“My bad. The make up and the clothes threw me off for a second” He responded casually as he moved with a swag that would remind anyone of a cat. Finnick exuded a natural confidence in him. He knew quite well he owed the place.
“That’s a good thing to do. Good capitol girls don’t drink except for the occasional slip of alcohol in those fancy mimosas or juicy drinks” He said as he sat down in front of her with a grin on his face.
George’s sitting next to the Christmas tree when Jamie makes his way into the living room, two cups of coffee in hand. “They’re not as good as yours,” he says as he hands one of the mugs over to George, making sure it’s the one he’s added the cream and sugar to before he sips his plain coffee, trying to inject the caffeine into him before the gift exchange happens.
“No, it’s better,” George responds. Jamie chuckles before he sits down on the floor next to George, smiling as he spots a momentary flash of gold against the wall as the sun bounces off his wedding ring. It’s still a little surreal to Jamie that it’s been almost a year since they’ve gotten married when it sometimes feels like yesterday and other times feels like decades. George is distracted by the pile of gifts, Jamie knows, which makes him smile.
“Do you ever think about how most of those gifts under the tree aren’t even for us?” he asks, noting the heaps that are set aside for Jamie’s large family and George’s even bigger one. When they’d gone over to the Kellers last year, the sea of gifts had formed an actual moat around the tree, and Jamie knows this year it’ll be even worse with the new additions to the Keller family tree.
“That’s what makes it the best,” George responds. “Gifts are the best, but I think giving them’s more fun than receiving them.”
“I agree,” Jamie responds with a soft chuckle. George leans against him, causing Jamie to instinctively wrap an arm around the man’s waist as they sip their coffee together. It takes Jamie at least one mug before he’s properly awake, so he’s in no rush to get to the unwrapping, especially since he’s thinking about the one box in the back of the pile that he knows is going to be George’s favourite gift.
Once he’s finished downing the coffee and George has disappeared to make his second, Jamie’s pretty sure he’s ready to start the day. He’s turned his phone off, knowing that it’ll be nothing but a slew of Christmas texts from friends, family, and everything in between. His notifications have been going crazy since the start of December, when everyone seemed to remember at once that his one year anniversary is at the end of the month, so keeping the phone as quiet as possible is definitely something Jamie’s been needing on his break from society.
“You almost ready?” he calls to George, smiling when he gets a noise in response instead of proper words. Jamie fumbles with the empty mug for a moment before he sets it down on the table, eyes shifting to where he’s sure he’s seen a flash of white dart into the tree. “Snowflake…” The bunny’s head pops out near the middle of the tree, her nose twitching as she looks around the room. Jamie laughs before he stands and reaches into the tree, pulling the bunny out from the lights and ornaments, cradling her gently in his hands as she nuzzles her face into his palm.
“Was she in the tree again?” George asks as he comes back into the room, coffee mug in hand. He’s brought a fresh one for Jamie too, causing the singer to smile. George knows him far too well, and he loves him dearly for it.
“When isn’t she in the tree? She likes the warmth.” Jamie sets the bun down on the couch before he takes the mug from George. “Thank you, love,” he says softly before he leans in and kisses him. George pulls back from the peck and smiles before he sits back down on the ground, Snowflake immediately trying to find her way into his unruly mop of hair.
“Easy,” George says with a laugh before he sets his mug down and picks the rabbit up, holding her in his hands until she calms again. Jamie smiles at the two of them. His little family is all he needs right now, really. Sure, there’s so much more to what Jamie considers his family, but right now, between George and Snowflake, he has everything he needs.
Once Snowflake wriggles her way out of George’s grip, the man looks to Jamie, watching the man for a moment before he smiles. “Where do we start?”
Jamie fishes the gifts for the two of them out from under the tree, piling them in front the spot George is sitting in before he gestures. “You can go in any order,” he says. “Except that big box. It’s for last.” That’s all he really needs to say before they go at it, wrapping paper, ribbon and bows strewn across the carpet as they reveal each other’s gifts, each more special and personalised than the last. Jamie’s thrilled by his new headphones and the glitter star case he’s been eyeing for a while, and George seems more than pleased with the new additions to his lingerie collection and the dress Jamie’s had handmade for him by Noel and Arthur. Overall it seems like a wonderful Christmas for both of them.
All that’s left now is the box, and George is curious, Jamie knows. That box was a last-minute addition to the tree, only added three days before Christmas Eve, and George has been inquiring about it ever since. “You finally get to unveil the mystery,” Jamie says once George pulls the box towards him. “Happy Christmas, love.”
