Christmas Ficlet Numero Tres: A Most Awesome Christmas Tree
A Most Awesome Christmas Tree
1,700 words; PG
I decided, that to cheer myself up, I needed more Nathan and Jensen bonding in my life.
“Wow.”
Jensen glanced down at Nathan tugging more decorations out of the giant green shopping bag. His face was lit up as he stared at the tree, about three-quarters of the way covered in greens, reds, blues, and yellows.
“You’re good at this,” he said in the same wondrous voice.
“I may have neglected to tell you,” Jensen said with a bit of bravado. “But I’ve got a few decorating skills.”
“My dad’s good at putting stuff on the roof. ‘Cause he’s tall.”
Laughing, Jensen replied, “That he is.”
“He had Santa and three reindeer up there last year.”
Jensen smiled, knowing that Jared had every intention of adding a few more reindeer this year. Anything to distract Nathan from the realization of having to deal with split families on Christmas.
“What else ya got?” Jensen asked, as he tucked the last few inches of the final strand of lights around the very top few branches of the tree.
Instead of an answer, he received a few huffs and a lot of shuffling noises.
Jensen turned around and smiled, containing only part of his laughter at the sight of Nathan’s head covered in gold garland. He could see Nathan’s hands flailing from beneath the pile, ropes of fluffiness parting to reveal patches of dark, floppy hair, but not enough to release him from its prison.
Moving in, Jensen still chuckled, but dropped his voice a bit for concern. “Hey, kiddo, you ain’t the tree.”
“I know,” Nathan huffed in return. “It’s eating me alive!”
Jensen allowed himself to fully laugh at that. As he helped free Nathan from the garland attack, he could feel the way his cheeks and forehead began to burn with the pressure of smiling so hard. As soon as Nathan’s head was above garland - but still trapped at the shoulders - Jensen dipped his head down and gave a soft, happy look. “You okay now?”
Nathan pathetically flapped his arms, still tied down by the gold strands.
“Okay,” Jensen announced, standing up. He grabbed one edge of garland and tugged lightly. “Count of three and you turn, alright?”
“Alright,” Nathan mumbled in return.
Smile firmly in place, Jensen swiped a hand over Nathan’s head then bypassed all important numbers when he yanked on the garland and shouted, “Three!”
With a hand always nudging at Nathan’s shoulders, Jensen helped him twirl in place as he continued to pull on the garland and eventually, after what was perhaps ten too many turns, Nathan was freed.
Nathan teetered in place before Jensen dropped a hand on each shoulder. “You good now?”
There was a goofy look on his face, one that reminded Jensen a bit of his father when completely overwhelmed but not wholly lost in the world. “I think I’ll live,” Nathan replied with a nod.
“Okay, good,” Jensen smirked, hand soft at Nathan’s cheek before playfully patting it. He turned to the tree, an eight-foot monstrosity covered in an almost-perfect pattern of multi-colored lights. “Garland? Up and down or all around?”
“My mom does it up and down,” Nathan returned strangely, bottom lip tucked in his mouth.
Jensen looked over. “What does your dad do?”
Nathan continued biting on his lip, tugging at the other corner this time and staying quiet.
“What do you wanna do?”
He looked up with a careful glance, eyes wide and, again, reminding Jensen so much of Jared. When he was afraid to ask for tiniest of favors.
Jensen motioned at the tree. “It’s your tree, kiddo. You picked it out and your dad’s giving us free reign to decorate. What do you think?”
“Round?”
“Around it is,” Jensen nodded firmly as he moved to the tree.
After just a few rings around, kept close together to utilize all five strands of garland that Nathan had picked out, Nathan cleared his throat then shouted, “Wait!”
Jensen looked over his should as he held a strand away from the tree. “Am I doing it wrong?”
“No, I just,” he said quickly before shutting his mouth. “What about, like, a top? On angles?” Nathan then twirled his hand around, finger drawing sideways circles in the air.
Turning back to the tree and removing the garland, Jensen beamed, happy that Nathan was talking about it, that he was saying exactly what he wanted. “You got it.”
Nearly an hour later, after an intense session of ornament selection, wherein Nathan hand-picked each ornament and chose exactly where on the tree it should go, then Jensen letting Nathan up onto his shoulders to put the star on top , they were finished.
Jensen grinned with a bit of his own pride and at Nathan’s excitement when the family room lights were turned down to let the Christmas tree shine.
“Ho-lee-”
“Watch it,” Jensen warned lightly.
“Wasn’t gonna,” Nathan quietly argued, eyes still stuck on the tree.
Jensen coasted his hand over Nathan’s head, fingers just barely combing through the mess of hair, and he felt something curl in his belly.
