Home For Christmas

Ryan was a bit nervous about this family gathering. It was close to Christmas and the adult found himself at a loss for ideas on what to get his family, friends, and boyfriend. He knew that his parents wouldn't be picky, they would just want him home for the holidays. But he was going to get them something much better than that, he just wasn't sure yet. He wasn't good at gift giving, at least he told himself that. Growing up in a well off family had its perks and he knew how to get the better things, things that were worth his money. But he just couldn't decide what was worth giving to the people he loved and liked. He couldn't get just anything for Malachi, this had to be a thought out gift that came from the heart. But it couldn't be too big, it couldn't be too much. The gift had to be just right and it had to be perfect. Perfect enough for the perfect guy.

He also had to worry about getting the right gift for his little sister. What did eleven year old girls like? She was almost done with her first year of Beauxbatons and that was about all he knew about her. Okay, there were a lot of other things he knew but nothing to help him figure out what to get her. She wasn't the type to wear dresses, so that was out of the question. She was too old to play with dolls. Anything she wanted, she could just ask their parents for. Why was this so hard? As days went by he began to worry more about presents. He had spent a lot of his time, when he wasn't working, looking in shops to find good gifts. He stopped one day in front of an old building that was for rent, it was small and needed a serious paint job after a good cleaning. He would never be able to afford the building with the money he earned from his job but he could always go to his parents for help. He knew how Malachi wanted to become a famous designer and one day he would need his own space to fulfill that dream. Maybe this was the space that would make his dream grow. Of course, the plan was bit farfetched and it would involve a very serious conversation with his parents, who would probably say yes. But it was worth it.

As the days came and went and after talking to his parents, he was finished with Kai's gift. Ryan would have to pay his parents back, but he was okay with that plus he put a lot of his money into it too. He spent such a long time deciding on what to get his sister and finally something stood out to him. It was a locket from a muggle shop. He didn't really care that it was muggle, he thought Isobel was going to like it. If she didn't, he was sure his parents had bought her things they knew she'd like. Finally, it was the day of the family gathering and Ryan was a bit nervous to bring Malachi home as his boyfriend. He had told them about their relationship and they seemed very supportive but they were bound to embarrass him somehow. And he just knew that Isobel wouldn't be able to keep her big mouth shut.

Isobel hated Christmas. And each year she made sure everyone knew, by way of the Christmas mumble. Under her breath, she’d complain about everything. Wrapping presents, the decorations in the house, Ryan’s dumb cat chewing on the Christmas tree, waiting until the day of Christmas to open presents, and especially everybody being so cheerful about the holiday. It was just another day.

She was growing more and more impatient with Ryan. He was not coming home on her schedule and she was angry. She sat on one of the couches in the living room and was roughly petting the cat when her brother and Malachi walked in. She crossed her arms and frowned. “What took you so long?” she demanded, looking directly at Ryan. She nudged the cat to get him to go away. She stood up and walked to greet the pair.

Isobel hugged her brother. “I missed you,” she said, still annoyed. She didn’t want to let go of him, but she had company. So she pulled away and turned to Malachi.

“Hi, Malachi,” Isobel greeted. She fluffed her hair with her fingers, smiled, then winked at him. “I'm Isobel. Welcome to our home.”

Malachi wasn't used to calling Ryan his boyfriend yet, but it wasn't an unpleasant sort of feeling. He never imagined in a million years that someday he would be Ryan's sweetheart and was thankful for the other man's love. He was accustomed to celebrating Christmas with his family in Dresden, and wanted to take Ryan as his date to the family event, but when Ryan beat him to cut and invited him over for Christmas, Malachi decided to break tradition.

He had met the Green's once way back when him and Ryan were just friends and though he knew they were nice, he was nervous to be introduced this time as Ryan's 'boyfriend' rather than just 'friend.' On top of that, the Green's obtained a new family member, which he hadn't yet been acquainted with yet.

The St. Holmes didn't make much money and Kai's internship didn't pay well either, but he still brought presents for the Green's. For Ryan's mother, a lovely potted poinsettia, for Ryan's father, a hand thrown mug. For the young Isobel whom Kai had yet to meet, he decided to play it safe and got her an assortment of chocolates. And for his beloved Ryan, Malachi was at a loss what to give him. His body and his love was a given, so what else could Kai give? They had only been together for a few months but knew each other for years, which left Malachi wondering if they were going to go big for Christmas, or just small things in case their relationship didn't last. Malachi would give Ryan all the jewels in the world if he could, but he couldn't. He decided to give Ryan something handmade. It took him nearly forever to knit the sweater but Kai was pleased with it's results. It wasn't an expensive gift but a lot of time and thought was put into it.

He tucked the gifts away so Ryan couldn't see them as he took hold of his boyfriend's hand and prepared to apparate to the Green's house. His knees quivered with nerves as they appeared before the threshold and entered the house Malachi hadn't been in in years. He only let go of Ryan's hand when his boyfriend and his sister shared an embrace. Malachi gave her a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you, Isobel," He offered his glove-clad hand for her to shake.

