AN: this was the first story that I ever had published! It was through Torquere press for their Holiday Sips. I had a lot of fun with this one since it's so light hearted and it got great reviews so I was ecstatic. Although I do remember one particular review that said the ending was scarring hehehe I just find it funny >.>
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KISSING SANTA

Aaron peered around the kitchen door at his boyfriend, Steve. It was beyond weird being a grown man, already in his thirties and feeling like he was sneaking around his parents' house once again. It was the middle of the night, and nearly everything was the same as the Christmases they used to have. The fresh pine Christmas tree decorated with popcorn they'd strung themselves. The small, glittering lights. They still used all of the same ornaments. Even the chipped angel remained the same, sitting on top of the tree serenely looking over them.
         
His parents were both in bed, fast asleep, after claiming quite truthfully that midnight was far past their bedtimes. Meanwhile, his sister Abby was upstairs, poking awake her little son because there was a noise downstairs... just by the Christmas tree.

Teigan was five now and right in that age of hyperactivity, boundless energy, and unending curiosity. He still loved playing games with his family -- Uncle Aaron included -- and he still believed in things like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

Which brought them here, Aaron crouched in the dark kitchen looking into the living room at Steve. He was all decked out in red velvet, which was a surprisingly great color on his pale skin. He had that ridiculous Santa Claus hat on his head, covering his thick, dark curls, and a painfully fake cotton beard hiding a square jaw and full lips.
For a second, Steve stood there, looking bored. He actually tapped his foot once and then once more while staring up at the stairs, waiting. Then he glanced over and caught sight of Aaron, peeking out at him from behind the door. He grinned, gesturing for Aaron to hide.

"I am hiding!" Aaron whispered loudly.

Steve chuckled.

"Shush," he whispered back. "Teigan will hear you."

There was a shuffling from upstairs and for a moment they stood frozen, staring at each other, eyes widening, before Steve swiveled around, bending down in front ofthe tree and shuffling the presents. Aaron shrank back, shutting the door as quietly as he could.
He stood there for a moment and then reminded himself that the kitchen light was off and it was mostly dark and Teigan was very unlikely to see him. Not to mention the fact that he badly wanted to watch the show. Not just to see Teigan's once-in-a-lifetime reaction but also because Steve was a notoriously bad actor.

Ever so slowly he pushed the door open just wide enough to see and peeked back out the door, immediately glad that he did as his eyes fell on the view. His mouth went dry at the sight of his boyfriend kneeling on the ground, reaching back as far as he could behind all of the gifts to get to the ones in the back. His backside was in the air, red velvet pulled tight to expose the firm shape of his ass.

Aaron swallowed, trying to keep his brain on task. This was totally inappropriate for his nephew -- and then he realized that this wasn't the view that Teigan would have. From the stairs, his little nephew would see only Santa's profile as he began placing more gifts around the tree. No, this specific show was all for him.

The tease.

"Santa?"

Teigan's quiet voice snapped Aaron back to the moment, his heart twanging a little at the uncertain tone of his nephew's single word.

Steve started, as though completely surprised and turned to look at the stairs where Teigan was crouched and staring at him from behind the railing. He looked so cute and small there, his round blue eyes staring in amazement.

"Is that little Teigan there?" Steve asked. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Aaron snorted and had to bite his lip to hold back an all out laugh-attack. The way Steve was throwing his voice, making it deeper and rougher in his imitation of an old man was ridiculously off the mark.

Shutting his eyes, he bit his lip and thought frantically of dying kittens and his high school music teacher having sex and every other unpleasant thought he could find to swallow back the laughter. Finally trusting himself, he let out a slow breath and opened his eyes... and watched in amazement as Teigan totally bought it.

"Wow, it really is you, isn't it? Did you eat the cookies I left you?"

"Not yet," Steve answered gruffly. "I was hoping that you would help me finish them."

Teigan practically ran down the stairs, suddenly beginning a loud spiel about how he didn't know what flavors Santa would like best so he left out one of each and a big glass of milk too.

Steve lifted Teigan easily onto his lap and let him pick out cookies first, asking him if he was going to be as good next year as this year, ruffling his hair and asking him about his family. It was ridiculous how cute the scene was, and Steve was doing a surprisingly good job. Not at all the botched Santa visit Aaron had imagined when they'd first started planning this.

Teigan went on about his mom, his grandparents, and his even his Uncle Aaron, which made Aaron melt a little.

Not that living in the city wasn't great, but this; being around family, sharing memories, building a life... he missed it. He missed that security, the very same feeling he had every other Christmas, that some things remained the same. He looked at Steve and Teigan, the newest editions to his family. Some things remained the same, but the things that changed only made things better.

Aaron swallowed, blinking fast but not turning away. He loved his nephew a lot. Always wanted to be there for him and be the older man in his life, since his dad was out of the picture, but Aaron didn't get to see too much of him with his and Abby's conflicting schedules. Suddenly, he found himself wishing that he was the one sitting out there with Teigan, but no, Teigan was smart. He would have recognized Aaron in an instant. Aaron always managed to fly home for the big events and holidays and Steve rarely got the time off of work to join him. Besides, Steve...

