After a tense two weeks, Christmas came at them like a storm. It had taken them all quite some time to calm down from the armed visit and even longer for Nathan to escape from his feeling of constant dread and terror. Several visits to Julian and more time spent with Ian than he was comfortable with eased it significantly.

Julian had promised to castrate Rick if he even looked at him sideways. More seriously, Julian had told Nathan that if he was frightened or feared for his life, to run up to his room. That was unlikely though because Ian and Donovan had promised that he would never be alone with Rick around.

No one directly wanted to talk about it because turning Rick in meant Tanner and Ian would die. Maggie was even more distant than anyone else, coming and going in silence on most days, and Tanner was never home anymore. Nathan wondered if he was spending his time with Rachel, but he'd been too nervous to ask directly.

It was early afternoon and there was snow outside today. Nathan was happy to see the layers blanketing the town and even more excited for their Christmas together. Nathan had never had a Christmas that he'd shared with so many people. Staring out through the living room window at the snow, he wished his mother was here.

After seeing the photos of that woman, his concern for her had spiked. Every free moment he had, he thought about her constantly, wondering if she missed him or hated him. With the New Year, he was going to ask Maggie about calling her. It would be easier to find out the answer to those questions over the phone. If he had to face his mother, he wouldn't be able to handle the disappointment on her face if she didn't want to see him anymore.

It was better that he focused on today, so he turned back from the window to Ian. Rolling an unlit cigarette around his lips, Ian was busy fastening some mistletoe over his head. The man snickered with a friendly smirk when Nathan noticed, and Nathan just smiled.

Everyone was here in the house for the event, well almost.

Maggie was in the kitchen getting the cookies out of the oven. That had been a feat, getting her to manage it all by herself. There had been a few practice batches which had smelled significantly less appealing than these ones did.

After everything, Rick had gone into hiding, and he'd had enough sense to sit in his room, albeit drunk as hell. Maggie hadn't bothered with him because it was Christmas, and the drunker Rick was, the quieter he was. Apparently he only got angry and hostile when the buzz started to wear off, so Maggie had given him enough booze to drink himself dead. They didn't expect him downstairs for the entire night.

Rachel was spending the night at her friend's house for Christmas.

Rachel was also on their couch, leaning on the armrest toward Tanner who was in the recliner next to her. Somehow they had managed to convince Maggie to let her sneak over for the event. It had been a pile of paperwork accompanied by restrictions as to where she could go, what she could touch, who she couldn't touch, and how long she could remain in the building. The pen allowed visitors with the right paperwork signed. It was just that no one had been sufficiently suicidal enough to attempt it before.

Rachel was as excited as she normally was, and Ian occasionally eyed her like she had the plague. It wasn't that she was here as much as it was that Ian had caught on to why she was here. It didn't take too much observation to see that she was paying an unhealthy amount of attention to Tanner, and Ian had already dragged Nathan into a hallway and pointedly interrogated him. Donovan had almost bludgeoned Ian for manhandling him, but things had calmed down since then.

All that was left were unhealthy stares between Ian and Tanner that only happened when Maggie wasn't looking. Rachel also kept to the couch with Nathan when Maggie was around and didn't show too much interest in Tanner until she walked away. This was just dangerous.

"New year's resolutions guys," Rachel said, and Ian flopped on the couch next to her, causing Tanner to visibly tighten in anger. That was Ian though, tauntingly walking on the eggshells of everyone's patience.

"Personally, I hope to have Nathan bent over and begging me for more," Ian said, and Rachel laughed. Tanner didn't find it as funny.

"Resolutions mean something you intend to do to be better this year," Tanner snapped, and Ian nodded.

"Isn't it better if Nathan consensually wants me to penetrate him? I didn't say I wanted to rape him this year. God Tanner, you're so judgey. Plus, that's better than jerking it to the thought of his lips on my–"

"Ian, stop!" Nathan cut him off, red from ear to ear, and the man laughed, leaning back on the couch toward the recliner Nathan was in.

"You might need this." Tanner slid an unopened bottle of whisky next to him with a serious expression. Nathan let out a breath, and it loosened Tanner's tense expression for a laugh.

"Tanner, you're not helping," Ian retorted, tossing the bottle back to him. "If he gets too inebriated, its rape anyway, even if he begs me for it in his drunken stupor."

There was a knock on the door and Nathan hopped up to go get it. Donovan had just gone out to go get some eggnog and pick up the presents, which Maggie had hidden. In a house with guys like them, they had all gotten presents, wrapped them, and then given them to Maggie. She had promptly put them in a storage unit, and Donovan was the only one she trusted not to open them. Rachel had added her gifts with everyone else's the day before after she'd finished the visitation paperwork.

