Christmas Spirits (Part 5)
Title: Christmas Spirits
Author: Concupid
Pairing: Dan/Jones
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: a discussion of religion
Summary: Dan and Jones give Maya her gift and sappiness abounds.
Author’s note: It’s still not done. I couldn’t tack on the ending without this chapter getting ridiculous. The saga continues!
A Place that isn’t Shoreditch
2014
Jones wore a wedding gown made of wrapping paper and ribbon. Ned showed a real flair for fashion design as he wrapped Jones into his outfit. Jones refused to have his hair crushed by a cellophane veil, so that went on Dan’s head. Maya gave him a ribbon boutonnière, but he was otherwise allowed to go through the ceremony as himself. Jones held a bouquet of tissue paper and Maya tossed ribbon ‘flowers’ about the room. Dan was worried about the inevitable fallout from Claire over the mess, but he hoped Ned would take the majority of Claire’s ire, as he was actually Maya’s father and lived in the home. That surely made him the responsible adult in the room.
“Do you, Jones, take Dan to have and to hold, to cherish and adore, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health and other things of that sort?” Ned asked in a solemn tone.
“Yeah!”
“Dan, do you promise to love and care for Jones the DJ, until you’re both very old and ugly, even if his ear and nose hair starts getting well out of control…”
“Daddy!” Maya yelled. She sounded so much like Claire, they all gave a guilty start.
“Sorry,” Ned said sheepishly. “Dan, do you promise to love Jones the DJ a little more every year as you travel together on life’s journey?”
Dan’s throat clenched, but he squeaked out an “I do.”
“You may now kiss the flower girl.”
Dan scooped Maya up into his arms and he and Jones each kissed one of her cheeks. She screamed about Dan’s stubble, but then asked them to do it again. They happily obliged until Ned stole her away. Dan was not the parental type and never one to feel overly enthusiastic about babies or children, but he did enjoy holding Maya. During the weeks after she was born, when Claire was suffering so badly from postpartum depression she could barely get out of bed, it was usually Jones or Ned who took care of Maya while Dan focused on his sister, but once in a while it was his turn with the baby. He would sit wherever he was told to sit and hold her the way he was told to hold her and not move until he was relieved. He was too big and awkward to hold a baby. He marveled that Maya ever got comfortable in his nervous grasp, but she would snuggle into his arms and sleep peacefully. Sometimes she even tried to nurse from him. He felt a new level of sympathy for his sister the first time Maya latched onto his nipple. If he’d been standing, he might have fallen to his knees in pain. The infant lacked the strength to support her own head, but she could have surely gummed the paint off of a car.
Dan was about to remove his veil when Jones stopped him.
“Not so fast,” Jones teased. “This is the closest I’ve ever come to making a real commitment.”
Jones pushed back Dan’s cellophane veil and kissed him tenderly while Maya and Ned pointed and laughed. When Ned yelled, “Benders!”, Maya made him put a pound in the swear jar and promise to only yell, “Homosexuals!” in the future.
Xxx
1994
House of Jones
For Christmas dinner, Dan and Jones ate Chinese takeaway. Jones decorated the boxes like presents to make it more festive. They drank every bit of liquor in the house and watched Christmas movies. They discussed the symbolic racism and homophobia in Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer, the message of conformity in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the heavy-handed messianic theme of Frosty the Snowman.
“George Bailey is a bit Jesusy as well.” Dan had assumed Jones was asleep, because he’d been quietly lying with his head in Dan’s lap for over an hour without speaking.
“Explain,” was the most articulate response Dan could form. He hadn’t had a drink in an hour and he was still shockingly wasted.
“Everything would have been shit if he were never born, so he has to just accept always being dumped on for the sake of others. Like Jesus,” Jones explained.
“But George Bailey gets to marry Donna Reed. He has a bunch of cute kids and a nice house. People respect him. Things don’t turn out the way he wanted, but George Bailey has love. He matters to people.”
“People love Jesus.”
“People loved him after he died,” Dan clarified. “Not the same. Who cares if people love you when you aren’t around to enjoy it?”
“A surprising thing to hear from a writer,” Jones murmured, sounding half asleep.
Dan shrugged. “I write articles, not novels. I know no one is gonna give a shit in a few years. I’d just like for someone to care right now. People who care, a wife who’ll fix up a place for me to live and confidence that there was a point in my existence? I’ll take George Bailey’s stultifying life any day.”
Jones slowly shifted so he could look Dan in the eyes. His blue eyes were bloodshot, but still piercing as he said, “I care. I turned this empty building into a flat for you…”
“For me? You just met me.”
