Christmas morning

[1stmacleod]

Connor sleeps sprawled, one foot hanging out from under the covers, recovering from a late-night indulgence of spiked eggnog. It's tradition.
The bedroom door creaks open, a quiet sound of protest that would normally wake him, but it goes unregarded. A figure lingers in the doorway cautiously, assessing him, and then creeps slowly into the room to stop a few feet away. There's another pause, another quiet moment of thought, and then the gentle tugging on Connor's arm begins.
"Dad? Dad?"
He groans, and tries to shake off the touch without opening his eyes.
"Dad? It's Christmas dad! Pleeeease?"
One grey eye opens, and blearily regards the boy. Dark-haired and dusky tan from the sun, John stands by the bed with his best pleading look. He grasps his father's arm again gently, but doesn't pull. The clock reads barely past six A.M.
"I could make you coffee!"
Connor pictures John on a stool at the kitchen counter, spilling coffee beans on the floor and trying to work the grinder. He groans again. "No. Just... half an hour more?"
John says nothing, sinking down to sit beside the bed. He watches his father with a sorrowful gaze, waiting. Connor can feel it through closed eyelids.
"...Has it been half an hour yet dad?"
Connor collects himself with a sound halfway between a groan and a chuckle, rubbing his eyes. Who can be annoyed at a child for being impatient on Christmas morning? He shakes his head a little, bemused, and looks to the side of the bed again.

John isn't there.

This isn't the house in Marrakesh, it's Kairos' home in the mountains in France, and there are no children here to badger him awake, or lead him grumbling in his bathrobe out to the tree, or tear the paper impatiently off boxes of toys.

The clock still reads barely past six A.M. and it's Christmas morning, but the house is quiet, and Connor is alone in his room. He stares blankly at the place beside his bed where John would be, until it's almost half an hour, a real half hour that even the ghost of John won't let him sleep in.

He gets up, after that, because there's no way he can sleep. Regina doesn't mind an early morning walk, and then he makes tea, instead of coffee, because he can do it without letting the kettle whistle or any other noises that might wake Kairos. Then he sits in the living room, looking at Christmas, and seeing other trees and other mornings. When he hears Kairos stirring he's quick to make coffee, and seeing her makes him smile. He's got a girlfriend who loves him, and he's gradually relaxing into a more idyllic life than he ever thought he could have again. Connor is deeply grateful, but he has moments of wistfulness all through the morning and the rest of the day.
Some part of him worries about just how damn much scotch people have given him for Christmas, and part of him worries even more that he'll be drinking a lot of it, tonight.

Comments

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Well... I can't put the big one in your lap." He's not kidding, either, because it's a big square flat box bigger than the one that held April's painting. He's had to tape together wrapping paper just to get it covered. Instead he picks up a little box with a ribbon that's hanging on the tree. It's about the right size to be a jewelry box, in fact, which is exactly what it is. The jewelry box is velvet, a little old, and the ring inside is much older.

He hands her the box to unwrap, then starts working on the paper on his own oversized gift... and then gapes a little, and blushes. "You're buying me a puppy?" She's rewarded with that rare, open smile that makes him look like a teenager. Connor's a dog person at heart, and he thinks Regina's sweet, but she's small, and she's not his. Clearly this is the best present he's ever been given.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

Kai'd caught on to that, and had thought a dog would be perfect. "Any kind you want. There's actually.. a stipulation. Before I met you, I'd wanted to buy a house house, to get away from some memories.." she shakes her head. "No matter. I was thinking of something with a yard. For Regina and your puppy. Do you think you could wait till then?"

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"...And space for a forge? Of course I can wait." If there's anything Connor has a wealth of, it's time. He grins at the dog accessories again. It just may be a good year, coming up. He's past due for that.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"You'll need to go with me, then, to look for the appropriate space."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"I'd... like to go pick it out... together." He smiles, just a little anxious, still waiting on her to open the box with the antique pearl ring. It's not that kind of ring, because he moves slower than he used to on commitment, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been putting thought in that direction.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"That would be nice." She smiles, absently opening the little box.

And then she does, and she blinks. "Oh, Connor.."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"It's an antique. Well... it's younger than I am, but..." He looks bashful, fidgeting. "I wasn't sure about giving you jewelry, because it's what you make..."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She reaches over and pets him. "But I've never gotten jewelry from anyone I'm not related to before. It's lovely. Thank you."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Well I can always get you jewelry again." If she actually likes it, that just opens it up to giving her jewelry for nearly every occasion. She doesn't know what kind of monster she may have just unleashed. As a former antique dealer, and an investor (most jewelry appreciates in value if you keep it carefully stored away long enough), he has an excellent eye.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"You could. Anything is appreciated, but then again, you're not required to buy me presents, honey." She reaches up and kisses his neck.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

He's so relieved, she can't possibly imagine. "I've never... been with anyone who makes jewelry before. I wasn't sure if you'd want something you could make yourself. But I like giving presents." He can afford it now, too, since he's got his finances back. He tilts his head a little for the kiss, and squeezes her close.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She shrugs. "I can do jewelry on my on, sure. But there's talent out there that surpasses mine. Or they've thought of something I haven't. It's totally okay."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"...The big package goes with jewelry." He nods at the big flat box, still smiling but a little nervously, again.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Oh, does it?" She carefully starts to unwrap it.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

She'll probably have to stand up to do it, the box is only about four inches wide, but a good three feet square. Under the wrapping paper is a box he had to custom build from cardboard and duct tape, and under that... is a big shape made of interwoven wide strips of metal, burnished to a matte dark silver shine. It's not iron, but it's a heavy alloy. There are leaf shapes welded to the upper part, and small hooks among the leafy branches, and the roots. The thing is pretty enough to be a wall hanging on its own, but Connor watches her unwrap it anxiously and explains, "It's for hanging jewelry on..."

Suddenly all these days he was gone for hours and came home dirty and with the occasional singe mark on his clothes should make a lot of sense.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She unwraps it all and just blinks. "Connor." She looks up at him. "This is gorgeous. A work of art." Her fingers slip over the branches. "I'm pretty sure clients will want to know where I managed to get this from when I take it to work.."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Aww, I'm not an artist, and I'm out of practice, but I met somebody in the Nexus who knew somebody else with a forge I could borrow... and it's right on the coast..." There's something in his tone that speaks of how much he likes the place. He's looking bashful over her compliments, though. "I can hang it wherever you want, sorry it's kind of heavy."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"A forge on the coast. Sounds like something from your dreams. We can go to the shop on Monday.."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"It's off the coast of Maine." He looks bashful, but can't help the wistful tone. "I kept one of the lighthouses along there, once, after the last time I left the sea." The one thing about it that was not ideal was that the forge wasn't his. Although he would have stuck to a more traditional little place, if he built it himself.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Speaking of..." She prods the last small package. "Open."

Inside is the address of a nearby marina in Nice.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"If there's a boat in here, it must be a small one..." He smirks a little and unwraps it, looking surprised when he sees the address. He was only joking.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"It's not a boat of your own, but a friend of mine owns a marina. He says we can come down and use any of his for free for the next year."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Oh Kai... it's wonderful." He hugs her again, grinning. A boat to use, a dog and a home together sometime in the near future; this is definitely the best Christmas he's had in a long time.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She hugs him back tightly. "I thought you might like it."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"We'll make a day of it. Can you swim? I guess... it doesn't matter much since you can fly?" It's always good to be sure, though. Connor can swim, but not well, and he hates drowning.