Expecting Donovan, Nathan stared strangely at the boy who was at the door. With eerily familiar dark hair and eyes, the kid was about Nathan's age, maybe a few years younger, but he was carrying a stack of presents.

"Rachel, come here. Someone stuck Donovan in a shrink ray," Nathan called over to her, and she was up next to him in an instant. They were both beaming interest at him, and the boy looked back and forth between them.

"I'm not Donovan," the kid said, a tremor in his voice, and Rachel swooned.

She stole his stack of presents, set them on the hallway table, and then squeezed him in a hug. When she did so, the boy let out a horrendous squeal. That drew Tanner and Ian's attention.

"Who did you kill?" Tanner asked, coming around the corner, but the boy had torn out of Rachel's arms and bolted back outside.

It wasn't long that the actual Donovan came up the walkway. Depositing more presents on the other hall table, he whipped a glare at Ian and Tanner.

"Which one of you touched my son?" Both men looked at him with blank stares and open jaws before they pointed at Rachel. Donovan followed their accusing fingers to her and let out a slow sigh. "Oh. I see. Sorry, Rachel. Micah is very nervous around strangers. I couldn't get him to say anything after he fled into the car, so I assumed it was one of these two sickos." Donovan left them to go back to the SUV.

It was a few minutes until Micah came back, and they all had returned to their seats in the hopes of not scaring the poor kid when he walked back in. Micah crawled down the hallway and placed the gifts on a large table by the stairs to hold them until they were arranged under the tree. After a glance over all of them, Micah turned to go back down the hallway to the door but almost ran smack into someone else.

Nathan's mouth dried out completely as he saw Julian standing behind the boy with his hands in his pockets, sporting a black turtleneck sweater and with his hair down and loose around his shoulders.

"I've never seen you before," Julian said, and Micah bowed in a polite fashion.

"I'm Micah." Micah smiled, not noticing how tense the room had just gotten. Julian had descended the stairs as quiet as a cat, so no one had noticed him sneak up. Nathan hadn't even known that Maggie had unlocked his door.

"Julian." Julian gave him his name and offered a hand. They shook hands and then Micah continued down the hallway to grab more presents.

That left Julian glancing over to Tanner and Ian who were both gripping the armrests of their respective seats harder. When Julian's eyes passed over Rachel, Tanner pulled a knife from his sleeve, and Julian chuckled before walking past them to sit on the floor next to the tree.

"I'm just here because Maggie said I'd be the best person to organize the presents. If any of you touch the boxes, it's like spoilers. Calm down, I don't have any of my blades on me. You think Maggie would let me out of my room if I did?"

Silence permeated the room as Micah and Donovan returned with the fourth and fifth loads of presents. Why were there so many presents? Donovan had taken note of Julian immediately and pulled his son away around the corner and exchanged words with him.

As they all sat down, Maggie joined them, but everyone was tense. "Come on, guys, it's Christmas. What kind of person would I be if I was merry down here with you all and Julian had to stay upstairs by himself? Let the kid sit with us, even if you don't like him."

Ian and Tanner looked away from her, annoyed.

Donovan was sitting on the couch closest to Julian with his son on the opposite side, and he looked uncomfortable. That wasn't how Nathan wanted them to spend their Christmas, so Nathan stood up, went over to Rachel and coaxed her to move before scooting Ian over.

"Sit over next to Tanner," Nathan said to Donovan and his son. "I'll sit by Julian." Donovan was about to object. "I can't have you spending your first Christmas with your son in terror for his life. It's fine."

Eventually Donovan moved to the other couch next to Ian, and Micah sat in the recliner near Tanner, confused about all the drama. Nathan was comfortable on the couch next to Julian, and Rachel parked herself at Nathan's side.

"Hi, I'm Rachel," Rachel said over to Julian, and all he did was shift his dark eyes in her direction.

"I know who you are," Julian said, and her jaw hung open in confusion. "I've seen you from my window."

"So, um, Donovan, I did not expect you to be bringing your son to Christmas." Nathan changed the subject before Tanner broke Julian in half for spying on Rachel. It was more than likely that Julian knew more than just her name if he was sneaking around outside when Maggie wasn't paying attention.

"Oh, I... um... my dad and I..." Micah stuttered, and Nathan could tell he wasn't used to being around people. This kid was the one who had incriminated his father, so this was strange.

"Micah asked to spend Christmas with me. I was loath to refuse him, and I didn't want to leave you alone either, so we compromised," Donovan said.

"There is no better way to spend Christmas than watching a group of convicted criminals betray their inner nature and give gifts. I assure you," Rachel added with a laugh, and Julian chuckled as well as he organized the gifts. The rest of the room was too tense to glean any amusement from the happenings.