Years and years ago, when Jensen had realized and accepted his sexuality, he’d pretty much put the thought of children to the not-gonna-happen pile, had decided that coaching pee wee soccer was enough to satisfy his parental leanings.
But with Jared and Nathan, he knew he’d been given a chance to do something that mattered and to give it meaning for them both. Which was exactly why he’d suggested that he and Nathan put the tree up together. Without Jared.
“Hot chocolate?” Nathan asked as he looked up to Jensen.
Jensen nodded as he looked down. “Hot chocolate.”
In the middle of stirring chocolate syrup into a pot of milk on the stove, the front door swept open and Nathan shrieked before tearing off to meet his dad in the foyer.
Jensen kept working on the hot chocolate, adding more milk and syrup to accommodate Jared coming home earlier than expected. All the while, he grinned and chuckled to Nathan’s excited rambling about how great the tree was, how he picked out all the garland himself, and how jealous his mom would be that their tree was better than hers.
Jared entered the kitchen with Nathan at his hip and both arms hugging him in tight. “Of course she’ll be jealous. She had to put hers up all by herself and you had Jensen to help.”
When Jensen looked over, Jared winked then went right back to all of his son’s babbling. Though, as he passed through the room, he didn’t pass up the chance to smack Jensen on the ass.
Before they could drink up the hot chocolate, Jared made Nathan go wash up and change into pajamas. Then Jared met Jensen at the counter, smiling fondly. “He put all the ornaments up himself?”
“Why d’you say that?”
“None of them are higher than my knee,” he chuckled, leaning in to kiss Jensen at the corner of his mouth. “It really does look awesome.”
Jensen shrugged and gave a bored face. “Kid’s got some skills.”
“Right. The kid,” Jared murmured as he moved in again. This time, he pressed his lips into Jensen’s with feeling. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” he returned softly.
Jared chuckled. “No, really.”
“No, seriously, Jared,” Jensen said with more force to his words. When Jared sobered, Jensen took a deep breath and finally admitted all the feelings brewing within. “You know I love you. But this thing with Nathan, it’s more than me just trying to help out or keep him busy while you’ve got stuff to do.”
“Jen,” Jared murmured, eyes slipping over Jensen’s face before meeting his eyes again.
He shrugged awkwardly, even while he felt sure to say it. “I like being with him. And I’m glad I’m around for him, too.” Then he cleared his throat and dropped his voice. “So. Thank you. For trusting me, and letting me be around.”
There was a distinct shine to Jared’s eyes as he kissed Jensen, lightly at his lips, his cheek, and then his ear as he wrapped Jensen up in a tight hug.
When they could hear Nathan ambling down the stairs, heavy steps and chattering voice, they separated, and Jared cleared his throat as he blinked away the moisture in his eyes. “So, for the record. This means you can start parenting,” he joked. “Can’t wait to see you deal with him hating bedtime.”
“It’ll be fine,” Jensen returned with a light air of cockiness. “He likes me.”
Jared laughed. “Don’t be so sure.”
But Jensen was pretty sure when they laid out on blankets in front of the tree, letting its lights be the only thing to illuminate the room, and they drank Jensen’s hot chocolate while Nathan told them about every single present he wanted that year. And it all happened with Nathan leaning against Jensen and grinning up at his dad as he fully detailed the Lego Millennium Falcon he really, really, really, really wanted.
“Hey, buddy, keep dreaming,” Jared chuckled. “That thing’s a few hundred bucks.”
“Then only get me that!” Nathan turned to Jensen, eyes bright and smile hopeful. “You can get it for me!”
Jensen rubbed over Nathan’s head and directed him to lie back down. “We’ll see.”
Jared shot Jensen a dirty look, and Jensen just winked in return.
After Nathan had crashed and was put to bed, Jared joined Jensen on the couch, whining immediately. “You’re killing me here.”
“What?”
“Undermining my gift giving,” he grumbled. “You really gonna buy him the Lego set?”
Jensen chuckled and nudged Jared’s knee. “Calm yourself. I saw a smaller set online a few days ago.”
“Still ain’t cheap.”
“Yeah, but it’s affordable. And worth it.”
Jared leaned into the corner of the sectional couch and pushed at Jensen’s knee with his bare foot. “Stop tryin’ to buy my kid off. Tree decorating and fancy hot chocolate.”
“It’s not fancy,” Jensen laughed as he pulled Jared’s feet into his lap.
“I only do the powder.”
“Not my fault you’re lazy.”
Jared kicked at Jensen’s feet then settled back with a small smile. “Whatever. He totally loves you.”
Jensen smirked at him. “I told you.”
He moved his feet to nudge Jensen’s hands, which started a light foot rub. “Has since day one of soccer.”
“I’m very lovable,” Jensen returned with a bob of his head.
