The Holy Nite (BL)

6

When I walk through the doors of the Sunders' house, the smell of Christmas dinner hits me. It smells absolutely gorgeous. I find Gabby in the kitchen, looking flushed and stressed as she drives a myriad of pots and pans.

"Can I help you?" I ask, spotting Rupert and Steven lounging in front of the television, drinking beer.

"Oh, no, that's fine, dear, thank you," she replies. She's the perfect household martyr.

I notice both Rupert and Steven wearing suits, so having deemed myself useless downstairs I go up to my room to change out of yesterday's clothes.

.

I spend a couple of hours drinking beer with Rupert and Steven and feeling very guilty indeed that Gabby has to slave away in the kitchen without anyone even lifting a finger to help her. I'm sure that's the way she prefers it, but it makes me uneasy nonetheless. Five past three, the doorbell rings.

"Oh, golly! The cousins!" Gabby sings from the kitchen.

"Don't worry, mum, I'll get it," Steven calls back, and with a sigh that seems to say that he's the one pulling the weight around the Sunders house today, and, he gets up, smoothes out imaginary creases from his suit and goes to open the front door.

I hear the door open, and then it's like an explosion of sound. The voice of a young girl, shouting "Merry Christmaaaaaas" at the top of her lungs, then the elephant-like thumps of her feet as she runs around in the house. I hear the voice of the girl's mother telling her to "calm the bleeding hell down", and I hear general pleasantries being excited.

"Ah. Well. Time for introductions, then," Rupert says apologetically to me. Then adds with his usual dry voice, "You've already heard Jessica. Thankfully, she's the only child. Though she makes enough noise for an entire kennel."

"A kennel of children?" Ask, cracking up.

"Yes," Rupert replies in his uniquely matter-of-fact way.

Then a tall, handsome woman appears in the sitting room, and Rupert introduces her to me as his sister. I would've never guessed in a million years. They look nothing alike. I'm introduced to the sister's husband, who looks a little bit like Einstein. Well, he has the unnuly hair and moustache like Einstein anyway.

"Where are your offspring?" Rupert asks the woman's. "Lost them already?"

"Oh, they're here somewhere," she says, moving a little out of the way. "Jessica! Come here!"

A girl of maybe ten or so appearances, wearing an adorable red satin ballerina dress. Loud and annoying as she's already managed to produce herself, she shakes hands with me when her mother introductions us.

"I have a couple of sons as well" Rupert's sister says to me in a tone of voice that makes me think that she's probably as like Rupert to talk about a 'the kennel of children's'. "Where are—Ah! Here."

A boy of about 17, dressed impeccably in a dark grey suit, walks up to us. He's introduced as Jacob, and gives me a bored look before slumping down next to his father in the sofa. Then Steven comes walking back from the hallway, engaged in conversation with…

…wait a minute?!

That's James! What the hell?!

"And this is my oldest one," Rupert's sister says, and the look on James's face when he sees me is priceless. I've never seen anyone look so absolutely convinced. "James, this is Gabby and Rupert's tenant, Matthew."

James gives me a bright smile, taking my outstretched hand and says, "Nice to meet you".

"And you," I stutter, trying so, so hard not to think of that same hand between our naked, sleepy bodies just a few hours ago.

Introduction done, we all sit down. Rupert gets drinks for everyone. Steven and James sit next to each other in the sofa and continue to talk, whilst I steal glances of James whenever I think I can get away with it. He's shaved since this morning; his chin is perfectly smooth.

It makes him look different. He looks sort of near. I internally contrast the image of him now with how he looked when he got out of bed this morning, his tousled hair and tired eyes. O God…

"Well, just another term," I hear him tell Steven when I zone back in. "But then I'll probably stay on. Can't really see myself doing anything else, to be honest."

The fact that he pretended like this was the first time he met me makes me think that he's not. Or maybe he's trying to protect me, who knows? Do I need protection? I don't know. I've not told Gabby and Rupert that I'm gay yet, but on the other hand, I've not toold them I'm straight either.

.

Dinner is an uncomfortable affair, though I'm sure I'm the only one who thinks so. Everyone else seems happy enough, and James especially looks like he's enjoying himself. When he asks me if I want to pull my cracker with him, I can virtually see the flames of hell flaring in his eyes. Thankfully, the majority of the company are steady working toward a state of being too tipsy to notice any innuendos from James or blushes from me.

Once we're all thoroughly fed, and dinner's finally, finally over, I find myself alone with him, at last. I've helped Gabby clear the table, and standing in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher, I feel a pair of arms circling my waist.

"I can't believe" James says, making me smile by his me presence, "that you're the tenant. I've heard about you, you know."

"Oh?" Ask, a little nonplussed.

"Oh, yes. The surrogate son.." He lets go of me and slides up to stand with his back against the counter. He grabs a stick of parsnip from a dish and nibbles at it. "Now that I know you live with Aunt Gabby, it makes so much sense to me that you would make that phone call last night."

We both laugh's. I know it would come back to bite me in the arena eventually. I finish putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, then turn to him. He's still eating leftover parsnips.

"Do they know about you?" Ask him quietly.

"You mean…?"

"Well, that you're gay, I guess. Or bi's. Or whatever you are."

"Gay," he says, grinning. "Sure they do. Bloody hell, I'm 21, Matt... How long can you stay in the closet?"

"Some people never leave it," I say, sounding more wishful than I intended.

"Ah," he says shortly, his smile dispearing.

"No, not me! I'm just saying that it's not an unreasonable question. I was just wondering why you pretended like you'd never seen me before."

"What was I wanted to say" he laughs. "Oh, right, yes, Matthew! Yeah, I know him; he spent last night shagging my brains out."

"Oh. My. God." God."

James and I both freeze at the punctuated sentence, looking at the source of the sound. Jessica is standing in the doorway, looking between James and me. I don't know if she understands the full extent of what she overheard James say, but it's clear beyond any doubt that she understands the potential of it. The look on her face is absolutely – absolutely – diabolical. James clearly recognizes that something needs to be done, so he takes a step toward her.

"Jessica—"

"Moum!" She cries, running away from James's outstretched hands.

I hear him mutter "****", running after his sister, and presumably arriving in the sitting room at the same time as Jessica makes her announcement to everyone gathered;

"Mom! Jamie says Matthew shagged his brains out."

I cover my eyes and take a few deep breaths to force down the nauseaa. I'm going to have to move away. Like, right now. As soon as I'm sure I can open my eyes without vomiting, I'll go to my room and start packing my things. This is what I imagine being in the center of a nuclear explosion would be like. The bomb hits the ground, there is a moment of absolute silence, and then hell breaks out.

.........