Jack Masterson:
Jack stepped off the plane at the Phoenix airport and took in a breath of forced chilly air. He walked down the hall, his carry on bag with his laptop slung over his shoulder. He preferred to travel light, since most of his things would be sent on later.
He stepped out among the throngs of people who were seeing families or heading like bees to the baggage claim area. He looked out among the crowd and smiled when he saw his ride, his friend and collaborator on another paper, Dr. Jim Vaughn. He went right to him. “Hey, Jim.”
“Jack.” They shook hands and patted each other on the back with a manly hug. “So how was it?”
“A horror show.”
Jim chuckled. “Yeah, from what I heard, it’s a whole other world.”
“I’ll tell you on the way. I didn’t even get a decent paper out of it.”
They went to baggage claim and he got his two suitcases. He was surprised they followed him here. “The rest of the stuff’s following. This is just enough for a week.”
Jim helped him carry the stuff, as they headed to his Explorer. As soon as he hit the parking garage, he was assaulted by the heat. By the time he got to the truck, he was sweating, while Jim looked fine. Jim chuckled again, “Need to get your sea legs back, huh, Jack?”
“Very funny.”
They piled into the vehicle. “What happened?”
“Well, first I was hired by some Arcane library, expecting to work with artifacts but that was a mess. There’s a lot of magicians there. Magic users. Wizards. They’re crazy.”
“We have a few that have hung up their shingles,” Jim said. “We’re getting super cyborgs and aliens…it’s starting to get wacky. Mayor Yates is giving them asylum.”
“God help us.” To imagine his home town turned into the hellhole that was Paragon City… “I think I just want to go home.”
“I don’t blame you. Still got the place in the Peaks?”
“Yep.”
They drove for a little bit in silence, listening to KRDE, the country music station that he missed. It didn’t take long to get to Tempe, and Jim helped him get to his apartment. He opened the door, and breathed in the dust. He smiled, seeing his own couch, his own chair, his own kitchen… He dropped his bags and sighed happily. “No place like home.”
“What’re you going to do for the holiday?”
Jack turned around and looked at Jim. “I’m going to go to the store, buy myself a bottle of good scotch, flip on the TV and watch college football all day.”
“Oh, c’mon Jack, you can come to my and Courtney’s house.”
“No. Honest. Really.” He looked around. “This is what I want for Christmas. Normalcy.”
———————————
Eule:
Eule watched Russ busy himself in the kitchen. He had just finished his morning routine, and was now making his normal smoothie. Eule had tried it once, and thought it was like drinking oatmeal.
Russ didn’t believe in Christmas. He hadn’t gotten a tree, and there were really no plans for the day. He’d hoped Russ would go back north to his parents in Toronto, but it didn’t look like that was happening. He had talked to his parents, and he was going to bring Russ over for dinner instead.
Eule fiddled with the present for him. He didn’t know how Russ was going to take it. But he wanted to express it, and dammit, he was going to.
Russ turned from the blender to see Eule. He smiled at him. “Hey, there. You’re up early on a day off.”
“Yeah, well, it’s Christmas.”
“So it is.” He walked over to him and kissed him. Eule pulled the small box out of his sweatpant pocket and handed it to him. “Merry Christmas.”
Russ looked at the small box, knowing exactly what was in it. “Mark, I can’t accept that. You know how I feel about exclusivity and marriage.”
“I’m not asking you to marry me. I’m asking you to remember me.”
“You don’t think I remember you every moment of the day? You’re in my head, how can I not?”
“I just…”
He handed it back to Eule. “I know what you’re trying to do. That will put a mark on me, a mark of ownership.”
Eule looked crushed. “But I…”
“I’m sorry,” Russ said quietly.
Eule shoved the box back into his pocket and went back to their bedroom. Mark, that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.
Eule slammed shut the connection so hard that it caused him feedback. Russ came down the hall. “Mark, come on.”
“I’m going to go to my parents’. Are you coming?”
“I was going to go pat—“
Eule stormed out of the bedroom. “Mark, you’re acting like a little kid. We agreed to this.”
“Yes, we did. I’d hoped you’d open up to me. Show me some emotion.”
“Mark, you’re not dressed.”
