Noelle is currently in her little swing, Luca tucking the blanket around her to keep her warm, despite the fire that is already roaring in the fireplace. She looks up at him, eyes half-lidded as she sucks on a pacifier that is clipped to her onesie.

Jamie had been by last night to help with Noelle, and she had slept better than she has ever before, meaning that she only woke up three times during the night, instead of just sleeping a couple times instead. He had woken up at just past six this morning, restless from the overabundance of sleep.

"Thank you for letting daddy get some sleep last night," Luca whispers, bending down to place a kiss on his daughter's forehead. She just blinks at him, letting out a tiny coo at his ministrations.

At the sound of the front door opening, Luca stands up, running a hand through his hair. It needs to be cut, he thinks, the strands long enough to fall in his face.

"Hello?" an all too familiar voice calls out.

"We're in here."

Footsteps come down the hall, and a few seconds later, Jamie appears, holding cloth bags practically overflowing with stuff.

"I can take that," Luca says, walking over to the other man. Jamie lets him take the bags, and their fingers brush. A rush of heat runs through him at the contact, and he brushes it off. It's stupid. This is far from the first time he has ever touched his best friend. Hell, they had even seen each other naked too many times to count. That's what happens when you know someone since before you could remember.

"Thanks," Jamie says, rubbing his hands together. "It's freezing out there."

"I kind of figured with the snow and everything." Luca walks over to the coffee table, depositing the bags and starting to sift through them.

"Oh no, peanut," Jamie remarks, bending down to scoop up the little baby. She snuggles right into his chest, eyes closing immediately as she is held by her favorite person. "Did you let him sleep too much? Because his sass is coming back. He was never this sassy when you were keeping him as a zombie."

"Ha ha," Luca calls over his shoulder. He digs through the bags, pulling out way too many containers, all filled to the brim with desserts. In the other bag, there are three sweaters. One of them is tiny, and when he unfolds it, he realizes that it is not a sweater at all. Instead, it is the smallest pair of overalls he has ever seen, and the material it is made of is soft to the touch. The overalls are a deep red, with a gold bow ties around the middle.

"She can wear those over that cream-colored onesie she has. The one with the gold polka dots?" Jamie comes to stand next to Luca. "She'll be the star of the show."

"And these?"

Luca sets down the overalls and picks up the two bigger sweaters.

"Those are for us. Yours is the blue one. Mine is the green."

Luca unfolds the dark blue sweater and sees that it is covered in traditional Christmas patterns, and when he looks at Jamie's he sees that it is the same.

"I knew you probably wouldn't have an outfit for your own party, so I just got one for the both of us."

"You didn't have to do that," Luca tries, but Jamie cuts him off with an eye roll.

"Oh please. You were probably going to wear that atrocious sweater that you got from Goodwill back in college."

"Hey, that's a great sweater!"

Jamie just rolls his eyes again, grabbing the baby overalls and heading out of the room. "No one needs to see you walking around wearing a sweater featuring Santa doing a keg stand for the tenth year in a row."

"But..."

"Just wear the sweater, Luca!" Jamie calls over his shoulder as he climbs the stairs, presumably to go to the nursery.

Luca places the sweaters back in the bag before grabbing all the food that Jamie brought and taking it into the kitchen. The party isn't until one this afternoon, and it is only ten in the morning. But he shouldn't be surprised that Jamie is here already. The other man had been distraught when he saw that the only preparation Luca had done for the party was buy the groceries. The tree was already up, but that was all the decorations he had. Jamie had immediately gone to the store to get supplies before coming back and turning his home into a Christmas paradise.

Luca is washing his hands when he hears a soft voice fill the room. He turns around, trying to see if Jamie has come back down when he realizes that his best friend's voice is coming over the baby monitor. He must have forgotten to turn it off when he got Noelle up from her morning nap.

"Just look how adorable you are," Jamie coos. "You look so much like your daddy, you know, peanut? The only thing you got from your mother is her hair, and it looks much better on you."

He pauses a moment. "You're just too good to have been related to her." Noelle lets out the tiniest of noises, and Jamie hums in response. "I'll never leave you, peanut. No matter what happens between me and your daddy, I'll never leave either of you behind."

Heat spreads through Luca, and he reaches over to turn off the monitor. He knows that Jamie didn't intend for him to hear his conversation with his baby. It feels like an invasion of privacy. Perhaps guilt is the reason his heart feels like it is beating twice and fast, and his face feels hot.

He finishes putting the goodies onto platters spread out over the island. He already has the turkey and ham in the oven, filling the air with a delicious scent.

"Luca, get the Christmas music started," Jamie calls from upstairs.

Luca doesn't even question the other man, his hands fumbling slightly as he grabs the remote to the television and starts up the Christmas playlist.

