First Christmas
#1 of Family Ties Spinoff Stuff
Nick was nervous. It was strange, or at least he thought it was. It wasn't supposed to be a rough time, the holidays. His first holiday season with Nathan should be a great time. Sure, the festive music had grown old before thanksgiving, and the winter weather was awful for a short-furred cat like him. But it was the holidays.
His justifications fell out of his head when he saw the tree. It wasn't anything special, just a simple evergreen. A few pine needles had already fallen to rest next to the bright red stand at its base. The boxes scattered around the room were far more intimidating, filled with ornaments and lights.
Nathan snapped him out of his thoughts with a gentle touch on the shoulder. He asked, "Is something wrong? You seem a bit out of it."
Nick took the paw in his own and squeezed gently. He said, "No, not really. You're here after all."
Nathan smiled even wider somehow, before gesturing to the tree. "Alright then, it's time to decorate. Do you want to put the first one on?"
Nick's heart skipped a beat, his hands shaking slightly. He swallowed and said, "No no, you go ahead. They're your ornaments right?"
Nathan shrugged before going over to one of the boxes and rummaging around in it. His crimson tail lazily wagged above him as he leaned over the low box.
Nick sighed, quietly so Nathan wouldn't hear. He hated the holidays. He hated the pageantry and the show of it all. He hated the yearly rituals and seasonal habits. If any of it were worth a damn then people would do things like this all year long. The worst part was the memories.
"There!" Nick jumped. "I know it's a bit strange. A glass shoe of all things, but dad always loved it. He said he got it from his great-grandfather when he moved out. A bona fide good luck charm. Mom always said that was silly because as far as she could tell it was just normal glass with flaky paint."
Nick laughed at that. He could see it now, the Yoshino family sitting in a room like this one with a similar tree, with the parents arguing over the silly thing. His lips felt dry when he said, "Uhm, I guess I should put one up then?"
Nathan pulled him over to the boxes, excitement practically radiating off of him. "Here, these ones are the important ones, we gotta put these ones up. The rest are just cheap things anyone could get from a store."
The contents were all wrapped in beige paper, likely to prevent them from getting damaged. Nick figured having him near them was a bit counterproductive in that case.
He picked up a bundle and unwrapped it with shaky hands. It was a blue and red dolphin with a simple string hooked through the nose.
Nathan chuckled and said, "Yeah, that one's a product of four-year-old me. He didn't know what color dolphins were supposed to be, so he started with his favorite. Then when his older sister saw him and told him that he should use the right color, he guessed that they must be blue if they lived in the water."
Nick couldn't help but laugh. The imagined scene was just a bit too much.
"That's not very nice. It's not that bad, right?"
"You thought that everything that lived in water was blue?" Nick put a paw over his mouth failing to stifle his laughter.
Nathan opened his mouth to defend himself, before pouting. Nick started laughing again.
"Just...put it on the tree." Nathan crossed his arms and frowned at Nick, but that only lasted a couple of seconds before he smiled, just a little bit.
Nick turned back to the tree. Up close it seemed far more...present. With an ornament in hand, a glass ornament no less, it was actually a bit scary. Nick swallowed the lump in his throat and walked forward.
His palms were sweaty, and his fingers shook a bit. He leaned forward to place it on one of the lower branches. His fingers slipped, just the slightest movement in the wrong direction and the precious memory went falling to the ground. His heart fell and crashed on the ground after it.
"No, no,nonononono." He dropped to a crouch and started to gather up the pieces. Apologies slipped through tight lips one after the other. His tail lashed behind with nervous energy and his shoulders tucked in tight.
He flinched when Nathan placed a hand on his shoulder. A second later he squeezed, gently. "Hey, it's fine. I guess this is what you were nervous about huh?"
Nick flinched at that. He was ready for it, the yelling and accusations. The punishments. He nodded. He had learned that getting it over with was better than dragging things out. He would have spoken, but he found his words caught in his throat. His jaw was clenched like a vice.
"Come on, up we go." Nathaniel didn't pause as he pulled Nick to his feet and softly led him into the dining room. "Wait here, just a second."
Nick idly stared at the broken bits of glass in his hands. It wasn't just a thing, not to Nathan. It was something precious, something important, and he had destroyed it. It made him sick.
Nathan made his presence known when he dumped a similar pile of glass fragments and a hot glue gun down on the table.
Nick had to ask. "Why aren't you mad? I broke it! You made this when you were so little and I broke it."
Nathan froze for a second, staring at Nick. He sat down next to him and took the fragments to place them on the table. Nathan milled through the pieces as he spoke, arranging them in a pattern that mostly lined up with the original shape.
"It's a thing, Nick. it doesn't matter, not really. Besides, even if it did, things can be fixed."
Nathan took the glue gun and delicately traced a thin line along the seam before joining them together.
"Here, see?" He raised the now joined pieces up for Nick to look at.
Nick took it in hand, and only then did he notice the way the pieces were attached, the faint line where they had broken....and another line with the same look to it. His eyes snapped over to Nathan when he realized.
"I'm just glad you're here. These decorations don't matter. Having you here is what matters the most to me."
Nick still had to ask, "Even though I-" He was interrupted when Nathan gently tapped him on the nose.
"Yes, even if you broke it."
Nick frowned a bit and started to speak again. That's when Nathan kissed him.
Maybe the holidays wouldn't be so bad this year. After all, he had Nathan now.