Christmas Special

[ruddiestbubbles]

 Merry Christmas and happy holidays guys!!!! I hope you have all had a lovely day! I thought I'd treat y'all with a cute little Christmas fic to maybe make your day a little bit brighter! <333

“Come on dad! We’ve gotta put the star on top!” Apple says with a huge toothy grin, tongue stained bright red from one too many candy canes.

“Grab it for me?”

She smiles her toothy little smile and runs over to the empty boxes that held the ornaments, her small socked feet scuffing against the old tan carpet. She holds up the big silver star triumphantly and brings it back over to Jason, who’s waiting by the tree in his baggy flannel pajama pants that pool at his socked feet, and an old t-shirt.

“Lift me up dad!” She giggles joyfully, her long blond hair a tangled mess from sleep.

He obligues and carefully hoisters her up, placing her on his shoulder so she can reach--though just barely. And once it’s up, he steps back, Apple still giggling on his shoulder, and they admire their work.

“I think this deserves some hot cocoa, what about you?”

“Yeah!”

He carries her over to the couch and drops her carefully. She lands with a bounce and a giggle and is instantly on her feet, darting into the kitchen, where Jason hears the distinct sound of feet slipping on hard floor. He joins her in the kitchen, where she’s already grabbed two mugs, her cute little princess one he’d gotten her a few weeks ago, and his white mug that she’d painted a turtle on for his birthday. He loves it so much.

“Why don’t you go pick out a movie for us to watch.”

She nods eagerly and heads back to the living room. He goes about warming up milk and adding the hot cocoa mix as well as a hint of cinnamon, just the way little Apple likes it. Once it’s nice and hot, he brings both mugs out to the living room and joins Apple on the couch, where she’s attempting to get the dvd player to work. He laughs, handing her the small princess mug and takes the remote to get the movie going, which is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Which is not surprising in the slightest, she’s loved this movie for years now.

It wasn’t long before she was fast asleep, collapsed against his side, hot cocoa half drunk and left abandoned on the table, alongside his empty mug. After turning off the tv, he carefully picks Apple up, and carries her to her room. He tucks her in and brushes hair out of her face gently, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. Once he’s back in his room, he pulls out his phone, dreading having to respond to a text that’s been burning a hole in his pocket all day.

Crystal: I’ll be by to pick up Apple at 12, make sure her stuff is ready

Jason: I still don’t get why we can’t just spend Christmas together

He really doesn’t understand it. He gets that they’re divorced now, and that they’re completely separated, but he doesn’t get this. Even if they don’t really love each other in a romantic way anymore, they’re still a family. They still need to be a family for Apple’s sake. He’s still not sure where their marriage went wrong, but it had felt different for a while now, and he’s happier being single, even if it’s harder to take care of his daughter by himself than it used to be with Crystal, but he loves his daughter with all his heart. She’s his little girl, and he’d do anything for her. And if that means spending Christmas weekend with Crystal, than he can deal with it…even if he really doesn’t want to.

Crystal: Jason. You know it’s my weekend with her

Jason: That doesn’t explain why we can’t do christmas together like we always used to do

Crystal: Okay look, I started seeing someone, and it’s serious, so I’m spending christmas with him, and it would just be awkward to have you there

He stares at his phone for quite a long time. She should’ve told him sooner that she’d started seeing someone. But, he does know it’s not really part of his business anymore. It would have been nice to know earlier.

