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

[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.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that'll be fun!" She nods. "I can swim a little. Not well, but enough, I guess, to make sure I don't kill myself."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"I guess we're even on that, then." He hates swimming, but he hates drowning more. Connor squeezes her close gently, nuzzling her hair. "It's an amazing Christmas. Thank you."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She wraps her arms around him. "It's been lovely. I'm so glad I could do all this for you."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"And you... really want to look for a house together?" He smiles, but a little nervously. It sounds like heaven, but some part of him is still walking on eggshells with that idea. He set out to make a perfect life with a woman before, and it ended in tragedy. Twice.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

She nods, a little nervous herself. "I .. yeah, I do. It doesn't mean that you're .. tied down, or whatever. But .. well. You're happy here, right? And I'm happy too.."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Kai... I... just because I've spent most of my life alone doesn't mean I like it." He sighs, but the truth is he's a family man at heart. unlike some men, he's never really thought of it as a ball and chain. A good home, steady work, a wife and a few kids is his dream life.

"I'm happy here, as much as I can be right now. I'm just... nervous." He looks apologetic and guilty over it, too.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"No need to be nervous. Or. Well. It's okay to be nervous. We're not rushing anything. If it makes you feel better, we can think of it as roommates moving in together."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor gives her a little squeeze, and rests his face against her hair. "No. I want to think of it as what it is. I love you, Kai. I'm just afraid, because I've lost what I love too many times. Too soon."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"I'm here to stay. I promise. I love you too."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"The world doesn't always... keep those promises." He sighs and squeezes her close, as if he never wants to let her go again. "But thanks. Maybe... this time things will turn out right. Jacob's gone..."

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"And while the threats here in Sanctuary are very real, I tend to avoid them." She squeezes back.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"You know, I've been accused of paranoia before..." He smiles weakly, but his experiences have given him good cause for it.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"Well. I haven't seen Zian since Phil broke his hand, so that threat - as ridiculous as he was - isn't there anymore. And the darkness hasn't encroached any more areas..." See! No reason to panic!

((Oh, what Connor isn't familiar with in his adopted world!))

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connr squeezes her just a little tighter, face half buried in her hair and very possessive and protective. That's not exactly reassuring. Connor has made tentative friends in Clark, April, and a couple of other people, but he's still a little lost about the people in Kai's social circle. Every time he hears about them and what they get up to, he worries.

[kairos-aether.livejournal.com]

"It's okay, you know. Sanctuary really is safer than most places outside."