Coming Home for Christmas

by Max Hudson

  Stewart was surprised when he opened the door. But it wasn’t his family. Jonathan was on the porch, hunched over in his coat and shivering in the biting wind. Stewart stared.

  “Jonathan? Are you getting that fed up with your parents already?”

  “Sort of.” Jonathan stamped his feet. “Can I come in? I have a favor to ask, and it’s fucking freezing out here.”

  “Erm...sure.”

  Still off-balance, Stewart stepped aside and let Jonathan in. His arm brushed against Stewart’s, and Stewart had to bite back a gasp. Just the close proximity of Jonathan made Stewart’s body tighten up as arousal gripped him, but a simple touch had the arousal building, curling up his spine and moving lower. Clearing his throat, Stewart shut the door to the biting cold air and turned to Jonathan, who was still shivering as he rubbed his hands together.

  “That’s better.”

  “What’s wrong? What’s happened now?”

  “It’s Dad and Megan. They’ve argued again, and Megan…” Jonathan sighed. “She’s fed up with it. She wants out. I’ve said she can come live with me, but it’s going to take time to sort out things for her to live on-base and arrange for her belongings to travel across-state.”

  Stewart stared. Megan had snapped?

  “I’m surprised Megan hadn’t lost it long ago.”

  “We’re all surprised that she’s managed to cope, given that Megan’s temper is similar to her father’s.” Jonathan grunted. “I think she was waiting until she finished high school before high-tailing it out of there, but things have come to a head.”

  “And you all want her out.”

  “Definitely. It’s never been a healthy environment, and Megan’s an adult now. She just…” Jonathan spread his hands. “She just needs somewhere to hole up for a few days before I can take her with me. And you’ve always offered…”

  “A place for you guys to hide out until things have calmed down.” Stewart didn’t even need to think. “Megan can come stay here for a few days, no problem. You know I’ll help out.”

  “You don’t mind? What with it being Christmas…”

  “Don’t be silly. I’ve always said if you need help, come find me. The day is purely incidental.”

  Jonathan’s shoulders slumped. Had he expected Stewart to turn him away? As if Stewart could turn down anything Jonathan asked for. And was that a new sweater hugging his torso under his coat?

  Not now. It wasn’t the time.

  “When can you get her over here?” Stewart asked.

  “As soon as Mom and Dad are in bed. They’re pretty heavy sleepers.” Jonathan was looking a little more animated. “I’ll get my siblings involved as well, so it shouldn’t take more than a couple of trips.”

  Stewart did wonder why they wouldn’t do it while their parents were awake, but then remembered it was Miles and Lynn Rodney. They would call the cops on their own children if they tried to help Megan leave. Even though Megan was now an adult, they would do everything to have their own way. Megan, their last child, leaving was a sign they had lost control. And that was not acceptable.

  Stewart moved to the window and looked out across toward the Rodney house. It looked like any other house on the street, although a little bigger. Nobody would realize how fractured their family was.

  “I’ve never understood why you keep going over there if you all don’t want anything to do with them.”

  “We do it for Megan.” Jonathan grunted. “Once she’s out, I’m pretty sure none of us will go back. I know I certainly won’t.”

  “You should’ve cut your losses when they kicked you out twenty years ago.”

  Jonathan sighed.

  “I planned to, but then Mom said she was pregnant again. I knew I had to hang around for my baby brother or sister.”

  “You are a saint, Jonathan.” Stewart turned to him. “No doubt about it, for putting up with them.”

  They stared at each other. Stewart didn’t know what else to say, and Jonathan’s eyes were travelling over him at a slow, steady perusal. Stewart felt his cock hardening as Jonathan’s gaze moved down his body. Gritting his teeth, he turned away. While jumping Commander Rodney felt like a good idea, now was not the time.

  “I’ll stay up and keep the door unlocked.” He headed toward the door and opened it, swallowing hard. “Just send a text when you’re good to go.”