Jason: I’m happy for you. Just make sure Apple is back by noon on Christmas

Crystal: I will

And that was that it seemed. They barely talked anymore, only when it had to do with her weekend with Apple, which was usually the last weekend of the month. They’d agreed on shared custody, but she could only take a weekend every month because of her job, and new boyfriend apparently. It was only fair, he supposed, but he really wished she wouldn’t keep Apple for christmas morning. It was always something they did together. Up at the crack of dawn and tearing apart presents not even ten minutes later, and afterwords they’d eat over iced cinnamon rolls and drink hot cocoa with the fireplace crackling freshly stocked wood, and The Polar Express playing on the tv. Just thinking about it, he was missing it, or hating the thought of it not happening this year.

~~~

“Do I atleast get to meet the guy you’re seeing?” He asks while Apple is in her room getting dressed in the cute santa themed dress he layed out for her that morning.

“Eventually,” she responds a little coldly.

“Well sorry for being concerned about who my daughter is going to be around.”

“Our daughter,” she corrects, “And you’ll meet him monday when I drop her off.”

He rolls his eyes, “Fine,” he concedes.

It always feels so awkward between them now. They can’t really have a face to face conversation anymore. He wonders when they’ll be adults and finally have the seeing someone new conversation. Like, obviously it’s okay, but they haven't talked about the logistics of it, especially with Apple. They don’t want to confuse her or upset her more than they already have.

“Daddy?” Apple asks, pulling at his hand.

He kneels, so he’s face to face with her, “Yes sweetheart?”

“Will we still have cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa on Christmas morning?”

“Of course we will!”

“And watch Polar Express?”

“We sure will.”

“Pinky promise?” She holds out her pinky, her green eyes a little teary.

“Pinky promise,” he wraps his pinky around hers and shakes with a soft, “Now go on with Mommy, I’ll be waiting here with cinnamon and hot cocoa when you get back.”

She throws herself into his arms and wraps him in as tight of a hug as her little arms can muster, “I love you Daddy.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

He reluctantly pulls back and gently whips away a tear that has fallen down her cheek, “Go enjoy the weekend with mom, okay?” She nods and smiles a watery smile, “Just don’t eat too many cookies without me,” he tickles her stomach and she giggles and falls backward trying to get out of his menacing hands.

“I won’t daddy!” She giggles, her tears all but forgotten, and a smile plastered on her face, and he reckons that it should always be there. His little girl should only ever smile and be happy, she deserves that and so much more.

“Come on Apple, Sweetie, let’s get going.”

“Okay Mommy,” she heads for the door, which Crystal is holding open, and gives him another wave before disappearing.

Crystal meets his eyes and gives him a sad smile before heading out too, closing the door behind her. He really just wants to know when they can finally be adults about this whole thing. But it feels like it’ll never actually happen.

~~~

Nine pm on Christmas Eve rolls around and he feels restless. Apple has been gone for almost two days now, and the house feels empty and foreign without her boisterous giggles and bouncy personality. So he decides, he’s had enough. He’s gonna go out to a bar and quite possibly get drunk. He really just needs to be out of this damn house. But also, having the chance to forget everything for a while sounds pretty damn nice.

So he gets dressed in jeans and a henley and slips on some tennis shoes before heading out to his beatle and heading into town. Thankfully there’s a bar that’s open tonight, so he heads there and parks. Once inside, he sits down at the bar and orders a beer, which honestly doesn’t last too long, and doesn’t quite affect him as much as he’d like it too. So he orders something stronger, opening a tab. He’s three drinks in when a man slides onto the seat next to him and orders a shot, which he downs quickly and gets another.

He laughs, downing the last of his own drink, “Drinking away your sorrows too?”

The man eyes him, smiling easily, “Nah man, just felt like getting drunk,” he laughs and it’s deep and hearty, a true real laugh. And Jason can’t help but laugh too, because it is quite contagious, “I’m guessing you are though.”

“Stuff with my ex-wife and my daughter,” he waves a hand dismissively, “but I don’t wanna think about that. I’m very ready to get drunk.”

“I can drink to that,” the man takes another shot and grins, “The names John, by the way.”

“Jason,” he responds and snags a shot glass from John with a devilish grin and downs it.

