I had planned to finish and post this yesterday- you know, when it was actually Christmas- but I barfed instead. For Helena.
...
Sam flicked the television off and dropped the remote control on the coffee table. He heaved out a sigh. Tilted his head against the back of the couch as he slumped down, limp-limbed and bored out of his mind. He stared up at the ceiling, contemplating the weather report he'd just seen—an unexpected amount of snow and high winds meant that visibility was very low. Along with myriad other side effects he'd mostly ignored.
His main concern was the fact that Gabriel and Luce's flight was scheduled to leave in five minutes.
As if triggered by his musings, the landline rang. That meant only two people could be calling—Luce or Sam's uncle Bobby. Sam would be willing to bet it was the former. He hauled himself to his feet and shuffled over to where the vintage pastel yellow rotary wall phone hung and picked it up.
"Luce?"
A brief scuffle on the other end, and Luce answered. "Hello, Sam." He seemed a bit breathless—Sam could hear Gabriel laughing, muffled, on the other end. Luce cleared his throat. "Bad news, Sam..."
He'd known this would happen. Still, he couldn't help the little flare of disappointment and worry behind his ribs. "Delay?" His voice came out a little quieter than he meant it to.
"I'm sorry, darling." Luce sounded worn down and his voice was hoarse. "The plane won't be here for at least a few hours. I don't think we can make it home in time for dinner."
Sam nodded. Remembered, of course, that neither could see him through the phone.
"Okay," he muttered. "That's fine. I'll just... order takeout or something. And I can reheat the stuff I made today for tomorrow's dinner." He was halfway through cooking the turkey and most of the other stuff was almost done as well. "Everything tastes better reheated, anyway. Right?"
He heard Luce sigh on the end of the line, gusty and soft. Sam shifted his weight to one foot, scratching the back of his leg with his toes, and leaned against the wall. He wanted to say something to reassure Luce that he would be fine without them, but truth be told... He'd be lonely. It was Christmas, after all, and he wanted to spend time with the people he loved. Especially since they'd been gone on a business trip together for a whole week.
Rather than tell them how much he wished they were there, though, he said, "I'll be okay, I promise," and "I miss you."
"I miss you too, and Gabriel, despite rolling his eyes as we speak, does as well." Luce laughed quietly. "We hope to see you sooner rather than later, sweetheart."
"Yeah." Sam smiled to himself. "See you soon." He hung up, and leaned his forehead against the wall. He stood like that for a while—until the oven beeped. So he checked the turkey, and began to put some things away. Left the bird on the top of the stove while he covered casserole dishes of stuffing and potatoes in tin foil and shoved them into the fridge none too gently. When most everything had been put away he tossed himself down on the couch, contemplating watching a movie.
He decided against it and just sat there.
Sam woke several hours later to the touch of a cold hand on his face. He blinked his eyes open and found himself face-to-face with Luce, who crouched in front of the sofa. Luce smiled at him, and Sam rubbed his eyes as he sat up, rolling his shoulder—he'd lain on it weird, clearly.
"Luce?"
Luce smiled at him. Standing nearby, Gabriel cleared his throat, and raised his eyebrows when Sam looked at him.
Sam grinned. He held his hand out to drag Gabriel closer. "What time is it?" He rearranged himself as Luce sat on one side of the couch and Gabriel on the other.
"Still Christmas!" Gabriel snuggled up against Sam with pleased little hum. "But only for like... an hour."
Sam nodded. "Good." He wrapped an arm around Gabriel's shoulders and leaned against Luce, who kissed his forehead. "I'm glad we can still spend a little bit of Christmas together." He half-shut his eyes. Sandwiched between Gabriel and Luce, he felt very safe and loved, even though Luce's touch raised goosebumps on his skin and Gabriel's made him sweat. He kind of liked how opposite they were from each other.
Luce ran his fingers through Sam's hair and Sam shivered. They sat all jumbled on the couch for a while until Gabriel popped to his feet and disappeared down the hall. His socked feet were silent on the wood floor. He returned not long after with a little bag in one hand and his perpetual smirk firmly in place.
Sam raised his eyebrows. "Should I be worried?"
"Nah!" Gabriel grasped Sam's wrist with his free hand and pulled him to his feet. "But c'mon. Let's get ready for bed!"
"O...kay?" Sam followed after him, and Luce remained in the living room for a moment, turning off the lights. After a moment, though, he joined them in the bedroom, palm pressed flat against Sam's lower back while Gabriel dumped the contents of his bag out on the floor.
It was books. Just books. Gabriel beamed up at Sam, spreading the books out on the floor—Lolita, and a collection of Emily Dickinson poems, and a worn copy of The Little Prince. Sam sat on the bed and looked down at them with a soft smile.
"Thank you, Gabriel."
Gabriel draped himself across Sam's lap. "Don't mention it, babe." He winked, and pushed Sam over so they could lay together.
Luce watched them both with an amused expression. He shook his head, barely smiling, and loosened his tie, turning to the closet. Slowly stripped down to his underwear and changed into soft white and silver stripped flannel pajamas. He hummed to himself as he changed. When he turned around, Gabriel and Sam (now leaning against the headboard, with Gabriel sitting between Sam's legs and with Sam's arms around his waist) both had their eyes on him.
He tilted his head. "You shouldn't stare."
"I missed you." Sam propped his chin on Gabriel's shoulder, tightening his arms, and met Luce's eyes. "The apartment is really quiet without you two."
Gabriel turned his head to plant a kiss on Sam's cheek. "You're a sap."
Sam rolled his eyes.
Luce smirked. "Now, now. Don't be mean to the poor boy." He made his way to the bed and settled beside Sam. Pressed his lips to Sam's and murmured, "A week is a very long time to go without our presence, wonderful as we are." More kisses, and Sam sighed against his mouth.
"Don't hog him!" Gabriel pretended to glare.
Sam scoffed. "You're practically sitting in my lap, Gabriel. If anyone's hogging me, it's you." He kissed the side of Gabriel's face, though.
"Don't be selfish." Luce kissed Gabriel square on the mouth, with his hand on the back of Sam's neck. "We're all together." He smiled, cat-like and slow, and moved to straddle Gabriel—Sam's legs ended up draped over his own. It was an intricate little sandwich of a position, and suited them all just fine. Gabriel loved the attention lavished on him from Sam and Luce, and goaded them on with little murmurs.
Midnight came and went with a lot of kisses and embraces, and between the three of them the night passed quickly.
They fell asleep with the sunrise after staying up late listening to Luce read from the book of poems.
It might have been one of Sam's favorite Christmases, even if only an hour of it consisted of Christmas Day. He couldn't ask for anything more than being wrapped up in the arms of the two people who loved him most.