(no subject)
Title: Yes,Gus Peterson-Marcus-Kinney-Taylor,There Is A Santa Claus Part 2
Rating: PG
Pairings and characters: Brian/Justin, Ben/Michael, Mel/Linds, Daphne/Cynthia (implied),Ted,Emmett,Hunter,Jr and of course, Gus.
Summary: In the early 1900's a girl named Virginia wrote to "The Sun" and asked if there was a Santa Claus
Gus has the same question and goes to the paper for the answer.I've included the letter and reply in the story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing QAF related,nor do I own anything related to the story "Yes,Virignia,There is a Santa Claus" or the letter the story came from.
Warnings: None-just schmoopiness!
Thank you to brianswalk . I wish we could do this throughout the holiday season!
Part 2
"So you had to tell him the way that Justin reminds me of the 'little engine that could'?
"Well, it does fit Justin's personality, doesn't it?"
Brian laughed but said they shouldn't say tell that to Justin.
"Shouldn't tell me what?" asked Justin, coming in and shaking snow off of his head, shoes and coat.
"It's snowing," Em observed and clapped his hands.
"Very observant," Brian replied and rolled his eyes.
"It's snowing, YAY!" Gus practically screamed.
"That's right, it is. Isn't that amazing?" Brian used an entirely different tone than the one he'd used on Em.
"DaddyJ, you know what this means? It means we can make snowmen and snow angels, let's go right now!"Gus had jumped into Justin's arms.
Justin gave Gus a big kiss and said they'd have to wait until a bit more snow had fallen, but it sounded like a good plan.
"So, what is it that no one should tell me?" Justin repeated.
Lindsay showed Justin the letter and explained the collective theory that Justin resembled the "little engine that could" because of his never give up personality, as it related to Brian, and pretty much anything else.
"Well, Brian can be pretty persistent too. Did you know, Gus, that when I was in New York Brian surprised me with a visit after we had an argument? He decided we had to make up and he planned on going on a hunger strike if we didn't do it right away!"
Brian glared at Justin and trying to grab him so he could put his hand over Justin's mouth.
"Brian did that?" both Em and Lindsay asked in unison.
"Yep, he said he'd only eat foods that began with the letter 'j". Jello, Juicyjuice, jellybeans, jasmine rice and Jerusalem artichokes. He wouldn't eat jambalaya because he said that it wasn't the same if I hadn't made it."Justin beamed and added: "He also threatened to stand under my window and play "In Your Eyes" like John Cusack in 'Say Anything' until I forgave him."
Brian tackled him and they fell over the sofa, and Em, Linds and Gus heard words like "punish you severely" coming out of Brian's mouth.
When they came up for air Brian said "First of all, don't EVER repeat that story, secondly it was the drugs -" He stopped short when he saw Gus's furrowed brow and said "Medicine-I was taking medicine for headaches. It made me weird!"
Em started dabbing his eyes and mumbling "It's so romantic. So, so romantic!" and went to get a tissue to blow his nose.
"Can we get back to the letter and forget my insanity?" Brian demanded.
"What other wisdom has "The Sun" decided to impart on my son?" he wondered aloud.
They gathered around the table and looked at the next part:
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor humans can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
"No fairies? That's impossible, that's scandalous!" Emmett snarled, obviously very annoyed.
"Yes, take it from your Auntie Em. The biggest fairy on Liberty Ave."
"Thank you, Brian. I wish I could say that were true, but there are others. None as wonderful as the fairies your Uncle Michael and I met, though!"
"You are not going to tell him the "flight of the fairies" story, are you Me? You might give my son nightmares!"
"You and Uncle Michael met fairies?" Gus's eyes danced with excitement.
"THEY were fairies, well, still are, actually!" Brian laughed.
Michael came in with Ben and Hunter at that part of the story. "You are NOT telling my nephew that story! Em!"
"Why not? It's a wonderful story", Em started sniffling again and Brian rolled his eyes and gave him more tissues.
"You see, Gus, I was very sad. It was like a light had gone out in me, and I wasn't -, me, anymore. I needed to go somewhere to get my flame-well, stoked. And Uncle Michael went with me. It was magical; we had fairy names, and we danced, sang and ran in the woods like the fairies do, ate magic foods and had a wonderful time."
"Ate magic mushrooms is more like it," muttered Brian and Justin elbowed him so he wouldn't say anything more.
Gus's eyes were big and he asked if he could hear some of the songs they'd sung.
"No, really Gus. Uncle Michael has to save his voice for when we sing Christmas carols later, and Aunt Em was helping your Mom when we came in, so we don't have time, ok?" Michael definitely had no intention of singing any fairy songs tonight!
Hunter would never let him live that down.
"But don't worry Gus, I have pictures you can see tomorrow!"
"Brian, no pictures!" Michael pleaded and Ben came over to calm things down.
"Ok, ok. I really don't want my son to see his Uncle and "Aunt" dressed in shrubs anyway." Brian smirked, and Justin collapsed into his chest with laughter.