Ryan missed his family a lot but he was just waiting for someone to embarrass him and he expected Isobel to be the one to embarrass him. But she hadn't. Yet. As soon as he walked through the door, she had asked him what took so long. He had planned to come around this time and he didn't believe he was late. But then again, she probably wanted him to come when she wanted him to. Bur he had his own schedule and he would not bend over backwards for anyone, including his sister. "What do you mean? I'm here, aren't I? That's good enough." He grinned and hugged his sister tightly. "Don't get all huffy with me, I didn't have to come." He was joking of course, he wanted to come and see his family. But he would have also been okay with spending the holidays with Malachi's family.

It wasn't long until his, well his family's, cat came running up to him and began rubbing against his legs. "Hey little guy," he grinned and picked up his cat. The black cat took its place on Ryan's shoulders like a parrot. He was sure that his parents were in the kitchen making Christmas dinner, they always went all out. "How's school going?"

Suddenly, his mother sprang from the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her son and pressed kisses all around his face. "My baby boy is home," she smiled brightly. The cat was no where to be seen now and now his mother's arms were around him. Nope, it wasn't Isobel that was going to embarrass him, it was his mother. He was glad to see his mother's smiling face and didn't mind so much that she was being embarrassing. "Oh," she suddenly said as if she just remembered that her son had brought company. "Hello! I'm so glad Ryan brought over company!" She was now hugging Kai and Ryan was mouthing 'sorry'.

Isobel was going to shake Malachi's hand, but she was suddenly very distracted by her mother's excitement. Isobel wasn't really surprised by he mother's behavior, but it didn't stop her from being embarrassed. "Don't be weird, Mother. You'll scare him away," Isobel said. She could visualize the event already. She couldn't let that happen. Then Ryan would for-sure never visit. His words were true. He didn't have to visit.

Isobel then wondered if she was as embarrassing to Ryan as their mother was to her. Isobel pushed the thought away. When Ryan wasn't around, she was the coolest person in the family, which meant that she was still pretty great. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and stepped away from her mom. She briefly thought about leaving the room, but she didn't want to miss anything.

Just as Malachi remembered, the Green's were more than friendly. He stood by and smiled as Ryan was doted upon by his mother. He couldn't help but let a chuckle escape as she called him her baby boy. He could tell this was embarrassing for Ryan, but enjoyed every moment of it. Until it was his turn to be hugged.

Mrs. Green had a stronger embrace than he remembered as his eyes widened with her binding hug. He had to take a moment before it was over to catch his breath before uttering, "Thank you for allowing me to come." He genuinely meant it. He was glad to get to meet Ryan's family again. Especially since now he was his boyfriend.

"Ummm, where should I put my things?" He asked, after a moment. He had his clothes for the stay, some papers he had to fill out for work, and, of course, his gifts for Christmas. He wondered, unabashedly, if he was to be sent to the guest room again or if he was allowed to share Ryan's room. He didn't dare ask though.

Ryan turned a bit pink when his mother wrapped her arms around his boyfriend and captured him in a hug. He let out a small sigh when she let go of him and the conversation was now on where they would be sleeping. Finally, the attention wasn't on him and it wasn't something weird. Before he could say anything, his father appeared and put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Isobel made your bed hers while you were gone," he squeezed Ryan's shoulder a bit. "But she'll be sleeping in her own room tonight." He eyed his daughter before turning back to his son. "I assume you're looking for a proper job instead of that horrid one you call a job." It was time for the judging to begin and the 'suggesting'. He could deny it but he was a bit controlling and thought his opinion was an important one.

"I'm looking, Dad," he said in an annoyed tone. He rolled his eyes and grabbed Kai's hand. "Come on, let's go put your stuff away." Honestly, he wanted to get away from his father.

Isobel rolled her eyes at the look her father gave her (once he turned away, of course). " I slept in there once and now it's a huge deal? I asked Mom first, didn't I?" Isobel turned to Ryan. "I will put new sheets on your bed before you sleep, if you want. And just set my bear on the ground on top of my pillow. I'll come get them later."

Isobel was starting to think it'd just be easier to follow them and do it herself, but she wasn't invited. Normally she wouldn't care and would do it anyway, but she knew Ryan cared about Malachi and she didn't want to ruin that. And if she did, what would happen? He'd probably end up with another Harley. Isobel didn't want another Harley. To Isobel, everything was better than Harley.

Malachi chuckled as Ryan's father entered the room and relayed that Isobel had claimed Ryan's bed for her own. He wondered if this would've been a common thing between him and Ruby if they had grown up together and found it a charming aspect of sibling life. His face fell a bit though when Mr. Green all but complained about Ryan's current job. Ryan was simply still trying to find his niche in life and Kai didn't mind that his job didn't make a lot of money. Neither did his, but him and his family worked together to make the best of their low income jobs. He feared what Mr. Green might think if he knew about his own career choice.

As Ryan excused them so Kai could drop his things off, he paused a moment and offered a hand to Mr. Green to shake. "Thank you for letting me stay," he said politely and then followed his boyfriend towards the room.

He entered as the door opened and first dropped his bags on the bed before finding the pillows and teddy bear Isobel had mentioned. He removed them from the bed and placed them as she told him to on a neat pile on the floor. He turned to Ryan then and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, leaning his forehead against Ryan's. "You're family is just as nice as always. I even like Isobel," He told him and pressed a small kiss to his lips.