  “Will do.” Jonathan headed to the open door, pausing as he passed Stewart. He gave Stewart a grateful smile and clapped his arm. “Thank you for this, Stewart.”

  “Anytime.” Stewart wished he could keep his hand there a little longer. Maybe a little further down. “I don’t think your parents are going to get the message anytime soon, Jonathan.”

  “I don’t think they are, either.” Jonathan sighed and shook his head. “Hopefully knowing that all of their children have walked out will wake them up a little. We can only hope.”

  Then he was walking out the door, Stewart closing it behind him. He leaned on the door, resting his forehead against the cold wood. He really needed to get a grip. Having a crush on his neighbor was one thing, but taking it further was dangerous ground. Stewart had no problem showing who was in charge in the bedroom but telling if someone wanted to be in that position with him was something else. For all he knew, Jonathan was a dominant partner himself. That was not often a good combination.

  Even then, Stewart was willing to find out one day. Just not right then. They had more important things to deal with.

  Chapter Three

  It was shortly before midnight when Stewart heard a tapping on his front door. He opened it to find Jonathan, Thomas and Megan on the porch, their arms full of Megan’s belongings. Stewart ushered them inside and pointed them up the stairs, directing them to his old room. After his parents moved out, Stewart had moved into their room and now his old room with all his furniture was vacant. It was in good condition, and more than enough for an eighteen-year-old for a couple of days.

  Stewart wasn’t sure what he should be doing, so he simply stood out the way and allowed the Rodney family to move belongings from one house to another. And it seemed like a lot of things. Stewart knew teenagers could accumulate a lot of things, but this felt like Megan was bringing over the entire contents of her house.

  After the fifth trip up to the bedroom and back down again, Stewart led Megan into the living room. Jonathan had been following behind her on the stairs and also joined them, shoving his hands into his pockets. Stewart frowned.

  “How much of your stuff have you got left to bring, Megan?” He asked.

  “Hopefully, not too much. It depends how much we can carry between us?” Megan then looked nervous. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Stewart hastened quickly. “But when Jonathan said he and your siblings were going to bring your things over, nobody said it would be so much.”

  “Everything except the bedroom furniture, which they can keep.” Megan scowled. “I don’t want to go back if I can avoid it. I don’t want Mom and Dad to have something to hold over my head.”

  Stewart sighed. He couldn’t argue with that.

  “Okay, fine. At least I’ve got the room to store it.”

  And it wouldn’t be for long. If Jonathan was serious about taking Megan with him back to base, they would take everything with them. Now that made Stewart feel awful for looking to the day when Megan would be leaving.

  Mostly because it meant knowing that Jonathan would be leaving. Again.

  “Jonathan?” Emily was in the doorway carrying two backpacks. “We’re almost done. Just a couple more boxes.”

  “Good.” Jonathan glanced at Megan. “How are Mom and Dad?”

  “Blake’s keeping watch. All he can hear is a lot of loud snoring.”

  That was when Megan gasped, the sudden noise making Stewart jump.

  “Oh, no! I almost forgot Buster!”

  “Buster?”

  “My cat. I need to get him.” Megan
hurried to her sister. “Emily, can you help me? I need to get him and his things.”

  “Sure.”

  Emily ushered her sister out even as Jonathan started after them. Jonathan groaned and gave Stewart a bashful look.

  “Sorry. She loves that cat. But I don’t know if you…”

  “I’m fine with cats.” Stewart shrugged. “Mom was the allergic one, but I’m not. As long as Megan looks after him, he’s welcome to stay.”

  “Good.” Jonathan’s shoulders slumped a little. “She and Buster do everything together. He’s pretty much her constant companion.”

  “Will they allow pets onto the base?”

  “If the animal came from abroad, the rules would be stricter. From across the other side of the state, it’s fine.”

  That was something. Stewart knew that Megan had a cat, which was one of several in the house. He wasn’t about to deny her one of her pleasures of having a cat as a companion. He moved to the window and looked out. Megan and Emily were just heading into their house with Chris just behind them. It was starting to snow again, thick flakes slowly drifting down.

