Later That Evening...Britin

"Gus asleep?" Justin asked as his husband appeared in the doorway of their bedroom; he was currently sitting up in bed, an ever-present sketchpad lying on his legs as he drew a Christmas scene from memory that he and Brian had encountered earlier on the way to Debbie's house.  It was a horse-drawn carriage - decorated effusively for the holiday season - and had been perched on the street in front of a Pittsburgh park. It had been very scenic and nostalgic looking, and he had wanted to get it fleshed out while he could recall all the details.  He placed his pencil and pad down, however, as Brian walked over to join him as he sat down beside him. 

"Yeah," he confirmed as he stretched his long legs out on top of their duvet.   "And Alex is in her room, engrossed with her Xbox."  He grimaced.  "She tried to get me to play "Doggie Dash" with her, but being a smart man, I declined."  He leered over at Justin.  "But you and I can play some private Doggie Dash."

Justin laughed.  "Don't tempt me," he told him as Brian rolled his lips under.  He sighed.  "Actually, I think I would prefer a nice, long shower, instead.  I don't know what it was, but this day has worn me out.  I think it must have been Gus and his new toboggan.  What were we thinking?"  He and Brian had gifted the little boy with a bright red toboggan, thinking with his rambunctious nature and boundless energy he would love to do some sled riding with it. As luck would have it, snow had fallen a few days ago, and was still covering the ground. Naturally, as soon as Gus caught one look at his new gift, he had wheedled Justin into taking him down the street to a local, hilly park to do some serious toboggan riding - after his father had politely turned him down, claiming he had a migraine. Whether or not that was true, Justin wound up playing surrogate father, and while Gus had had the time of his life, Justin having to constantly pull the toboggan up the hill - usually with a giggling Gus still on it - had worn him out. 

Brian smiled.  "What's the matter, Sunshine? Did Gus finally use up all of your reserves?  How does it feel to be growing older?" 

"Excuse me?" Justin bantered back as Brian's eyes twinkled.  "First of all, I seem to recall someone bowing out because of a migraine - which seems to have miraculously disappeared now, by the way - and second of all, I'd like for YOU to try hauling Gus up that snow sledding hill over and over again! I think I must have done it at least a hundred times! That kid has more energy than Alleghany Power!"  He groaned.  "I think now that he and Alex are both preoccupied, I'm going to take that shower now."  He slid out of bed as Brian watched him intently, wondering if he was going to even acknowledge him.  Finally, after Justin had walked a few steps toward the master bathroom, he turned around and uttered one word.  "Well?"

Brian smiled agreeably as he moved to join him.  "One Christmas blowjob, coming right up," he replied dutifully.

"Damn straight," Justin answered.  "Least you can do...old man." 

Brian's mouth fell open as Justin grinned back at him.  "Oh, you are sooo going to pay for that comment."

Justin's grin widened as he told him, "I was hoping you'd say that." 

Twenty Minutes Later...

Some ‘good clean fun' out of the way, Justin sighed in contentment as his husband cradled him in the "V" of his legs on the bed, Brian's strong arms wrapped around his waist with his long-fingered hands clasped on his husband's stomach.  Justin leaned his head back against Brian's chest and closed his eyes, simply enjoying the quiet which was only broken by logs occasionally crackling in the fireplace at the other end of the room.  "It's been a good day," he murmured, feeling sleepy.  He was confident that Alex would go to sleep eventually without any further intervention on their part, so he was quite happy to remain right where he was.

Brian smiled as he rubbed his cheek against Justin's soft hair.  "Yeah," he couldn't help agreeing. This was always his favorite way to end the day, even though their privacy was somewhat compromised presently with Gus and Alex in the house.  Right now, however, with Gus in bed and Alex absorbed with her game system, he was confident that the two of them would be able to celebrate the rest of their Christmas alone.  "By the way," Brian whispered.  "We haven't exchanged gifts yet."

"I thought we just did that," Justin teased as Brian grinned.

"Well, that WAS an excellent exchange," he agreed as Justin played with his hands. "But I did have something else for you.  Do you want it now?" 

Justin turned his head to peer up at him incredulously. "Do you really have to ask?" He quickly scrambled out of Brian's embrace and slid off the bed to turn around and face him.  "Well?"

Brian arched an eyebrow at him.  "Well...what?" he asked innocently.

"You KNOW what! Where did you hide it?"  

"Go look in the pocket of your tuxedo." 

Justin huffed in exasperation.  "I would have never looked there!  It's wrapped in plastic!  You know I hardly every use it."

Brian grinned widely.  "I know." He watched in amusement as his husband turned and headed quickly toward their walk-in closet, ripping the plastic in two and immediately finding the object in question like some heat-seeking missile.

Returning to their bed in record time, Justin sat next to Brian with his legs folded under him Indian-style, eyeing the elegantly wrapped, small package.  His eyes were wide with curiosity as he glanced over at Brian.