There was so much tenderness in his eyes as he listened to Teigan that Aaron realized that he was wrong. He didn't really want to switch spots with his boyfriend; he wanted to join him.

The thought caught Aaron off guard but it made sense. He was crazy about Steve. In fact, he'd been crazy about him pretty much since day one and even though over the years they'd settled down into one another's rhythm and became accustomed to one another's ways, even though the initial excitement had faded into tenderness, Aaron loved what they had. They rarely fought, they were always sharing smiles and jokes and the sex was beyond fantastic, even after four years.

Steve was his family. Was it so weird that he wanted to start one with him as well?
He caught Abby crouched on the stairs watching the scene with a happy smile and found that there was a similar one on his own lips.

Finally, Steve let out a low sigh and told Teigan that he had a million and seven other houses to visit tonight so he'd best be on his way. He smiled and sent him off to bed with a pat on the shoulder and Teigan ran back to give him a hug before he got very far.
They all watched him run excitedly up the stairs, no doubt to tell mom all about it and she ducked out of sight, poking her head back downstairs after a moment and giving a big thumbs up.

"Thanks," Abby whispered. "That was awesome."

Steve grinned happily back at her.

"Good night!" he whispered.

He was still grinning when Aaron sidled up next to him. He stopped a little too close and Steve looked surprised but put his arms around Aaron's waist naturally.

"How was the show?" he asked quietly, voice returned to his own smooth tone.

Aaron smiled. He still had that warm, excited feeling in the pit of his stomach and he wanted to share it with Steve, only he didn't know where to start. That didn't deter him though. He was incredibly bad at being subtle.

"I love you," he said.

Steve's brows shot up but he leaned in and kissed Aaron softly.

"I know."

Aaron laughed, inhaling wisps of cotton, and tugged the beard down by the end. He let it snap back up under Steve's firm jaw, exposing his handsome face.

He pressed in, stealing another kiss, and this one was much better, not obscured by the fluffy white beard that had made Aaron guess at the location of Steve's lips.

"What's gotten into you?" Steve asked. Aaron didn't answer, pushing him back until the back of his legs hit the couch arm. He was forced to perch on it, waiting for an answer.

"Is it the Santa suit?" he prompted. "I'm not complaining. I can definitely keep the Santa suit."

"It's not the suit," Aaron said. Although now that he thought about it, the feel of Steve's skin underneath it... the way the soft fabric glided over Steve's skin when Aaron rubbed his hands over it...

"Actually, it is kind of the suit. Definitely keep the suit."

He sank against Steve, the beginning of Steve's hard erection already digging into his hip when their bodies met. He moaned softly and pushed Steve the rest of the way down. He flopped back to lay flat on the couch, which was way too small for this.

Definitely not seventeen anymore, he reminded himself.

Steve scooted back, allowing just enough room for Aaron to crawl on top of him if Aaron kept his knees between Steve's legs. Steve wasn't complaining though. In fact, he only spread them wider so Aaron could get closer, and gripped Aaron's ass tightly in both hands, squeezing and grinding their hips together.

Steve gasped. Aaron let out a loud noise and had to swallow down another, suddenly remembering that they were still in his parent's house and he really didn't want his dad to wake up and see them and possibly have a heart attack at the sight. His family was supportive and loved Steve to pieces but still, some things didn't need to be witnessed firsthand. Especially the way Steve yanked his jeans apart, sliding a hand inside and gripping Aaron's hard cock. He was leaking already, pre-come wetting Steve's hand and letting him slide his fingers slickly over his cock head in a way that made his eyes roll back.

Aaron dropped his lips to Steve's neck, unthinkingly sucking the spot just between his collarbone and neck. Steve moaned. He was breathing hard, as if jerking Aaron off and hearing his gasps and soft moans was doing more to him than his own pleasure ever could. Aaron knew that was mostly true. Steve simply loved to get Aaron off. He relished it. He had been known to go down on Aaron for a maddeningly long time and then leave for work without getting anything at all in return. Aaron didn't get it, but the hunger in Steve's eyes when he walked through their door at the end of a long day always sent a thrill straight through him.

They'd spent so many hours over the years mapping each other's bodies that things like this moment, so unexpected and exciting all at once, made Aaron swell with gratitude.
He couldn't ask for more. Well, actually, after he spoke to Steve about the revelation he'd just had... then he wouldn't be able to ask for more.

He realized in a haze of pleasure that he actually hadn't said it yet. He hadn't said anything about what he wanted and that was the whole point of this. Well most of the point...

Steve shoved the loose fabric of his costume down, exposing his hard erection, thick and straining, and pressed it against Aaron's length. They both moaned.

