Title: Change of Season

Author: BuffyAngel68

Rating: PG (maybe PG13 for references to naughty behavior and one mildly bad word)

Summary: An assumption and an ill-advised bet change all Darien's plans....

This was a '02 X-mas challenge I wrote that led to the threesome piece I mentioned in an earlier message. That five part romp is right behind this. Have fun ya'll!

Change of Season
by BuffyAngel68

Strolling through the aisles of the grocery store two weeks before Christmas, Darien Fawkes resumed the mildly whiny rant he'd been irritating his lover with for almost three full days. The other man ignored the tone and maintained his cool, having only recently begun to see his partner's idiosyncrasies as charming and cute rather than as a cause to shoot first and apologize later.

"I've never had goose. I don't want goose, I want turkey."

"A bird is a bird, Fawkes. They pretty much all taste the same." Bobby Hobbes commented vaguely as he studied various cans of frozen juice, finally selecting two apple and two grapefruit.

"Not with cranberry sauce they don't."

"We're not havin' cranberry sauce. Well, maybe after dinner...."

"We're having pie after dinner. Unless you've decided that's out too."

"Damn right it is. The only dessert I want is you.... covered in marshmallow.... an' chocolate sauce..... with a maraschino cherry in your...."

"Hobbes!"

"I was gonna say in your navel, you geek."

"Still... Look, don't I get at least one familiar thing? You take away my tree, my turkey, my mince pie..."

"Who won the bet? Huh? C'mon, partner. Let's hear it one more time. Who was it won your stupid bet?"

"Hey, you're Jewish! You're not supposed to know the lyrics to Christmas songs!" Darien protested.

"What's to know? Frosty's nose is a button, Rudy's nose lights up. Big deal."

"Yeah.... well, what about Hanukah songs? You're ignoring your heritage in favor of a snowman an' a reindeer."

"You really want me to start singin' 'Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel' right here in the frozen foods aisle? I will, ya know..."

"No! No singing in public! Not after last time. I like this store. I wanna be able to come back...."

"Okay then. I won the bet, so this year we do Hanukah. I get my traditions for once. The menorah, roast goose, the music.... everything. That was the deal, remember? Whoever could sing the most Christmas songs without makin' a mistake got to do whatever they wanted for the holiday."

"But.... I already got the milk.... an' the slice an' bake sugar cookies."

"We both know where there's a real life fat man who'll eat more cookies than you could come up with in ten Christmases. Give 'em to him. Skip the milk, though. Eberts says he's lactose intolerant."

"I still can't believe you talked Charlie into playin' Santa for the Agency kids party this year." Darien laughed. "How'd you do that anyway?"

"I just showed him the pictures of him an' Eberts in the stairwell at last years grownups only bash."

"No way! They're not...."

"They were that night. Gotta love security cameras. They just catch everything. Especially stuff you wish they wouldn't...."

"Damn. Now I'll never be able to keep a straight face when I see Claire sittin' there beside him as Mrs. Claus."

"Yeah, well you better play it cool. I got us a bonus in the Santa deal, but only if I keep what I know totally on the QT." Bobby confessed as he set two cartons of eggs gently in the bottom of the cart.

"Oh, yeah? What?" Darien asked excitedly, eager to know what other wonderful treat Bobby's finagling skills had procured.

"Let's just say we better not wear each other out too bad this Friday night, 'cause I'm gettin' my first Hanukah present Saturday mornin'. Actually, since I love you so much.... I'm willin' to share."

"Man, you're such a tease!" Darien complained, running ahead of the cart and walking backwards so he could really see Bobby's expression. "What is it?"

"Eberts. In a elf suit. Nothin' under the elf suit. All ours. For the whole day."

Darien stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Bobby to stop as well or risk running into him.

"Whoa. An' I was gonna go bowling."

After a few seconds to recover, Darien moved back to Bobby's side and the other man continued pushing the cart forward. "Are we almost done here? All of a sudden I really, really wanna get home.... so I can say thank you in advance for sharing your present...."

"I was gonna pick up a couple other things...." Bobby said, gazing around worriedly as his lover began to nuzzle the back of his neck. ".... but they can wait. Yeah... done is definitely good...."

============

"Fawkes.... Holy.... What did you... when did you...."

"Tonight while you were watching T.V." Darien explained, drawing Bobby further into a bedroom that had been transformed from modern apartment into Christmas greenhouse. Darien had used scotch tape to attach mistletoe to nearly every available inch of wall space, and some space that wasn't available. The plants, both real and plastic, were wrapped around doorknobs, dangling from the mirror, covering the frame of a painting and completely engulfing the headboard of the bed.

"I don't think so, nutsy. I wanna make love to you, not Tarzan, Lord a'the jungle...."

"C'mon, Bobby. Just one Christmas tradition? One? For me?" Darien pleaded as the two fell together onto the bed.

"If I know you, you ain't gonna stop there....." Bobby told him, laughing as he stared down into Darien's eyes.

"Welllll.... I did have something I wanted to do...."

"I knew it. We had a deal....."

"It's not much. I just wanted to say something. Please? It's kinda Christmas.... but I say it every day, too. Every day I wake up an' find you beside me." Darien murmured, stretching up and stealing a soft, lingering kiss.

"Yeah? Okay. Go on. Say it." Bobby agreed, tangling a hand in his lover's dark, wild hair.

"God bless us.... every one."


END