“Yeah. I guess.”
1,700 words; PG
I decided, that to cheer myself up, I needed more Nathan and Jensen bonding in my life.
“Wow.”
Jensen glanced down at Nathan tugging more decorations out of the giant green shopping bag. His face was lit up as he stared at the tree, about three-quarters of the way covered in greens, reds, blues, and yellows.
“You’re good at this,” he said in the same wondrous voice.
“I may have neglected to tell you,” Jensen said with a bit of bravado. “But I’ve got a few decorating skills.”
“My dad’s good at putting stuff on the roof. ‘Cause he’s tall.”
Laughing, Jensen replied, “That he is.”
“He had Santa and three reindeer up there last year.”
Jensen smiled, knowing that Jared had every intention of adding a few more reindeer this year. Anything to distract Nathan from the realization of having to deal with split families on Christmas.
“What else ya got?” Jensen asked, as he tucked the last few inches of the final strand of lights around the very top few branches of the tree.
Instead of an answer, he received a few huffs and a lot of shuffling noises.
Jensen turned around and smiled, containing only part of his laughter at the sight of Nathan’s head covered in gold garland. He could see Nathan’s hands flailing from beneath the pile, ropes of fluffiness parting to reveal patches of dark, floppy hair, but not enough to release him from its prison.
Moving in, Jensen still chuckled, but dropped his voice a bit for concern. “Hey, kiddo, you ain’t the tree.”
“I know,” Nathan huffed in return. “It’s eating me alive!”
Jensen allowed himself to fully laugh at that. As he helped free Nathan from the garland attack, he could feel the way his cheeks and forehead began to burn with the pressure of smiling so hard. As soon as Nathan’s head was above garland - but still trapped at the shoulders - Jensen dipped his head down and gave a soft, happy look. “You okay now?”
Nathan pathetically flapped his arms, still tied down by the gold strands.
“Okay,” Jensen announced, standing up. He grabbed one edge of garland and tugged lightly. “Count of three and you turn, alright?”
“Alright,” Nathan mumbled in return.
Smile firmly in place, Jensen swiped a hand over Nathan’s head then bypassed all important numbers when he yanked on the garland and shouted, “Three!”
With a hand always nudging at Nathan’s shoulders, Jensen helped him twirl in place as he continued to pull on the garland and eventually, after what was perhaps ten too many turns, Nathan was freed.
Nathan teetered in place before Jensen dropped a hand on each shoulder. “You good now?”
There was a goofy look on his face, one that reminded Jensen a bit of his father when completely overwhelmed but not wholly lost in the world. “I think I’ll live,” Nathan replied with a nod.
“Okay, good,” Jensen smirked, hand soft at Nathan’s cheek before playfully patting it. He turned to the tree, an eight-foot monstrosity covered in an almost-perfect pattern of multi-colored lights. “Garland? Up and down or all around?”
“My mom does it up and down,” Nathan returned strangely, bottom lip tucked in his mouth.
Jensen looked over. “What does your dad do?”
Nathan continued biting on his lip, tugging at the other corner this time and staying quiet.
“What do you wanna do?”
He looked up with a careful glance, eyes wide and, again, reminding Jensen so much of Jared. When he was afraid to ask for tiniest of favors.
Jensen motioned at the tree. “It’s your tree, kiddo. You picked it out and your dad’s giving us free reign to decorate. What do you think?”
“Round?”
“Around it is,” Jensen nodded firmly as he moved to the tree.
After just a few rings around, kept close together to utilize all five strands of garland that Nathan had picked out, Nathan cleared his throat then shouted, “Wait!”
Jensen looked over his should as he held a strand away from the tree. “Am I doing it wrong?”
“No, I just,” he said quickly before shutting his mouth. “What about, like, a top? On angles?” Nathan then twirled his hand around, finger drawing sideways circles in the air.
Turning back to the tree and removing the garland, Jensen beamed, happy that Nathan was talking about it, that he was saying exactly what he wanted. “You got it.”
Nearly an hour later, after an intense session of ornament selection, wherein Nathan hand-picked each ornament and chose exactly where on the tree it should go, then Jensen letting Nathan up onto his shoulders to put the star on top , they were finished.
Jensen grinned with a bit of his own pride and at Nathan’s excitement when the family room lights were turned down to let the Christmas tree shine.
“Ho-lee-”
“Watch it,” Jensen warned lightly.
“Wasn’t gonna,” Nathan quietly argued, eyes still stuck on the tree.
Jensen coasted his hand over Nathan’s head, fingers just barely combing through the mess of hair, and he felt something curl in his belly.
Years and years ago, when Jensen had realized and accepted his sexuality, he’d pretty much put the thought of children to the not-gonna-happen pile, had decided that coaching pee wee soccer was enough to satisfy his parental leanings.
