when I came back to the States to adopt you two, but I never took the time to go through it. It was just sitting up in the attic all this time." Jeremy walked over to his niece as he spoke. He crouched down, tenderly brushing a thumb against her cheek to wipe away the tears. "I'm sorry, sweetie. It just never occurred to me how much you must miss your parents."

"I'm being silly, but..."

"No, you're not." Jeremy tapped the book with one finger. "You have a right to know about your mom and dad, Molly, and I hope this scrapbook will help." He grinned crookedly as he admitted, "And now you know why the three of us have been falling asleep all morning."

Molly handed Justin the book and jumped up, almost knocking Jeremy down as she threw her arms around his waist. "Thank you so much, Uncle Jeremy." She kissed him on the cheek before rushing over to Robert to hug him as well. Finally, she went back to her chair and wrapped her arms around Justin's neck. "You're the best brother in the world."

"And don't you forget it, Mollusk." Justin hugged her back tightly before moving back to swipe a hand across his own damp eyes.

After the book had been handed around and admired by everyone, Robert got up and announced, "All right, everybody. The food is ready, so let's all grab a tray and put it on the table so we can eat."

While everyone moved to the kitchen and dining room, Justin watched curiously as Brian grabbed his coat and headed toward the back door. He got his own jacket and pulled it on as he followed his lover.

Brian was leaning against the porch railing, a cigarette dangling from one hand. He glanced over his shoulder when the door slammed behind him, a faint smile quirking his lips as Justin sidled up beside him. "That was really nice of you, Justin, giving Molly that scrapbook."

Justin shrugged self-consciously. "She was asking about Mom and Dad last night, which gave me the idea."

"You're a good brother." As Brian lifted his hand to take a drag of the cigarette, his sleeve slid down a bit, exposing the cowry bracelet on his wrist.

Justin touched it lightly. "Do you remember when I gave this to you?"

"Yeah. You were about thirteen, I think. I believe you called it your 'rebellious' stage, while the rest of us thought you were just a typical teenager." Brian smirked down at Justin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, umm, Brian? I got you a Christmas present."

Brian rolled his eyes at Michael, who hid a smile behind his hand, before turning in his seat. "Really?" He bit down on the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing at Justin's appearance.

The blond hair was shaggy and stringy, hanging down in Justin's face and covering his eyes. There were blue streaks in it here and there, which matched the faded tee shirt that was stretched tightly across Justin's thin frame. Jeans with holes at the knees and dirty tennis shoes completed the picture.

"Yeah. Here." A sloppily wrapped gift was thrust in Brian's face. "I made it for you."

Brian remained quiet as he opened the gift. A wad of tissue paper was inside, and Brian looked up to meet Justin's gaze. "Wow, you got me tissue paper. Thanks."

"You're such a jerk, Brian. The present's inside." Justin punched Brian lightly on the arm before sliding into the booth beside him. "Hurry up."

"Don't hit me, brat," Brian snarked. "And learn some patience."

Justin bounced nervously in his seat as Brian dug through the paper, finally pulling out a black bracelet with shells on it. "A lot of the kids at school are making bracelets for their friends, so I thought..."

"It's great, Justin. Here, help me put it on."

Justin looked surprised. "You're really going to wear it?" he asked breathlessly as he tied the bracelet onto Brian's wrist.

"Well, duh, Justin." Brian ran one finger underneath the bracelet to make sure it was loose enough before putting an arm around Justin's narrow shoulders. "I promise, I'll wear it always."

A bright smile lit up Justin's face as he lowered his head, embarrassed. "Cool."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And you've never taken it off, have you?" Justin looked up at Brian with a faint smile.

Brian shook his head. "I promised you, didn't I? And you know, I never break a promise."

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