"Open it," was the gentle command.  Brian chuckled as Justin then tore into the paper with gusto like his son would do, uncovering the box underneath in record time. He watched as Justin opened the lid of the box to discover a custom-made, intricately-carved box made out of mahogany wood nestled inside. 

Brian smiled in amusement as Justin lovingly ran his fingers over the etched pattern on top of the box.  "That's not your actual gift, you know," he teased him as Justin continued to admire the container.  "But it IS custom made, just like what's inside." 

"It's so detailed," Justin commented in awe as he lifted his gaze to peer over at his husband with pleasure. 

Brian smiled.  As an artist, he knew Justin would appreciate the time and effort that had obviously gone into creating it.  "It's one of a kind," he informed him.  "Open it," he softly urged him. 

Justin's eyes lit up in anticipation - his heart racing as it always did when Brian did something sentimental or even remotely romantic - as he slowly raised the hinged lid of the wooden box to take a peek inside.  He glanced over at his husband in wonder.  "Brian...it's beautiful."  Inside was a simple, woven bracelet with an 18-karat gold clasp. 

Brian's smile widened as he noticed how entranced Justin was with the gift; he derived such pleasure out of making him happy.  Reaching over to take the bracelet out of the box, he undid the clasp as Justin held out his left wrist so he could attach it. The dark brown color of the bracelet contrasted dramatically with his lighter skin, just as Brian knew it would, further enhancing the buttery texture of the material.  "It looks great on you," Brian told him sincerely as Justin flushed at the compliment.  It wasn't as if Brian didn't compliment him or his work on a fairly regular basis - his husband had gotten much more at ease with doing that - but it still made Justin's heart soar just the same nonetheless.

"Thank you, Brian," Justin murmured as he leaned over and kissed him.  Brian was more than willing to deepen the kiss - pulling Justin closer and snaking his tongue in between his lips - but to his disappointment Justin ended the kiss with a soft laugh.

"Stop that," he gently chided him as Brian's brows rose in question.  "I need to give you your present now," he explained. 

"I thought I was about to get it."

Justin laughed again.  "You get that ‘present' all the time," he pointed out as he slipped out of Brian's grasp and rose from the bed.  "Be a little patient, and I promise I'll ‘gift' you again," he told him as he walked over to the dresser and squatted down to open the bottom drawer.  Reaching under some much-loved, stain-dried pants, he retrieved the wrapped present.  He grinned in triumph as Brian rolled his eyes.  "I figured you wouldn't touch that drawer," he told him as he returned to his husband's side and placed the package down in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked, noticing it was a shape that precluded it from being a painting.  He loved and treasured every painting that Justin had ever given him, but this one was definitely not one of those, at least if the shape was any indication.  It was far too small. 

"Open it," Justin urged, his eyes watching Brian's every move as his husband carefully undid the elastic ribbon around the package and carefully tore the wrapping away to discover...a shoe box. 

He laughed as he noticed the brand.  "Please tell me you are recycling this box, Sunshine." 

Justin grinned.  "Don't worry; even I know you wouldn't touch anything from Old Navy." 

Brian nodded in relief as he lifted the top of the shoebox and peered inside to find a large, round can filled with a variety of nuts, one of Brian's few guilty pleasures when it came to fattening extravagances.  He always justified his habit to Justin by telling him the nuts contained ‘healthy' fats, but truthfully once Brian started he found that - just like the proverbial potato chips - he couldn't stop.  "Are you trying to make me fat, Sunshine?" he asked with an arch of one perfectly-manicured eyebrow. 

Justin huffed.  "As if you could ever be fat," he told him.  "Don't worry; you can indulge any time you want - and I'll be glad to work it off you." 

Brian smiled.  "I like that arrangement," he told him as he leaned over to give Justin a kiss. 

As they pulled back, Justin told him, "There's more." 

Brian frowned as he placed the nut container down on the bed and lifted the green tissue paper underneath to reveal a DVD encased in a clear, plastic shell.  "What? Are you going to record me getting fat?" he teased his husband.  "Or is it some porn?" 

Justin smiled. "Not exactly," he told him softly.  "It does already have something recorded on it, though."  He reached over to pull the DVD case out as he stood up from the bed.  "This is a very special DVD. Come over here and I'll show you."

Brian eyed him curiously as he allowed Justin to pull him off the bed; walking over toward the fireplace, he sat down on the couch facing the crackling fire as Justin placed the DVD in their player and sat down beside him.  Using the remote, he turned on the television directly beside the fireplace, and hit ‘play' on the DVD player. 

A few seconds later, a much younger version of Brian's grandparents, Sean and Kathy, appeared on the screen, standing in front of the steps to a two-story brick house. The picture was grainy and had streaks running through it from time to time - indicating it was originally filmed with an 8mm projector, which was common during the period in which it was filmed - but there was no mistaking the fact that Kathy was holding a baby in her arms as she squinted into the bright sunlight, her trim, handsome - and proud - husband standing next to her with his arm around her shoulders.  The baby was swaddled in a blanket as Kathy held him or her up to the camera and beamed with pleasure. 