Steve began to jerk them slowly and Aaron lifted up just enough to watch. A hand firmly pressed to the back of his neck directed his gaze to Steve's eyes and he couldn't look away.

Damn. He loved it when Steve looked so hungry for him. There was nothing like it.
Literally nothing else in the world was like being wanted by Steve.

"We should have kids," Aaron breathed.

He leaned in, kissing Steve hotly, and after a moment stopped, confused by the fact that Steve wasn't kissing him back. Actually, Steve wasn't doing anything anymore. He was lying completely still under Aaron.

The slack look on his face was kind of comical when Aaron pulled away.

"Come again?" Steve asked.

"Um."

Aaron tried to think of something to say and settled on laughing instead. It didn't bring even a smile to Steve's suddenly serious face and Aaron fell silent, feeling like a huge idiot.

"I didn't even mean to say it," he said with a pout.

"But you did."

"Yeah, well..." Aaron fell silent, feeling suddenly sullen, the emotion quickly turning to annoyance. "Steve, you have your hand around my dick still, you're not allowed to be pissed off. Besides, I love you, you love me, I literally can't see myself with anyone else, ever, and I don't even want to, and I want to have a family."

There was a silence.

"With you," he added for good measure. "Is it really such a crazy thing to think of? I mean we've been together for four years. We live together, we still have sex pretty much every day--"

"Aaron." Steve cut him off with a quick kiss. "I'm not pissed off," he said. "At all actually. I was just surprised and I didn't even know if you said it on purpose, and anyway, don't you think you're skipping a couple steps?"

His voice rose in an incredulous note at the end and all Aaron could do was stare at him.

"Like what?"

Steve didn't answer, just stared at him for a moment, clearly trying to telepathically explain without having to say the words and Aaron kind of thought it was working because what usually came before kids was--

"What, you think we should get married?" He couldn't help but laugh because that honestly couldn't be it, but Steve flushed and looked away, finally pulling his hand from Aaron's cock to cross his arms between them.

"You want to adopt a bunch of babies but think it's crazy to get married?" Steve muttered.

"Wait... seriously?"

Aaron's heart was pounding in anticipation now but he could tell from Steve's expression that yes, he really was being serious. He wanted to get married.

"Well, we're staying together anyway, right?" Steve asked uneasily. "I mean... I wouldn't ever want anything else, or anyone else."

He bit his lip and looked up at Aaron earnestly.

"I just want this to be official. You know?"

Air left Aaron in a rush and he looked down at his boyfriend, lying under him, flushed and in a Santa suit, the hat askew on his head, dark, shiny curls exposed and sticking damply to his forehead. The beard was still there, shoved over one shoulder and still hooked around his ears, his lips swollen from Aaron's kisses and his suit all twisted from their activities.

"That better not have been my proposal."

Steve actually laughed and with a strong grip, pulled Aaron down into another heated kiss.

"Sorry," he chuckled against Aaron's lips. "I'll get you a ring, I swear."

Aaron nodded, his mind a whirl, his heart ricocheting into his ribs.

"Yeah, and wear a suit," he added. "Not this one, please."

"Should I get on one knee?"

"Obviously."

"I can get on two right now."

Aaron laughed, his voice unexpectedly loud, and Steve grinned, his eyes bright with happiness as he pushed Aaron back and off of him to lay flat on the other arm of the chair.

Slowly, he tugged Aaron's clothes off, leaving him naked and still flushed with warmth, and then kissed him. His tongue delved into him briefly and hotly before moving on, licking down his neck and sucking every spot along the way that would leave Aaron a shuddering mess in his wake. Aaron was trembling and shivering, unable to help his cock from twitching and his muscles from clenching in pleasure before Steve even touched him there.

When Steve's lips closed firmly around Aaron's straining tip, his hips bucked up unconsciously into Steve's mouth and they both moaned.

Steve's hands slipped over Aaron's hips, holding him down. After that it didn't take long, just a couple deep, long drags of Steve's mouth over him, sucking him and swallowing, and Aaron was straining and coming down his throat. His fingers gripping into the stupid Santa hat held Steve in place while he groaned.

Aaron opened his eyes slowly, ready to return the favor and then take Steve up to their room where they could start all over. Instead, he found himself looking at Teigan, slack-jawed and staring.

It took about five seconds to register that yes, he actually was looking at his nephew, who was crouched at the stairs and watching with wide-eyed horror.

"Santa! What are you doing?!"

Steve snapped up like he'd been shot and swiveled just as Teigan tore down the hall and up the stairs screaming for his mother.

For a long moment they sat in slack-jawed silence, listening to the commotion above them, Steve's lips still wet and Aaron still catching his breath.

"How much do you think he saw?" Steve asked.

Aaron shook his head.

"I'm not sure."

Steve nodded slowly and looked at Aaron, frowning. "You might want to rethink the whole being-fathers idea."

END

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AN: I just remembered that I turned this into a little holiday series. I think I have a Valentines sequel somewhere.... Hmmmm