But with Jared and Nathan, he knew he’d been given a chance to do something that mattered and to give it meaning for them both. Which was exactly why he’d suggested that he and Nathan put the tree up together. Without Jared.
“Hot chocolate?” Nathan asked as he looked up to Jensen.
Jensen nodded as he looked down. “Hot chocolate.”
In the middle of stirring chocolate syrup into a pot of milk on the stove, the front door swept open and Nathan shrieked before tearing off to meet his dad in the foyer.
Jensen kept working on the hot chocolate, adding more milk and syrup to accommodate Jared coming home earlier than expected. All the while, he grinned and chuckled to Nathan’s excited rambling about how great the tree was, how he picked out all the garland himself, and how jealous his mom would be that their tree was better than hers.
Jared entered the kitchen with Nathan at his hip and both arms hugging him in tight. “Of course she’ll be jealous. She had to put hers up all by herself and you had Jensen to help.”
When Jensen looked over, Jared winked then went right back to all of his son’s babbling. Though, as he passed through the room, he didn’t pass up the chance to smack Jensen on the ass.
Before they could drink up the hot chocolate, Jared made Nathan go wash up and change into pajamas. Then Jared met Jensen at the counter, smiling fondly. “He put all the ornaments up himself?”
“Why d’you say that?”
“None of them are higher than my knee,” he chuckled, leaning in to kiss Jensen at the corner of his mouth. “It really does look awesome.”
Jensen shrugged and gave a bored face. “Kid’s got some skills.”
“Right. The kid,” Jared murmured as he moved in again. This time, he pressed his lips into Jensen’s with feeling. “Thank you.”
“Thank you,” he returned softly.
Jared chuckled. “No, really.”
“No, seriously, Jared,” Jensen said with more force to his words. When Jared sobered, Jensen took a deep breath and finally admitted all the feelings brewing within. “You know I love you. But this thing with Nathan, it’s more than me just trying to help out or keep him busy while you’ve got stuff to do.”
“Jen,” Jared murmured, eyes slipping over Jensen’s face before meeting his eyes again.
He shrugged awkwardly, even while he felt sure to say it. “I like being with him. And I’m glad I’m around for him, too.” Then he cleared his throat and dropped his voice. “So. Thank you. For trusting me, and letting me be around.”
There was a distinct shine to Jared’s eyes as he kissed Jensen, lightly at his lips, his cheek, and then his ear as he wrapped Jensen up in a tight hug.
When they could hear Nathan ambling down the stairs, heavy steps and chattering voice, they separated, and Jared cleared his throat as he blinked away the moisture in his eyes. “So, for the record. This means you can start parenting,” he joked. “Can’t wait to see you deal with him hating bedtime.”
“It’ll be fine,” Jensen returned with a light air of cockiness. “He likes me.”
Jared laughed. “Don’t be so sure.”
But Jensen was pretty sure when they laid out on blankets in front of the tree, letting its lights be the only thing to illuminate the room, and they drank Jensen’s hot chocolate while Nathan told them about every single present he wanted that year. And it all happened with Nathan leaning against Jensen and grinning up at his dad as he fully detailed the Lego Millennium Falcon he really, really, really, really wanted.
“Hey, buddy, keep dreaming,” Jared chuckled. “That thing’s a few hundred bucks.”
“Then only get me that!” Nathan turned to Jensen, eyes bright and smile hopeful. “You can get it for me!”
Jensen rubbed over Nathan’s head and directed him to lie back down. “We’ll see.”
Jared shot Jensen a dirty look, and Jensen just winked in return.
After Nathan had crashed and was put to bed, Jared joined Jensen on the couch, whining immediately. “You’re killing me here.”
“What?”
“Undermining my gift giving,” he grumbled. “You really gonna buy him the Lego set?”
Jensen chuckled and nudged Jared’s knee. “Calm yourself. I saw a smaller set online a few days ago.”
“Still ain’t cheap.”
“Yeah, but it’s affordable. And worth it.”
Jared leaned into the corner of the sectional couch and pushed at Jensen’s knee with his bare foot. “Stop tryin’ to buy my kid off. Tree decorating and fancy hot chocolate.”
“It’s not fancy,” Jensen laughed as he pulled Jared’s feet into his lap.
“I only do the powder.”
“Not my fault you’re lazy.”
Jared kicked at Jensen’s feet then settled back with a small smile. “Whatever. He totally loves you.”
Jensen smirked at him. “I told you.”
He moved his feet to nudge Jensen’s hands, which started a light foot rub. “Has since day one of soccer.”
“I’m very lovable,” Jensen returned with a bob of his head.
“Yeah. I guess.”