He put a hand on the doorknob. “I’m going to my parents. I’ll be there if you want to show up later.”
Eule didn’t hear Russ say good bye.
———————————–
Grimaulkin
He woke up again alone this time, with the smell of coffee wafting up to him from the kitchen downstairs. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled. Last night. Early this morning. God, it was beautiful.
Ben treated him like a king, but not like a servant. It was perfect, as they exchanged roles, seeming to know when to switch from giver to receiver and both accepting both roles as if they’d both known each other for ages. Something clicked.
It wasn’t sex. It really wasn’t. But I can’t. I can’t feel that. He’ll screw me over, just like all of them. I need to keep it at a distance. Because when he throws me over, I’ll hunt him down and bind him, just like I’ll do the rest of them.
He thought at first of just letting it go, letting go of the fact that the men had wanted nothing to do with him, and they were too cowardly to break up with him properly. Conan was even relieved.
Can’t you even stop thinking about them for a minute?
Yes, he could. When Ben held him, and when they moved with each other. All night, he hadn’t thought of the ones who used him. He hadn’t thought of Ben betraying him. He lived in those beautiful moments.
He pulled on his pants and went downstairs. This time Geldeth was leaned up against the counter, sipping coffee. “Morning.”
“Nine is a respectable time to get up,” he said, going over to him, aiming for the coffee pot behind him.
“Oh, absolutely. Considering I’ve already picked up after last night, and made and ate breakfast, and went to the store to get a ham.”
“A ham?” Grim poured the coffee into a mug.
“You’re spending Christmas with me.”
“Christmas?” He turned to Geldeth. “Christmas?!”
Geldeth chuckled. “Don’t tell me you forgot.”
“I knew it was going to happen sometime, but not this soon. When is it?”
“Today.”
Grim blinked. “I…oh. Oh, shit.”
“Why, did you have presents to buy?”
“No, not really.” He sipped his coffee again. “I mean, we just met, you know?”
“That didn’t mean I was asking you for a present,” he said with utter seriousness.
“I didn’t mean…Okay, I thought that.”
“Uh huh.” Now he watched Grim squirm.
“Yeah, well…I hate holidays.”
“It’s all right. It’s just a ham. We can have a ham dinner.” He drained his coffee. “We can continue where we left off last night.”
“We left off?” Grim started to smile.
Geldeth grinned. “Oh, do you think I was finished?”
Grim poured his coffee down the sink.
———————————-
Bomber
He woke mere minutes before the sun’s last rays touched the horizon. He was groggy, and starving. He glanced over and saw a couple of unmarked dark bottles and smiled.
Always thinking of me, Bomber thought, and uncorked one. He sniffed it, Sabbat blood. He drank that down faster than he could have downed a bottle of JD, then drank half of the other before he even got out of the bed.
He got dressed simply t-shirt and jeans, his ever-present boots. He finished the second bottle, and he knew he’d be fine for about four hours. He’d go take a run out to King’s Row and dig up some Skulls later.
Bomber opened the door and was assaulted by the smell of cooking. Something boiling, something in the oven. He could hear conversations in Spanish.
He came clomping down the stairs and was assaulted again, this time by two children. “Tio Bruce!” they both squealed and tackled his legs, making him fall backwards onto his butt on the stairs. They were both holding their DSi’s. “Thank you for the present!” Izzy cried, and kissed him on the cheek.
Lorenco was standing in the doorway of the stairs. “I let them open them, hope you didn’t mind.”
“No, not at all.” Bomber hugged the two children fiercely, at the same time. They both got the air squeezed out of them for a moment, and then he let them go. “I’m glad you like it. Maybe in a couple of days we’ll go to the store and I’ll get you another game?”
Cristan nodded. “I already know what I want!”
“Oh?”
“Tron! We saw the movie. It was awesome!”
“Great!” He got up, letting the kids slide off of him.
He went up to Lorenco, who had a grin on his face. He bent his head to his ear and whispered, “Wait until you see your present.” He licked Lorenco’s ear.
“I like snakes,” Lorenco whispered back, and his hand brushed Bomber’s crotch as he turned from him, heading into the kitchen.
Bomber sighed with both desire and dread. Now it was time to meet the rest of the family…