“You’re here,” Jones explained with the air of a great (if pissed) philosopher. “It must have been for you. Wasn’t for me, that’s for sure.”
Dan thought about what Jones said, and about George Bailey and wondered if moving into the House of Jones wouldn’t be a smart move after all. He could save up money for a proper home and stop worrying about finding friends or a girlfriend to keep him from being lonely. He could finally start being an adult. He decided he’d be a better brother to Claire. Maybe she’d turn out to be someone important. There was surely a place for Dan Ashcroft between Jesus-level suffering and George Bailey-level banality. He would have discussed his theories with Jones, but the DJ was snoring gently with his head still in Dan’s lap.
Xxx
A Place that isn’t Shoreditch
2014
Every year, Claire’s holiday dinner improved by leaps and bounds. While Christmas dinner was nothing like those of Dan’s youth, they were tasty and comforting. Growing up, holidays had always been stressful for Dan, but he liked Christmas at Claire’s. He had expected the presence of Ned Smanks to be a constant shadow of idiocy, but now that Ned was allowing Claire to dictate his every move instead of Shoreditch fashions, he wasn’t unbearable. He was dim-witted but kind and he loved Claire and Maya with the kind of devotion they deserved. He also made really good mashed potatoes. Dan wanted to join Jones and Maya in their constant efforts to sneak another helping, but he played the adult and even insisted Jones eat a few sprouts. Dan created a plate exactly like Claire’s in a effort to role model the proper eating habits (that he did not have) that Claire wanted for Maya. Meanwhile, Ned made a mashed potato face with brussel sprout eyes that was so cute, Maya refused to let him eat it.
Dan’s stomach knotted when it was time to exchange gifts. Despite Jones’s reassurance, Dan was unsure of their gift. It had been a drunken idea of Dan’s that Jones turned into a reality.
At Maya’s insistence, the adults exchanged gifts first. Claire and Ned gave Dan a soft, leather messenger bag and a bound collection of his articles with additional graphics from Ned.
Claire explained, “In case you need to show someone your work, like if you have an interview…”
“You forgot to laminate my CV,” Dan said, trying to keep his tone neutral in front of Maya.
“Look in the bag,” Ned said before being elbowed by Claire. Dan appreciated Claire’s belief in his ability to do something better than work at Sugar Ape, but he was afraid. For some reason, Sugar Ape saw Dan as an important part of their image. As he got older, he became terrified of giving up that security.
“It’s for any new opportunities, not just job interviews,” Claire clarified. “I thought you should be able to show off your work. It’s worth showing off.”
Dan wilted under Claire’s sincere praise. He felt like a child in an adult’s body as the gift exchange continued. Claire and Ned gushed over the electronic tablet Jones picked out, but all Dan knew about it was that it was expensive and Jones swore every artist wanted one.
“It’s slightly used,” Jones admitted as Ned caressed the tablet in a mildly disturbing manner. “I needed it for this.”
Jones handed Maya her gift and Dan fought the urge to grab it back and replace it with cash so Maya could buy herself a normal present.
Maya tore the gift open and screamed.
“I’m on a book! First, I’m a Barbie and now I’m on a book! Can you believe it, Mum?”
Claire furrowed her brow, but she didn’t glare at Dan, which was always a good sign.
Claire turned to the first page, where a cartoon Claire with hair like a mermaid and a storm cloud over her head (and an authentically perturbed look on her face) sets out on her journey to create the perfect child by taking qualities from the people around her. She took her mother’s smile and her father’s boisterous laugh. She took Dan’s ability to write and Ned’s artistry. She took Jones’s creativity and Pingu’s patience. Claire had tears in her eyes and Ned was openly weeping as they went through the pages. Dan still felt nervous about the writing, but he loved Jones’s illustrations. He even liked the drawing of himself looking baffled as Claire plucked the pen from his hand and put it in her purse. The image bore little resemblance to what Dan saw in the mirror, and that could only be a good thing.
As the story wound towards the end, Claire holds a beautiful, bald baby in her arms. Claire takes the storm cloud from above her own head and puts it on baby Maya’s head. Unsatisfied, Claire takes the air from Nathan Barley’s head and blows it into Maya’s hair until it turns into the beautiful puff of hair that is featured on the front cover. On the second to last page, Claire tells Ned that she still needs to give their baby a heart, but Ned tells her it isn’t necessary. On the final page, Ned explains that Maya already has the heart of Claire, Ned, her grandparents and everyone else mentioned in the book. Dan braced for an eye roll, but Claire just stared at the final page with tears rolling down her face as Maya tried to comfort her.
Later, he would gloat about reducing Claire to tears and how motherhood had made her soft, but for the moment, Dan enjoyed the feeling of having gotten Christmas right.