"Can you guys calm down?" Maggie grumbled. "Julian is unarmed and Micah isn't used to all your crap, so be merry or I'm kicking you out in the snow."

They all sighed.

"We were doing resolutions, but instead it just ended up as what we wanted out of the New Year," Rachel offered. "What do you want, Micah?"

The boy looked around the room and twiddled his fingers. "I'd like to move back in with my father," Micah said, and the room became abnormally quiet.

Donovan leaned over and ran his hand through his son's hair, and Nathan smiled. They seemed to be getting along better. Donovan didn't have to live here, so Nathan wondered if he might move out to be with his son if it were possible. The thought made Nathan lonely, but that wasn't fair to Donovan.

"I want to get married," Rachel said, and Tanner spit the eggnog he had started drinking back into his cup. Everyone in the room slipped into light laughter, save Micah and Maggie who were out of the loop.

"I hope I find a girlfriend so I don't eventually lose my virginity to Ian," Nathan admitted, and Maggie was about the only person who didn't laugh on that one. Even Micah laughed timorously with his father.

"You guys want too much. I just want to make it through the year," Tanner said, continuing to drink his eggnog. It was depressing as a concept, but Nathan understood with the noose loosely tied around all of their necks.

"What about you, Julian?" Rachel asked.

Tanner tensed as she spoke to him, and Julian pulled his hair behind his ear to look up from his neat stacks of presents.

"You all don't care what I want." Julian's voice was abnormally pained as he stared down at some presents that he hadn't put under the tree. His hands were trembling, and Nathan got up and sat next to him. The gesture caused concerned movement from Maggie and Ian, but they couldn't do much when Nathan was this close to him.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked, and Julian's eyes met his before Nathan followed them down to the presents. They had Julian's name on them. "Are you upset people bought you gifts?"

"I don't even know anyone here," Julian said with frustration. "Why did you buy me things?" Julian looked around the room, and there was a deal of mixed emotion between them.

"I know what it's like to be left out, Julian," Ian spoke first. "You might be creepy shit, but you're still a kid. Enjoy the gifts; people don't give them to you as much when you're older."

"It's not like you put us out," Tanner added, though reluctantly. "Maggie let us use the pen's account, and we each decided to get you things on our own. We weren't obligated, so don't feel like we were forced to buy something for you. I know what it's like to pass Christmas by without a family too, so enjoy the one you have, even if we're all horrible."

"I'll organize yours and sit here with you," Nathan said, relaxing into a cross-legged position. He stole the presents from around him and organized them into their own pile. The last present was in Julian's hands, and Nathan looked down to the name on the tag. It was from Rachel, and Nathan glanced over to her.

"What? I can read a house tenancy list like anyone else. So... what do you want to do this year, Julian?"

Still with a downtrodden expression, Julian looked from Nathan and over to Rachel who was eagerly awaiting his answer with a smile. His glance eventually wandered over all the eyes in the room, and his shoulders sank.

"I think... I'd like to make some friends," Julian said.

It softened any remaining hostility from earlier, and Julian just barely curled a smile.

"I'm sure you'll find some good ones," Rachel said, scooting over into Nathan's previous seat, to sit on the couch closer to Julian. The girl was going to give Tanner a heart attack.

"I'll grab the cookies." Maggie got up and, after some shuffling, came back with them.

They had already eaten dinner, so everyone just enjoyed the treats, and Donovan had brought an ice cream cake as well. Everyone ate, including Julian, which made Nathan happy. The way he was locked in his room all of the time worried Nathan, but Julian was more social than he'd though. It was more fear keeping Julian from interacting than anything else, and Nathan hadn't realized that with how confident he had been in his own space.

Presents were fun. They had decided to open them Christmas Eve and not morning. No one got up in the morning early enough to be calm at that time. Half of the gifts were jokes, which was more entertaining than the real ones. That's what they did when Maggie gave them money to gift each other–they threw them in each other's faces.

There were a bunch of books.

Tanner gave Ian a book on modern therapies to cure the homosexual disease. The laughter from that one had not died down for a while. Ian himself found it terribly entertaining.

Unfortunately, Tanner did not find his gift from Donovan amusing at all. It was a book of hot high school pictures of famous actresses. It was subtle enough that Maggie wouldn't get it, but also dangerously close. Donovan cackled as Tanner flexed his hands, unable to hit him, and Nathan was dumbfounded. He'd never heard Donovan make that sound, and even Micah next to him looked perturbed.

It seemed the house had finally tainted him.

There was also a book from Ian and Tanner to Donovan called, "Toleration; how to live in a diverse world." They laughed pretty hard, but Donovan threw it over his shoulder, ignoring them. Maggie was about to have a very weird house library.

Word count: 2977 -- Edited July 15th, 2020