George tears the wrapping paper off of the box, raising an eyebrow at the red box with a simple white lid on top of it. He pulls the lid off of the box, frowning as he looks inside. “What is this?” he asks before he reaches into the box, pulling out another box. Jamie merely smiles in response as George looks at the box, this one orange with a similar white lid. He opens it, frowning again as he comes across a yellow one this time. “Are you messing with me, Jamie?” he asks as he looks at the man.
“You’ll have to just wait and see,” he says with a chuckle. “Keep going.” George pouts at him, but Jamie doesn’t give in. Instead, he waves towards the yellow box, urging George to open it. George does, letting out a small whine as he pulls out a green box out of the yellow and then a blue one out of the green.
“This is ridiculous,” he whines as he opens the blue box, pulling out a smaller purple one. “Jamie, did you just get me rainbow boxes for Christmas?”
“I’m not telling you, love. You have to open it and find out.” George makes a noise and he opens the box, frowning when he’s met with a sparkling, pink bag. “It’s your favourite colour,” Jamie says when George makes a noise of distaste. “Don’t give me that, just open it.”
George opens the bag, pulling a thick, white envelope out of it and he shakes his head. “I swear, Jamie Starr, you are lucky I love you,” he says before he peels the envelope open, pulling out a stack of papers from inside.
A frown crosses his face as he looks at the papers, but once George starts reading the letter inside, the frown fades away. He reads the first page, a handwritten letter from Jamie, before he flips to the next page of the stack. A gasp escapes his throat before he looks up at Jamie. “No,” he says as he stares at the man in disbelief.
“Yeah,” Jamie says breathily as he nods, unable to keep the smile off of his face.
George clasps a hand over his mouth as he keeps reading, and Jamie can tell he’s close to tears. It’s a lot to take in, he knows, because he’s been working on this surprise for George for a while now, and now that it’s all in place, he can’t be happier to see his husband’s reaction. George flips through the papers before he drops them to the floor, immediately tackling his husband, pressing his face into Jamie’s neck as he lets out a sob.
Jamie holds onto him, rubbing George’s back gently as he kisses the top of his head. “We’re going to be dads, love,” he says quietly. “They approved us.” George chokes on a sob, trying to speak, but he can’t and Jamie completely understands. When he’d found out that the agency granted approval for them to adopt the two baby girls they’d been hoping for, Jamie didn’t believe it, but when they’d finalised everything and sent him the papers, he knew that there wouldn’t be a better way to tell George than to give him the gift of knowledge for Christmas.
“We— Dads.” George clings to Jamie’s shirt, wiping at his eyes. “This is happening, it’s really happening.” Jamie nods before he gently tilts George’s head upwards so he can look at him, smiling brighter when he sees George can’t stop smiling as he keeps repeating that they’re going to be dads.
“Happy Christmas, love,” Jamie says quietly as he looks at him. “Next one we’ll get to spend with our daughters.” George lets out a tearful laugh, but he’s smiling so brightly Jamie can’t imagine having told him any other way. He runs his hand through George’s hair as the man curls into his lap, leaning against his chest as he calms down.
“I can’t believe it,” he says quietly. “They approved us.”
“Well we did have some glowing recommendations,” Jamie responds with a soft laugh. “How often do you think twenty-seven people write letters begging someone to give someone kids?”
George smiles as he looks up at Jamie. “True,” he says quietly. “I’m so happy, Jamie,” George breathes out. “So happy.”
“Me too, love,” he says before he kisses the top of George’s head, smiling as George nuzzles into the action. They stay that way for a while, not moving from their spot, until George’s alarm goes off to signal them that they need to get ready to go over to the Kellers’ Christmas party. “Come on,” Jamie says as he gently nudges George. “Let’s get ready so we can go tell everyone the good news.”
“Hang on,” George responds before he crawls out of Jamie’s lap. He makes his way over where Snowflake is sleeping on the couch and picks her up. Jamie raises an eyebrow, curious about George’s intentions as the bunny sleepily opens her eyes. “Hey Snow,” George says, beaming as he holds her in his hands. “Did you hear? You’re going to be a big sister.”
Snowflake blinks at George before she twitches her ears, her nose wiggling at George in response to his statement. Jamie laughs.
“I think that means she’s happy about it,” he says as he stands up, moving to clean up the bits of wrapping paper that are scattered across the floor.
George beams. “That makes two of us,” he says before he turns and looks at Jamie. “I love you.”
Jamie smiles, reaching his free hand out to touch the nape of George’s neck before he leans in and kisses him gently. “Love you too.”