John smirks at him, a look of determination on his face as he downs a shot too, “Oh it’s on!”

~~~

When he wakes up in the morning, his head is pounding, his stomach is churning, and he can’t quite remember what happened last night, it’s all hazy and foggy. Oh, and apparently there’s a person in bed with him. He looks over, and there’s John, snoring softly, curled up in the blankets, which he’s just now realizing he doesn’t really have any of. He’s in pajamas, and John appears to be in a pair of sweats at least. The alarm clock reads eleven am, and his phone is lit up with a text.

Crystal: I’ll be a little late bringing Apple home, Mike surprised us and made lunch

He groans at his phone. A, because they agreed on noon. And B, because it’s far too bright. So he ignores it, tossing it onto the bed side table, where it bounces and hits the floor with a thud.

“Quit bein’ so loud,” John mumbles as the blankets are pulled farther away from him.

He looks over at John, who’s really just a puff of hair sticking out from the blanket and blinks. Right. There’s a guy in his bed. “Why are you in my bed?”

“You tell me, sweetheart,” John flips over and pulls the blanket down so his face is exposed, “I’m just kidding. I wasn’t about to leave alone so drunk, and the couch looked uncomfortable, so I crashed here with you, I hope that’s alright, sweetheart, because drunk you seemed to be okay with it.”

“Yeah, it’s cool,” he waves it off, he really doesn’t mind. Waking up beside someone again is pleasant.

“What all do ya remember?”

“Not much man, beyond getting shitfaced and getting a cab back here.”

John has a weird look on his sleepy face, “So ya don’t remember.”

“Remember what?”

John stares at him for several seconds, seemingly looking for something. Then he leans in and presses his lips to Jason’s, just briefly, “That,” he breathes, his lips just a breath away from Jason’s.

“Oh.” All he could do was stare into John’s eyes, which he’s just now noticing are a rich, deep brown, and breathe the same air. He lifts a hand to run his fingers along John’s jaw and closes the small space between them, kissing him softly, just slow slide of slightly chapped lips.

John blinks up at him through thick chocolate lashes, “Oh.”

He laughs softly, his fingers still resting on John’s jaw. John’s eyes are half lidded and the smile he wears is sleepy and lopsided.

“I wasn’t sure if you were straight,” John says, voice a little gravely from sleep.

“Bi, actually,” he answers, tracing the sharp line of John’s tan jaw.

He’d known for a long time that he wasn’t straight, and Crystal had known too, and it was okay. He liked girls and guys, and he’d settled down with a girl he fell in love with in high school. But, he had dated a guy once, back before he met Crystal, he’d been his “gay crisis”. High school had been an insanely stressful time. But, he supposes that everyone’s high school experience is always insane.

“Never would’ve guessed.”

“Not many people do.”

They both laugh softly and he hasn’t smiled this much in a while. It’s nice. Very, very nice. His phone pings with a text and he groans and rolls over to grab for his phone, which shows another text.

Crystal: Are you even awake? I’ll be over in 40 minutes

“Shit,” he hisses, clambering out of bed.

“Where ya goin’ hun?”

“My ex-wife is dropping my daughter off in forty minutes and I have so much to do,” he goes into the bathroom and goes to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, and downs a few advil to try and fight the pounding headache that’s still there.

“So much to do as in?”

“I forgot to buy cinnamon rolls and we’re out of hot cocoa mix, and I have no clue where The Polar Express dvd is.”

“Okay hun,” John intercepts him before he can rush out of the room, “slow down for just a second. Firstly, you don’t have your car, so you can’t go to the store--plus all of them are closed, and second, you’re still very hungover.”

He groans, and leans against the nearest wall, “I promised my daughter that’d we’d have a normal christmas as soon as she got home. The divorce has been rough on her.”

“Then you know what, sweetheart, we’ll give her a normal christmas. We can make cinnamon rolls and I’m sure I can whip up some hot cocoa too! And I’ll be sure we find Polar Express.”

“We?” He asks, eyes lingering on John’s lips before moving to his eyes.

“Yes, we,” John smiles, running his hands up and down Jason’s arms, “We will do this together, and then figure out us later. What matters right now is your daughter having the perfect Christmas.”