"Let's get back to explaining the letter to Gus," Lindsay admonished. "He's saying that even though you don't see fairies dancing on the lawn (or in our cases, we USUALLY don't) we know that they exist. Sometimes we don't see the fairies, and sometimes the fairies show up as people we know."
Gus looked around the room and wondered if she meant Uncle Michael and Aunt Em.
Noticing him looking around she said "Yes, I do mean like Uncle Michael and Aunt Em.
But not just because they went to the place the fairies were and danced and sang like them. Uncle Michael was being a friend to Aunt Em when he needed one, and that's what fairies do. They are there when you need them."
"Yeah, like your DaddyJ and Aunt Em going to the hospice and visiting the people who live there," Michael offered.
"And your Daddy making anonymous donations to the hospice and Mommy Linds volunteering to teach art at the GLC, and Mama Mel taking cases there for free."
Melanie came in just then with her hands filled with packages. "A house full of people! Get out!" and smiled.
"The fairy godmother arrives," drawled Brian.
"Hey babe," Melanie kissed Linds and picked up Gus and gave him a kiss.
"What's with the fairy godmother comment?" she glared at Brian while picking up a sugar cookie.
"Gus got his letter from "The Sun" about his Santa Claus question!" Lindsay said excitedly.
"Ah, The Sun. What did they have to say?" Melanie exchanged looks with Brian and they grinned.
Linds showed Melanie the letter and explained what they were talking about when she came in.
"So that's why I was calling you a fairy godmother," Brian said, helpfully.
"Very funny, mmm these cookies are good!" Melanie reached for two more and Lindsay took the tray away.
"You all have to stop eating the cookies now or we won't have any later! Then we won't have dessert while we're decorating the tree! Have some cocoa if you need something sweet!" She pointed to the pot with the cocoa in it and scowled.
"Jeez, Linds calm down. You have enough cookies here to feed all of us, and two of Justin and Hunter!"
"Hey!" Justin and Hunter said at the same time.
"You don't have to worry about dessert, Linds," Michael volunteered. "My mom is bringing her famous jello mold and-what? It's good!"
Everyone had started groaning at the idea of Debbie's' jello mold, and Michael shouted over them "It's a classic!"
"Daphne and Cynthia are bringing sweet potato pies, so we won't starve if Hunter and I somehow manage to work our way through the cookies," Justin said, drily.
The doorbell rang and Ted came in carrying a poinsettia and a shopping bag.
"Presents!" yelled Gus.
"Hey, Gus," Ted accepted a huge hug from Gus and gave the bag to Mel. "I also brought some classical Christmas music for us to play later when we decorate the tree. You know, get us into the proper holiday spirit." At the horrified looks of Hunter, Mel, Em and Brian Ted said, "What? Just adding some culture to the festivities."
"Like the "jerk at work for the holidays" classic DVDs we were watching earlier," Justin said under his breath and Ted glared at him.
"I'm just doing my part to foster Gus and Jenny's cultural education."
Gus giggled and asked if he had "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" in his bag.
"Don't worry sweetie, we have it," Linds called to him and Gus went over to get some hot cocoa. He brought the paper to the table where everyone was now seated and asked:"What does this part mean?" He showed them the last paragraph.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man or woman, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men or women that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Gus, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
"Some things you just can't see, Gus. Some things you just can't touch. You know how you feel when you hear a song or read a story or movie that you like, or you paint a picture, or when you look at a picture DaddyJ or MommyLinds makes?" Brian asked.
"Yes, I feel happy. Sometimes I feel sad, like when I saw Tiny Tim in 'A Christmas Carol'."
"Right, well, you know you feel that, but you've never SEEN sad or happy, right?"
"And you know how you feel when Daddy holds you or your Moms kiss you, or when we curl up on the couch when we watch a movie? Or how you feel when you and Jenny are playing in the park?" Justin asked him.
'I feel happy. I feel-" Gus thought about it for a moment. "Love!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, and when you look at the sky and see the moon or a rainbow, you feel…" Em prodded.
"Like its magic!"
"Yes, magic! Remember we talked about magic before? It's like love. You can't see love but you know you feel it. You can't see magic but you can feel it. Some things make you feel it." Lindsay pulled him onto her lap as she replied.
"Some things in the universe are bigger than anyone can imagine, Gus. You can only really see them with your heart. That's what he means by pulling the veil or the curtain aside from the unseen world." Ben continued the explanation.
"All the love that we all feel for each other and that we all feel for you and your sister, that's part of it. A big part," Justin said and hugged Gus tightly.
They came to the end of the letter.
No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever.
A thousand years from now, Gus, nay 10 times 10,000 years
from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
"Does that answer your question, Sonny Boy?" Brian asked him."Do you understand now?"
Gus looked around him at everyone's faces. He saw the love and the caring that his family had been talking about in all of their eyes.
He smiled and said "Yes, I do."
Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!