Chapter 2: December 2 It's that time of year Christmas is here Everybody's back together again Spreading the joy, Spreading good cheer Toasting to another year's end So thankful for, All of our friends It was after 12 p.m. when Justin finally left the diner to go home. He was tired as hell and because of that didn't notice the constantly blinking red light above him. With half opened eyes Justin crossed the street, and thought about the upcoming Christmas. He wished that he was still young and carefree, and sure that his parents loved him. Justin even wished that he would be able to believe in Santa Claus again. It wasn’t that he thought there was someone out there to bring him gifts at Christmas, it was just that he was too old to really say it out loud. Everybody would think he was crazy. Sighing, he unlocked the door of the house and entered his tiny apartment a few moments later, smirking slightly about his pathetic attempt of a Christmas tree. Even this little piece of plastic had cost him forty bucks, and it hadn't included the lights. Next year, he'd promised himself, he would buy a real one. Even if he’d have to place the damn tree in the middle of his living room. But first, and most importantly, he had to get some sleep, as there were still groceries to buy in the morning. Without taking his clothes off, Justin fell into his bed and was asleep in seconds. Still not noticing the shining red nose at his bedroom window. **************** In the meantime, Donner and Blitzen were watching over Gus and Brian. Blitzen had nothing much to do, as the boy was already peacefully asleep and dreaming of a wonderful Christmas Eve spent with his dad. But there was also a shadow in Gus' dream, and the reindeer was sure that the shadow had to be the wish of a partner and another father for himself on Christmas. She still had to smile about the selflessness of the young boy, but was sad about the childhood of his father. Donner had told her enough to know that young Gus really had reasons for his father to have a partner for Christmas. To give him some good memories to remember. "So, what do the two of you think of the progress Mister Kinney’s made?" Blitzen asked when she felt two other presences behind her. "Well, Kinney will never change in most of his ways, but I like what he did about his 'tricking' lifestyle. He's a good father. Now I can see it," Melanie, now an angel, answered Blitzen's question and looked lovingly down at her son. "I have to agree. Brian really is a good father, and I really think that he didn't deserves all the shit he's getting from the rest of the family." Lindsay also spoke her mind, and Blitzen nodded. "This is one thing we also have to take care of. I'd like the two of you to check in on the rest of the family and report back to me. We have to see every aspect of all this. Donner is very worried about Mister Kinney's state of mind with regards to the whole Christmas thing." Both Lindsay and Melanie nodded. They both knew that the reindeer didn't make fun of things like this. Both wiped their tears out of their eyes when they looked at their son and then went through the closed bedroom door to watch what Brian was up to. Both their faces immediately changed to a worried expression, and even more so when they saw Donner kneeling in front of the man. "How's he doing?" Lindsay asked worried and knelt beside the reindeer. "Not good. He's been dreaming about his childhood since he fell asleep. I don't like what I see, his father did a really good job of fucking up Brian's Christmas Eves." With a deep sigh, Donner laid his head down in Brian's lap. He'd know if and when Brian noticed him. Also, both Lindsay and Melanie sat down beside Brian and hugged him, giving silent support as they tried to erase the bad memories. Soon Brian wasn't having nightmares anymore and Donner sent the two Angels away to rest for the night as well. *************** In the morning, Justin was rudely awakened by his housekeeper who asked for him to clean the stairs in the next few days while he went on a vacation with his wife. The blond only nodded and closed his door. Barely awake, he went into his bathroom and started his shower to wake up completely, his mind full of blinking lights. Somehow he’d had a really good dream last night, of laughing hazel eyes looking at him with love and care. He didn't know what it could mean, but for the first time in weeks Justin hadn't had a nightmare. Happy with his life for the moment, Justin began to sing under the shower, only slightly disturbed when the water turned cold. Nothing could mess with his good mood today. *************** After breakfast, the first thing both Brian and Gus did was to get into the jeep to get to the next supermarket so that they could buy new groceries, and especially some new cornflakes for Gus. "Dad, can I push the cart?" Gus asked his father and, without even having to think about it, Brian nodded. He wouldn't be caught dead pushing a fucking supermarket cart. With that asked, Gus gave the cart a push and was in the aisle, smiling backwards to his father who only shook his head at his son’s behaviour. "Think about your behaviour, Sonny Boy! I don't think Santa would like you to tease your dad!" Brian shouted after his son when he didn't see him anymore, and went into another aisle. He knew he'd find his son sooner or later by the toy section. Brian didn't really expect an answer from his son, so he went over to the condom shelf and looked them up and down. Even if he wasn't really into tricking anymore, he still wanted to be up to date in case he suddenly had a Gus free evening. He had to smile about the Christmas Season condoms that hung at the shelf as well. He didn't think Santa wouldn't be thrilled to know about something like this. Donner was sitting on the top of the shelf laughing his ass off. He had to think about it himself. Santa would shit his pants if he knew about the condoms with his face on them. Well, at least Mrs. Claus would have a good laugh out of it. He had to remember to bring some back to the North Pole. In situations like this, he was glad that Santa's reindeer were also able to change their appearance. This clever trick also allowed then to disappear into thin air. Right