  Certainly, a white Christmas. Not exactly a cheerful one, though.

  “She won’t get into trouble for taking the cat as well?”

  “Buster is Megan’s cat. We’ve known it for years.” Jonathan spread his hands. “It’ll be fine, trust me.”

  “I hope so.” Stewart grunted. “I don’t want the cops at my door.”

  “You won’t.”

  Jonathan left the room, disappearing back upstairs. Stewart stayed at the window and watched everything unfolding. For the past half-hour, the seven Rodney children had gone back and forth, carrying boxes and backpacks. At this hour, most of the houses in the street were either fast asleep or too drunk to notice that something was happening. If they had noticed, one of them would have rung Miles. Even with everything happening, they were still friends with him. Miles would have put a stop to this.

  Not that he could do much. All of his children were grown up. They could do what they wanted. It was only with the fear of what their father could do that made them lose their confidence. Stewart had seen it too many times; his grandmother had done the same thing. His mother’s family didn’t listen to anyone except her. Mavis had stood up to her mother, and things had ended with Mavis against the rest of her family. She didn’t care, and Stewart was glad to be out of it.

  It would do Megan good to be away from it all as well.

  “Stewart?”

  Stewart turned. Carly was walking across the room toward him. Stewart moved to join her.

  “Hey.” He gave his friend a hug. “How are you doing?”

  “Exhausted. Visits home are emotionally draining.” Carly rubbed at her eyes. “Mom and Dad do that to us all the time.”

  Stewart chuckled.

  “You work for immigration, Carly. How is that less stressful than being around your parents?”

  “Immigration troubles feel like a luxury compared to my parents. Mostly because immigration is dealing with other people’s problems, not my own.” Carly smiled up at him, cupping Stewart’s cheek. “You’re a saint, Stewart, do you know that?”

  “I’ve known you guys all my life. How could I not help?”

  Carly sighed.

  “If you weren’t gay, I’d be all over you by now.”

  Stewart laughed and kissed her forehead.

  “If I were straight, Carly, you’d be out of my league.”

  “How would you know?”

  “Trust me, you would be.” Stewart stepped back. “Besides, I think you and your siblings should be the saints. I know you all resent your parents for everything. You don’t live hours away for nothing. I mean, you live in Alaska. Probably as far as you can get without leaving the country.”

  “I guess.” Carly shrugged. “Well, there are seven of us. We look out for each other. We’re a family together.”

  Stewart knew that already. And he also knew that as soon as Megan was out of the house, all the Rodney children would make sure they barely interacted with their parents, if they chose to at all. Certainly, no more holidays spent together unless something drastic happened to Miles and Lynn’s attitudes.

  Stewart had encountered people like them before, and not just in his own family. People like that didn’t change, not even when they had alienated everyone. They were just too set in their mindset that they were the ones who had been wronged.

  “How come your parents can’t see what they’ve been doing has pushed their children away?”

  Carly snorted.

  “I think they should wonder why none of us have brought a boyfriend back. I’m engaged, but I’ve told my fiancé that he will never meet my parents. He’s a fed and everything decent you could ask for, but Dad would find a reason to dislike him.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” Carly sighed. “I wish I had decent parents who would be happy for me. But unless it’s the son of a wealthy family friend who’s going to be my husband, they don’t want to know.”

  Stewart had heard Jonathan rant about that before. The amount of times he had come back early from a function he had been strong-armed into attending, only to find that the daughter of a friend of a friend was there and intent on snaring him as a catch.

  According to Miles, anyone less than a wealthy heir was not good enough. When the siblings were old enough to date, their dates had been vetted. Stewart still couldn’t get his head around vetting high school kids. It certainly kept the undesirables away, but it did make dating very, very difficult.

  It was just sad, in his opinion. Asserting your authority over your children was one thing. But refusing to let go and make them dependent on you for absolutely everything, right down to the way they thought, was just ridiculous.