He stares at John for several seconds, a smile slowly replacing his deep set frown, and he really can’t wait to figure out what they will be, “Let’s go make cinnamon rolls,” he presses a quick kiss to John’s lips before heading for the kitchen.

John is quick to join him, and starts digging through cabinets and drawers, pulling out measuring cups and bowls, “You got flour, sweetheart?”

His brow furrows slightly as he goes over to the cabinet and looks around, finding the tin of flour on the back of a shelf, “Right here,” he sets it on the counter, “anything else?”

“Yeast, sugar, cinnamon, and butter, hun.”

It’s a miracle he has everything. He can’t remember the last time he actually bought yeast. It might’ve been Crystal, but he’s not entirely sure. “So what all do we have to do?”

“Never made cinnamon rolls before?”

“I’ve always just bought a roll of em’ from the store.”

“Then these will blow your mind,” John beams at him with this unabashed enthusiasm that a hungover person should not have, and Jason kinda loves it.

“I’m sure they will,” he can’t help but smile back.

John sets to work mixing flour, cinnamon, sugar, and yeast in a bowl, smiling the entire time, like he actually likes doing this, likes being here in Jason’s house in too big sweatpants that have the drawstring pulled tight and a t-shirt that is very clearly Jason’s, as it hangs off his shoulders loosely and shows of his very prominent collar bone. It’s a good look. A very good look. He kinda loves this too.

“You gonna stand there staring, or are ya gonna help?” John smirks at him, and Jason tosses a handful of flour at him, grinning devilishly back, “oh so that’s how it’s gonna be?” John takes a handful of flour and smashes it into his hair.

This starts an all out war and by the end of it, the kitchen is covered in flour and sugar. They’re both laughing so hard and Jason has to lean against the counter as he’s gasping for air between sharp giggles. John is beside him, rich brown eyes glowing with happiness and joy. And he loves that too. He looks over at John, and John is already looking at him, flour dusting his chocolate hair, little pieces in his eyelashes and eyebrows. His lips are drawn up in a small smile that makes his whole face softer despite the sharp line of his jaw and cheekbones. And his rich brown eyes, there’s this softness to them that hasn’t been there since they kissed earlier, it makes the brown seem lighter, like a heavily creamed coffee, still steaming in an old glass mug.

He knows they should be making the cinnamon rolls, and the hot cocoa, and finding The Polar Express dvd, but right now, all he wants is to kiss John. So he does. He leans in slowly, giving John time to back out if he wants to, but he goes willingly into the kiss. It’s gentle and slow, and tastes like flour and is sweet like the sugar he’d thrown just moments ago. He gently sucks on John’s bottom lip, nipping ever so slightly, and he feels a hand come up to rest on the back of his neck. He’s tugged toward John, and can feel the flour rain down from their hair from the movement. He laughs, just a little huff of laughter against John’s soft, slightly chapped lips, and John laughs too. Their kiss turns into a press of lips and breathy laughter with their bodies only a breath apart.

He brushes hair from John’s forehead, making more flour fall, and he smiles the smallest, happiest little smile, “Maybe we should talk about us.”

John smiles back at him, “Maybe so,” he laughs and his eyes glow, “Do you wanna maybe be my boyfriend?”

Jason beams at him, “Yeah,” he can’t stop smiling, “but uh… me having a kid doesn’t bug you?”

The smile John gives him is quite possibly the most heartwarming thing he’s ever seen, “No, not at all. I’m sure I’ll love her. Especially if she’s anything like you.”

He almost never blushes, but he can feel his cheeks heat up, “You’re amazing,” he kisses him again, because he can.

The doorbell rings, startling them both. He smiles apologetically and heads towards the door. He opens it to find Crystal, Apple, and a guy who must be Mike. He’s tall, pale, and thin. He’s everything Jason’s not, including the thick brown hair and arm muscles pulling at his t-shirt sleeves.

“Daddy!!” Apples basically screeches, throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, “Why are you covered in flour, Daddy?” She giggles in her high pitched, adorable laugh.

“Thought I’d make us some cinnamon rolls.”

Her eyes light up, “I wanna help!”