Jamie comes down the stairs, holding Noelle. The little girl is content in the other man's arms, her outfit fits her perfectly, and Jamie even managed to brush her curls, clipping her bangs back with a little gold bow.

"What's up with you?" Jamie asks, stopping in front of Luca, his eyes running over the taller man and raising a questioning brow. "You're all flustered."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Luca says, words coming out rushed.

Jamie's eyebrow just raises even more. "If you say so."

Luca finds that he can't hold the other man's gaze. Jamie has always been shorter than him, and as of now is a good four inches shorter. However, at this moment, he makes Luca feel like a little kid with Jamie towering over him. It makes him twitch, and he holds out his hands for Noelle.

"I can take her for you, so you can get dressed."

Jamie just shakes his head. "All I have to do is put the sweater on. You on the other hand still look like you need to get ready." He moves over, grabbing Luca's hand and pulling him towards the stairs. "Go get ready, I'll finish things up down here and get Noelle down for her nap."

"Are you sure? I can–," Luca starts, but Jamie just shakes his head.

"It's fine. I've got it. We've got it." He waves Noelle's hand at Luca. "Now shoo."

Luca leans over to press a soft kiss against Noelle's head and looks up at the other man. It is only then that he realizes how close he is to Jamie. It would just take one of them leaning forward just a bit to close the distance and...

He takes a shuttered breath in, pulling back. "Alright. I'll be back in a little bit."

He goes through his process of getting ready on autopilot. The shower goes by in a blur, as well as shaving and doing his hair. It really is getting too long, and he is tempted to just take some scissors to his hair now but knows that it will just be a train wreck.

He towels off and then wanders back downstairs.

"Oh good, you're back, I..." Jamie's words are cut off, and Luca watches as his friend's eyes flick downwards. Following his gaze, he realizes that Jamie is staring at his chest. His friend clears his throat, walking over to the coffee table and handing Luca his sweater. "Here."

"Thanks." Luca shrugs on the sweater.

"Here."

Jamie hands a steaming cup of coffee, just a pinch of milk mixed in. Just how he likes it.

"Thanks." He takes a sip, and it is just wonderful, warming him from the inside. He looks around. "Where's Noelle?"

"Peanut's in her little chair all bundled. She's fast asleep, should stay that way for a while too, since she has a fresh diaper and drank a bottle." His eyes roam over Luca. "Now that you're all ready, would you mind if I took a shower as well? I didn't sleep well last night and feel disgusting."

"How was wrong?"

Jamie gets a knowing look in his eyes and just rolls them at Luca. "I didn't go out if that's what you're wondering. I was too busy baking everything that I brought over. Besides, that isn't fun anymore."

With that, he walks away to the stairs, not even bothering to hear if Luca gave him his assent. But what is he kidding, he could never say no to Jamie.

He tried to keep himself busy, but there was nothing to do. The house was decorated, the food was cooking, Noelle was asleep, and no one would be showing up for at least a few more hours.

Before he can fall into true boredom, however, his phone dings. He walks over to it. It's Marianna, Jamie's little sister. His eyebrows raise in surprise. He can't remember her ever texting him before, nevertheless how she got his number.

Hey Luca! Would it be okay if I brought a couple of friends to the party?

He pauses before responding.

Sure, it's no problem. See you soon.

She responds with a smiley face but nothing else, so he puts down his phone. The house feels different, as it always does when Jamie is here. It feels more comfortable, more like a home. And he knows that he isn't the only one who enjoys his friend's company.

Noelle is always the calmest when the other man is around, just as Luca is affected. It makes something inside of him warm, and his mind wanders back to the conversation they had a little while ago.

Jamie had confessed feelings for Luca. Feelings that went past friendly. Even thinking about the other man's confession caused his heart to pound.

And Jamie had not let him say anything else on the manner, even though Luca wanted to say that he didn't feel averse to his confession. He may have even felt a draw.

Perhaps even felt the same?

But Jamie had said that he didn't want Luca to be with Jamie just because he felt obligated. He didn't feel obligated though. There had been no weight on his chest. He had to push the words forward, but that didn't mean he felt them none the less.

He wanted to try with Jamie, see where they could go. But his friend had put a stop to it, and now Luca was stalled.

What was he to do now?

The shower upstairs shut off, and he forced himself over to the fire, putting a couple of pieces in the flames as he forced himself to think of something else before Jamie walked in on him and his thoughts. The other man always had a knack for reading Luca, and he wasn't quite sure if he wanted Jamie to see his feelings at the moment. Not when he thought they were just caused by guilt.

No. He had to think of some way to make Jamie see that he was serious. The trick was finding out how, especially when he usually brainstormed with Jamie. He was on his own now, but it would have to wait till after the party.

This was going to be a difficult and long day.