  Stewart found it baffling that people even behaved like this.

  “Maybe they didn’t have control in their own lives when they were kids.” He spread his hands. “I’m not trying to excuse their actions; I’m just wondering out loud.”

  “I don’t know.” Carly sighed. “But I do know that they don’t speak to their parents.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?”

  There was some shuffling in the doorway. Stewart looked past Carly to see Jonathan appear with a relatively large scratching post, which he was moving into the room. Behind him, heading past and going up the stairs, was Megan with a black and white cat in her arms. Emily and Thomas were passing through as well, going toward the kitchen. Their arms were full of extra things for Buster.

  For a cat, he certainly had a lot of things.

  “I’ll help out with setting things up.” Carly squeezed Stewart’s arm. “Thanks for listening, Stewart.”

  “Anytime.”

  Carly stepped forwards and kissed his cheek. Then she left the room, disappearing down the hallway. Stewart turned to see Jonathan taking a step back from the scratching post, which looked like a miniature tree house. And it looked very out of place next to Stewart’s couch.

  This was going to be interesting.

  ***

  Jonathan felt a little lighter once all of Megan’s things were out of their parents’ home and into Stewart’s. Now none of them had, essentially, any ties to the house. They just had another night to spend before they could go home with the intention of never needing to come back again. Not unless his parents managed to change their attitudes, which Jonathan didn’t see them doing anytime soon.

  Certainly not his father.

  This was just sad. Having to sneak their sister out in the middle of the night because they were scared of being confronted by their father. They should simply leave and not look back. Even after everything, the seven of them weren’t able to completely stand up to him. It happened in short bursts, trying to keep the peace with Megan around.

  Now she was gone, and they didn’t have a hold.

  Jonathan couldn’t wait to go back home. Within a couple of days, Megan should be able
to join him. Start afresh.

  It was nearly one in the morning before everyone headed back to their parents’, ready to fall into bed and try to get some sleep. But Jonathan stayed behind. Even though he was exhausted, Jonathan found himself unable to tear away from Stewart. Not just yet. He needed, selfishly, just a few more minutes with the gorgeous young man before he satisfied his need for sleep.

  Stewart was in the kitchen when Jonathan found him. He was pouring coffee into two mugs. Jonathan stood in the doorway and watched him. An inch shy of six feet, dark-haired and slim in the way swimmers were slim, Stewart Houghton cut a pretty fine figure. Not one to conform to type, he was always in jeans and a polo shirt. That was his uniform and it never seemed to change, not even with the weather.

  He was looking more toned than the last time they had seen each other earlier in the year. Fitter. It looked good on him. Jonathan leaned against the doorframe and took a moment to peruse Stewart openly without him noticing. They had been to the lake together, and Jonathan had seen Stewart in trunks, but that had been when Stewart was barely eighteen. He was practically stick-thin at that point.

  Not like now. He was, most certainly, a man.

  Jonathan wasn’t stupid. He knew that Stewart harbored a crush on him. And it was flattering. Jonathan envied Stewart at times. He was comfortable with who he was, and he was fine with people knowing about his sexuality. Jonathan could only wish for that confidence.

  Stewart turned and saw Jonathan staring at him. Did his eyes darken just a little? Jonathan cleared his throat and pushed off the doorframe, now feeling like a dirty old man. There was a ten-year gap between them, but Stewart had the ability to make Jonathan feel even older at moments like this.

  “Megan’s getting ready to sleep.” He grunted, straightening his sweater. “Everyone else has gone back to the house. Once it’s light, we’re going home.”

  “Okay.” Stewart held up one of the mugs. “You want coffee?”

  “Please.”

  Jonathan took the mug, almost dropping it when his fingers brushed against Stewart’s. From the slight smirk on Stewart’s face, it seemed intentional. Then he drew his hand away, giving Jonathan a sly look before reaching for the second mug. He leaned back against the counter, crossing his feet at the ankles, and took a sip. It should be made illegal to look that good.