He grins at her, and musses her hair, “You sure can. Just give me and mom a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay! I’ll go put my stuff away,” she declares, hefting her duffle bag over her shoulder and almost falling.

“Good plan, honey.”

She marches off down the hallway, and Jason straightens to address Crystal and Mike.

“Hey Jason,” Crystal says, eyeing him curiously.

“Hey,” he supplies, still smiling.

“So uh. This is Mike.”

“Hey man, nice to meet you,” Mike supplies in his deep voice.

“Back at ya,” he says, shaking Mike’s offered hand.

“So, uh, how long have you two been together?”

“Four months now,” She says with a soft smile directed at Mike.

“Nice. I’m really happy for you guys. Hopefully I’ll get to know you Mike, you seem like a cool guy.”

Crystal looks at him skeptically, “I didn’t think you would be so cool about this,” she comments with a raised brow.

“I thought you knew I was okay with you dating?”

“No, because we didn’t talk about it.”

“I tried, but you didn’t want to listen.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s whatever,” he laughs, and glances towards the kitchen when he hears a clang of a pan, “One sec.”

He heads into the kitchen where John is attempting to mix the stuff from his bowl again, “Hey, so, that’s my ex-wife and her boyfriend. Maybe you’d like to meet them?”

“Already at that stage?” John laughs with a soft smile, “I’d love to meet them.”

“Awesome,” he presses a kiss to his flour covered cheek before leading out to the front door.

“Crystal, Mike, this is my boyfriend, John.”

Both Crystal and Mike look shocked, looking at each other, then back to Jason and John.

“How long…?” Crystal eventually asks, looking baffled and sounding just the same.

“Since last night?” John supplies with an easy smile.

“Last night?”

“Yup, ran into him at a bar, and well, y’know. He stayed over--nothing happened--and yeah,” he feels like a guidy teenager.

“I didn’t know you were into guys?” Mike says, finally speaking.

“Yeah, I’m Bi, so y’know, girls, guys, whichever.”

They both look so thoroughly baffled.

“It’s great to meet both of ya!” John says to fill the silence.

“Nice to meet you too,” Crystal says slowly.

“So are y’all just gonna stand here awkwardly? I’ve got cinnamon rolls to make and hot cocoa to drink.”

That seems to snap them back to the present, “Right, sorry. I’ll text you, okay?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll see ya later. Just let me know what weekend will be best for you next month.”

“Right cya.”

They both head out, looking just as confused as before. As soon as the door is closed, John looks over to Jason, “Are they always that awkward?”

“No, not usually. But I don’t think Crystal has ever seen me date a guy. And I literally just met Mike, so I have no clue about him.”

“He’s cute.”

“You hush.”

“Daddy?” Apple asks, tugging on his shirt.

“Yes sweetpea?”

“Who’s that?” She doesn’t look scared, just a little startled.

“Ah, this is John.”

“Is he your boyfriend?” She asks with her head tilted to the side in the most adorable way.

He really does love his daughter so fiercely, “Yeah, honey. He is.”

“Awesome!” She cheers, “I’ll have to dads!”

He blushes heavily, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay?”

She giggles and moves over to John, holding out her hand, “I’m Apple!”

John kneels so he’s eye level with her, “Well hi there Apple, I’m John,” He shakes her tiny hand with his big one and she beams at him.

She gets serious suddenly, and almost glares at him, “You hurt Daddy,” she pokes his chest with a tiny finger, “and you’ll have to deal with me.”

Jason bursts out laughing. He loves his daughter. So. Much.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” he winks, which seems to satisfy her for now.

“So are we gonna make cinnamon rolls?” Jason asks, still laughing.

“Yeah!!” she cheers and grabs both Jason and John’s hands, pulling them towards the kitchen.

Later, when the cinnamon rolls where eaten,--and they were extraordinary--the hot cocoa drank, and presents opened, they all sat on the couch watching The Polar Express cuddled together. John had his arm resting across Jason’s shoulder and Apple is curled against his side, watching the tv intently.

She looks up at him with a big toothy grin, “Daddy we should do this every year.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! Best. Christmas. Ever.”

Jason and John smile at each other brightly, then look back to Apple, “I think we’ll just have to do that,” he brushes hair out of her face lovingly and John presses a kiss to his head.

They will definitely have to do this again.