Brian couldn't take his eyes off what he was seeing.  He suddenly found that he had a lump in his throat that hadn't been there before as he continued to stare at his grandmother and grandfather, who waved at the camera before they turned and headed up the steps to the house, disappearing inside.  The next shot showed them at Christmastime - apparently in a later year, as the child being shown was around three or four years of age now - while they watched the young girl tear open one of several presents under the tree, holding up a baby doll as she shrieked with delight and hugged it tightly to her chest.  The scene played out for a few minutes more until it faded out to be replaced by another scene. The young girl now appeared to be a little older, and was running after a black and white dog in what appeared to be someone's backyard.  Catching up to it, the young, dark-haired girl stooped down and laid her cheek against the dog's back as she hugged his belly.  Soon that picture dissolved into another one, where the same girl was now dressed in a frilly dress with a ribbon around the waist and a pair of shiny, patent leather shoes with a strap across the top.  She was holding an Easter basket in her hand as she stooped to pick up a plastic egg hidden inside a flower box, holding it up to the camera with a big grin that immediately reminded Brian of himself as a child. 

Finally, he found the words to speak as he turned to his husband sitting beside him, "Justin...?  That's my...?"

Justin pressed pause on the DVD player as he turned and nodded at him.  "Yes...That's your mother.  Sean and Kathy dug up some old 8 mm films from their attic and their old projector so I could see what was on them. Fortunately, they'd been meticulous about marking the date and occasion on each of the film boxes, which helped to sort out which ones had Lydia on them. Then I transferred them onto a DVD after splicing them together. There's a couple of hours there of film, from when she was a baby, all the way up to her junior high school graduation.  I tried to keep it in date order."  He paused before adding, "I can see some of you in her, Brian.  I know you look like a younger version of your father...but you have her smile. I only wish they had had sound on their video camera, but back then it wasn't possible." 

Brian shook his head in amazement, his eyes prickling with unshed tears as he choked up; just when he thought he knew everything about the man he married, he continued to surprise him. 

"Brian? You okay?" Justin murmured, concerned over the odd look on his face.  Brian simply nodded as he stared over at the paused photo of his mother in her Easter finery as if he were in a trance.  "Well...Maybe you'd like to watch it alone.  I'll give you some privacy."  Justin started to rise from the couch, only to have Brian grasp his wrist.

"No," he told him softly, his eyes glistening as he peered up at him.  "Please stay.  I'd like you to." 

Justin smiled and nodded as he sat back down, Brian's arm coming around his shoulders as he pulled him closer.  Pressing the play button, Justin settled against his husband's chest as Lydia's life began to unfold in front of them.

Two Hours Later...

Justin quietly pressed the power button on the DVD player and then turned the television off as the DVD ended with a shot of Brian's mother graduating from junior high school.  A few short years later, she would wind up becoming pregnant unbeknownst to Fin and would give birth to the son who was now sitting next to him, his arm tightly curled around his shoulder as they sat side-by-side on the couch.  Only the crackle from the fireplace could be heard, along with Brian's quiet breathing beside him; Justin could feel his chest slowly rising and falling against him as he turned slightly in Brian's embrace to look into his husband's face.  He had wondered what Brian's reaction would be to seeing all these images of his mother, and had initially fretted over whether this would be the right Christmas present for him, or if Brian would even welcome such a gift. But he had trusted in his love for his husband, and how well he knew him - more so than anyone else - and had ultimately decided that Brian would want to know more about his family.  This would be one way for him to experience what it might have been like for his mother to grow up in a loving, stable home - so unlike the one he had experienced himself.

Now as he studied the face he knew so well, to his surprise he wasn't sure what Brian was feeling.  He began to wonder if he had done the right thing.  "Brian?" he asked softly as he gripped the brunet's upper arms.  He eyed him with concern as he began to babble - a common trait with him when he was nervous. "Are you all right?  Maybe I didn't think this through enough, I should have realized that maybe you didn't want to see..."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Brian grabbed his face with his hands and quickly captured his lips with his, his tongue sliding inside his slightly parted lips as he deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around Justin's back.  A minute later, they finally broke for air, both panting heavily.

"You...You are amazing," Brian murmured as he gazed at his husband with open adoration, making Justin's face warm.  He shook his head in amazement.  "I couldn't have thought of a better present myself.  To be able to see my mother growing up and my grandparents when they were younger - and to know that she had a loving home with them..."  His voice broke then, causing him to take a deep breath.  "Thank you," he whispered finally.

Justin nodded, his eyes tearing up.  "I love you so much, Brian." 

Brian smiled at him tenderly.  "Ditto, Sunshine."  He laughed softly as Justin huffed at him in annoyance.  He stared intently at the man who meant more to him than anything as he responded softly with ease, "I love you, too. So fucking much."  He was rewarded then with a blinding smile as he smiled back at him.

They kissed again then for several seconds, both knowing where this foreplay was leading as Brian pulled his husband off the couch.  Still kissing and caressing each other's bodies, they moved back to their bed to celebrate Christmas one last time.