now, he and Blitzen were little fairies. He still thought it was a little over the top to change into a fairy, but his wife loved these cute little mystical creatures, and so he'd agreed to turn into one too. "Hey, Dad!" he suddenly heard his son's voice beside him. "What the heck are you doing here, Rudolph? Aren't you supposed to look for a partner for Mr. Kinney?" Donner asked his son, who looked like a sick fairy with his nose shining red, while ushering him away from the condom shelf. The kid was still to young to know about things like this. Rudolph rolled his eyes at his fathers attempt to get him away from the 'adult' stuff. It wasn't like he hadn't seen what the humans were up to before. Until here it's beta'd "Like I told mom, who looks hilarious with the new wings she's made herself, just before I came to you, I'm here because the partner that I've looked up for Gus' father is also here at the moment," the kid answered and began to smile when a loud crash was heard from the other site of the store. "I take it you told your mother to get the two of them to meet some way ," Donner mumbled sarcastically and, with his son in tow, flew over to the noise, checking on Brian who couldn't hear the noise because mystical creatures had better hearing then humans. "I might have mentioned something like it ," Rudolph answered innocently and watched the two humans. "I'm so sorry , Mister. I didn't look where I was going," Gus said and knelt in front of the blond man on the floor. "It's okay , Kiddo. Nothing happened, I'm okay," Justin answered and smiled at the young boy. Something seemed familiar about the boy, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Are you gay?" Gus asked straightforwardly, which got him an irritated look from Justin. "Excuse me?" Justin asked. "I'm indeed gay, but what made you think that? Do I sound funny or do I wave my hands freaky?" "No no, oh God, if I continue being so rude Santa won't bring me ANY gifts. It's just that well... my dad says that I've got a good gaydar," Gus answered and held his hand out, to help Justin up from the ground. Justin laughed at the boldness of the young boy. He really was something else. He could only imagine what his parents had to deal with every day. Up on the shelf , the three reindeer were watching everything. "Donner , are you sure Mr. Kinney will come down here?" Blitzen asked while watching the two humans. "Of course , my dear. It's only a matter of seconds. See," Donner answered and pointed at the entrance of the aisle. "Gus! Here you are!" Brian said and hugged his son tight. After he couldn't find his son in the toy section, he'd become worried. "I'm sorry , dad. I had a little crash with this man," Gus answered bright red and pointed at Justin who stood behind the two of them and tried to disappear. When Brian turned around he was mesmerized by what he saw. If he believed in Christmas and everything around it, he'd have believed an Angel was standing right in front of him. Justin waved shyly at the gorgeous man. He had to get away from the two of them, as soon as possible. "Hi, I'm Brian Kinney. I'm sorry that my son smacked you down." Brian held out his hand and Justin looked at it like Brian's hand could kill him at any moment. "I.. I'm... I have to go ," Justin said and with that, he ran out of the aisle and straight to the exit. Thoughtful , Brian watched the blond running away. He was slightly irritated by the man's behaviour, but with a shrug of his shoulders, he turned around to his son again. "Shit! That's not what was supposed happen!" Rudolph said and flew away, trying to follow the totally frightened blond man. Donner and Blitzen only shook their heads. The behaviour of the young man was odd, and would really mess up their plan, but they still had twenty-three days left to get Gus' father and the blond together. *************** Half an hour later, Justin was at home again, totally breathless. He didn't stop for air the whole way back from the supermarket. Only now that he was home, he noticed that, with his fast exit, he'd totally forgotten to actually buy the groceries. Justin shrugged his shoulders and went over to his telephone, 'take out will be faster anyway,' he thought and dialled the number of his favorite Thai place. *************** Late in the evening , Brian and Gus finally came back home. After the disaster at the supermarket both of them had decided that they would eat at Gus' favorite restaurant for a change and had spent a relaxed day at the zoo. Now both of them were exhausted. Gus was so tired that he now lay fast asleep in his father's arms on his way back into the loft. When the pair entered the loft, Brian brought his son into his room and tucked the young boy into the bed, giving him a kiss on the forehead before he left the room. Brian himself, went over to the fridge and pulled out a cold beer. For some reason he couldn't forget the blue eyes of one particular man he'd met today. With a sigh Brian went over to his desk to work on an upcoming add for January. He'd do anything now to take his mind off his lesbianic thoughts. Meanwhile , Donner had to smile about Brian's thoughts. He wouldn't have thought that the small blond would impress the man this much in a couple of seconds. He have to tell his son later that he'd really done a good job of finding a partner for Brian. "What has you smiling , honey?" Blitzen asked, beside her husband. "It's just that even when he's working on the ad account, he's thinking of... What did Rudolph say his name was... Justin?" he answered and watched as Brian switched off his computer and went over to the bedroom. "At least we won't have to keep him company until after he's asleep. His mind is too full of a particular blond man," he said and winked at his wife. *************** Meanwhile , Rudolph could finally take a breath, after listening to Justin's endless thoughts about Mr. Kinney the whole day. The young man had finally fallen asleep over a shred of paper with the face of the man on it. Nevertheless, the thoughts of Justin had given him information about how to get Mr. Kinney and Justin together. He had to talk about it with his parents tomorrow, but for now, Rudolph lay down beside Justin on the bed and slept as well.