Author: Concupid
Pairing: Dan/Jones
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: a discussion of religion
Summary: Dan and Jones give Maya her gift and sappiness abounds.
Author’s note: It’s still not done. I couldn’t tack on the ending without this chapter getting ridiculous. The saga continues!
A Place that isn’t Shoreditch
2014
Jones wore a wedding gown made of wrapping paper and ribbon. Ned showed a real flair for fashion design as he wrapped Jones into his outfit. Jones refused to have his hair crushed by a cellophane veil, so that went on Dan’s head. Maya gave him a ribbon boutonnière, but he was otherwise allowed to go through the ceremony as himself. Jones held a bouquet of tissue paper and Maya tossed ribbon ‘flowers’ about the room. Dan was worried about the inevitable fallout from Claire over the mess, but he hoped Ned would take the majority of Claire’s ire, as he was actually Maya’s father and lived in the home. That surely made him the responsible adult in the room.
“Do you, Jones, take Dan to have and to hold, to cherish and adore, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health and other things of that sort?” Ned asked in a solemn tone.
“Yeah!”
“Dan, do you promise to love and care for Jones the DJ, until you’re both very old and ugly, even if his ear and nose hair starts getting well out of control…”
“Daddy!” Maya yelled. She sounded so much like Claire, they all gave a guilty start.
“Sorry,” Ned said sheepishly. “Dan, do you promise to love Jones the DJ a little more every year as you travel together on life’s journey?”
Dan’s throat clenched, but he squeaked out an “I do.”
“You may now kiss the flower girl.”
Dan scooped Maya up into his arms and he and Jones each kissed one of her cheeks. She screamed about Dan’s stubble, but then asked them to do it again. They happily obliged until Ned stole her away. Dan was not the parental type and never one to feel overly enthusiastic about babies or children, but he did enjoy holding Maya. During the weeks after she was born, when Claire was suffering so badly from postpartum depression she could barely get out of bed, it was usually Jones or Ned who took care of Maya while Dan focused on his sister, but once in a while it was his turn with the baby. He would sit wherever he was told to sit and hold her the way he was told to hold her and not move until he was relieved. He was too big and awkward to hold a baby. He marveled that Maya ever got comfortable in his nervous grasp, but she would snuggle into his arms and sleep peacefully. Sometimes she even tried to nurse from him. He felt a new level of sympathy for his sister the first time Maya latched onto his nipple. If he’d been standing, he might have fallen to his knees in pain. The infant lacked the strength to support her own head, but she could have surely gummed the paint off of a car.
Dan was about to remove his veil when Jones stopped him.
“Not so fast,” Jones teased. “This is the closest I’ve ever come to making a real commitment.”
Jones pushed back Dan’s cellophane veil and kissed him tenderly while Maya and Ned pointed and laughed. When Ned yelled, “Benders!”, Maya made him put a pound in the swear jar and promise to only yell, “Homosexuals!” in the future.
Xxx
1994
House of Jones
For Christmas dinner, Dan and Jones ate Chinese takeaway. Jones decorated the boxes like presents to make it more festive. They drank every bit of liquor in the house and watched Christmas movies. They discussed the symbolic racism and homophobia in Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer, the message of conformity in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the heavy-handed messianic theme of Frosty the Snowman.
“George Bailey is a bit Jesusy as well.” Dan had assumed Jones was asleep, because he’d been quietly lying with his head in Dan’s lap for over an hour without speaking.
“Explain,” was the most articulate response Dan could form. He hadn’t had a drink in an hour and he was still shockingly wasted.
“Everything would have been shit if he were never born, so he has to just accept always being dumped on for the sake of others. Like Jesus,” Jones explained.
“But George Bailey gets to marry Donna Reed. He has a bunch of cute kids and a nice house. People respect him. Things don’t turn out the way he wanted, but George Bailey has love. He matters to people.”
“People love Jesus.”
“People loved him after he died,” Dan clarified. “Not the same. Who cares if people love you when you aren’t around to enjoy it?”
“A surprising thing to hear from a writer,” Jones murmured, sounding half asleep.
Dan shrugged. “I write articles, not novels. I know no one is gonna give a shit in a few years. I’d just like for someone to care right now. People who care, a wife who’ll fix up a place for me to live and confidence that there was a point in my existence? I’ll take George Bailey’s stultifying life any day.”
Jones slowly shifted so he could look Dan in the eyes. His blue eyes were bloodshot, but still piercing as he said, “I care. I turned this empty building into a flat for you…”
“For me? You just met me.”
“You’re here,” Jones explained with the air of a great (if pissed) philosopher. “It must have been for you. Wasn’t for me, that’s for sure.”
Dan thought about what Jones said, and about George Bailey and wondered if moving into the House of Jones wouldn’t be a smart move after all. He could save up money for a proper home and stop worrying about finding friends or a girlfriend to keep him from being lonely. He could finally start being an adult. He decided he’d be a better brother to Claire. Maybe she’d turn out to be someone important. There was surely a place for Dan Ashcroft between Jesus-level suffering and George Bailey-level banality. He would have discussed his theories with Jones, but the DJ was snoring gently with his head still in Dan’s lap.
Xxx
A Place that isn’t Shoreditch
2014
Every year, Claire’s holiday dinner improved by leaps and bounds. While Christmas dinner was nothing like those of Dan’s youth, they were tasty and comforting. Growing up, holidays had always been stressful for Dan, but he liked Christmas at Claire’s. He had expected the presence of Ned Smanks to be a constant shadow of idiocy, but now that Ned was allowing Claire to dictate his every move instead of Shoreditch fashions, he wasn’t unbearable. He was dim-witted but kind and he loved Claire and Maya with the kind of devotion they deserved. He also made really good mashed potatoes. Dan wanted to join Jones and Maya in their constant efforts to sneak another helping, but he played the adult and even insisted Jones eat a few sprouts. Dan created a plate exactly like Claire’s in a effort to role model the proper eating habits (that he did not have) that Claire wanted for Maya. Meanwhile, Ned made a mashed potato face with brussel sprout eyes that was so cute, Maya refused to let him eat it.
Dan’s stomach knotted when it was time to exchange gifts. Despite Jones’s reassurance, Dan was unsure of their gift. It had been a drunken idea of Dan’s that Jones turned into a reality.
At Maya’s insistence, the adults exchanged gifts first. Claire and Ned gave Dan a soft, leather messenger bag and a bound collection of his articles with additional graphics from Ned.
Claire explained, “In case you need to show someone your work, like if you have an interview…”
“You forgot to laminate my CV,” Dan said, trying to keep his tone neutral in front of Maya.
“Look in the bag,” Ned said before being elbowed by Claire. Dan appreciated Claire’s belief in his ability to do something better than work at Sugar Ape, but he was afraid. For some reason, Sugar Ape saw Dan as an important part of their image. As he got older, he became terrified of giving up that security.
“It’s for any new opportunities, not just job interviews,” Claire clarified. “I thought you should be able to show off your work. It’s worth showing off.”
Dan wilted under Claire’s sincere praise. He felt like a child in an adult’s body as the gift exchange continued. Claire and Ned gushed over the electronic tablet Jones picked out, but all Dan knew about it was that it was expensive and Jones swore every artist wanted one.
“It’s slightly used,” Jones admitted as Ned caressed the tablet in a mildly disturbing manner. “I needed it for this.”
Jones handed Maya her gift and Dan fought the urge to grab it back and replace it with cash so Maya could buy herself a normal present.
Maya tore the gift open and screamed.
“I’m on a book! First, I’m a Barbie and now I’m on a book! Can you believe it, Mum?”
Claire furrowed her brow, but she didn’t glare at Dan, which was always a good sign.
Claire turned to the first page, where a cartoon Claire with hair like a mermaid and a storm cloud over her head (and an authentically perturbed look on her face) sets out on her journey to create the perfect child by taking qualities from the people around her. She took her mother’s smile and her father’s boisterous laugh. She took Dan’s ability to write and Ned’s artistry. She took Jones’s creativity and Pingu’s patience. Claire had tears in her eyes and Ned was openly weeping as they went through the pages. Dan still felt nervous about the writing, but he loved Jones’s illustrations. He even liked the drawing of himself looking baffled as Claire plucked the pen from his hand and put it in her purse. The image bore little resemblance to what Dan saw in the mirror, and that could only be a good thing.
As the story wound towards the end, Claire holds a beautiful, bald baby in her arms. Claire takes the storm cloud from above her own head and puts it on baby Maya’s head. Unsatisfied, Claire takes the air from Nathan Barley’s head and blows it into Maya’s hair until it turns into the beautiful puff of hair that is featured on the front cover. On the second to last page, Claire tells Ned that she still needs to give their baby a heart, but Ned tells her it isn’t necessary. On the final page, Ned explains that Maya already has the heart of Claire, Ned, her grandparents and everyone else mentioned in the book. Dan braced for an eye roll, but Claire just stared at the final page with tears rolling down her face as Maya tried to comfort her.
Later, he would gloat about reducing Claire to tears and how motherhood had made her soft, but for the moment, Dan enjoyed the feeling of having gotten Christmas right.