The eggnog was sweat, creamy, and slightly boozy. Robin could feel the liquid warming his body and soul with every sip.

"Can I have more?" Tyler asked, having already finished his mug after chugging it in record time. The foam from the beverage still coated his upper lip. Robin wanted to kiss it away. But uncertainty regarding what level of physical affection was appropriate around Tyler's family--especially as his boyfriend's little sister was currently perched in her brother's lap--held him back.

Aunt Donna--dressed for the occasion in a garish Christmas sweater with white pompoms attached to resemble snowflakes--sighed at her nephew's demand. "I should not have let you have rum in the egg nog if you're going to drink it so quickly," she concluded. "Your boyfriend will have to carry you up to your room if you continue at that speed."

"Robby can totally carry me," Tyler countered, full of belief in Robin's capabilities. Robin wasn't as convinced himself.

Donna raised her eyebrows, perhaps doubting Robin's prowess at carrying as well. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"You totally could though, cutie." Tyler leaned his head on Robin's shoulder and nudged his nose against Robin's chin as if to beg for a kiss. Robin couldn't decline that request. Small child present or not. The kiss was just as sweet and soft as the eggnog they had just partaken in, perhaps because the foam was still coated on their lips.

"Can I have more nog too?" Emmie piped up and held out an empty cup toward Donna. The child seemed completely untraumatized from the fact that her brother was kissing his boyfriend. In fact, it seemed that she hadn't even noticed. The lack of attention, from both Emmie and the rest of the family, made Robin feel more at ease.

The demands for more sweet beverage made aunt Donna give in, and she grabbed the pitcher that contained the rum-free variety of the sweet beverage. Apparently, Tyler had lost his booze privileges for the time being. "There," she said as she poured the beverage into the outstretched cups. "But maybe drink a bit slower this time. It's time to hand out the Christmas Eve gifts, so I don't have time to constantly fill your cups."

Confused, Robin glanced over toward Tyler. He didn't know there would be Christmas Eve gifts. Was he supposed to have bought one? Anxious bubbles joined the rum bubbles fizzing through his veins.

"We always open a gift each on the night of the eve," Tyler explained with a tickling whisper into Robin's ear. Somehow, Tyler always seemed to notice when Robin wasn't sure what was expected of him and find a way to make his boyfriend feel more comfortable. "From Aunt Donna and Uncle Kevin. It's always a pajama to wear tomorrow. So not that exciting."

His whispers earned him a glare from his aunt, perhaps he wasn't supposed to give away the surprise to his little sister, who beamed in excitement at the mere mention of gifts.

The gifts were handed out in order of age. First Aunt Donna and Uncle Kevin gave each other a wrapped soft gift. It seemed it was a tradition that they bought each other pajamas so that they both would get a surprise. Donna looked in surprise at the meticulously wrapped gift her husband handed her.

"Janie wrapped it," Kevin explained bashfully and nodded toward his teenage daughter. Robin suspected Janie, who was very neat and keen on crafts, had wrapped most gifts for the male member of the Caster family. He certainly couldn't imagine Ty--with an impatient demeanor and lack of attention for details--taking on the task with a pretty result.

"Well that explains things," Donna chuckled. "I usually get a gift bag," she explained to Robin. "My husband's wrapping gifts leave a bit to expected."

"I'm good at outsourcing work though," Kevin retorted and gave his wife a playful kiss. "And figure out who is best equipped to handle a certain task."

Donna put her gift aside and got the next one from under the Christmas tree. "I guess we'll put this one aside," she said. "Since Lance isn't here yet. He called me earlier and said he might be a bit late since he had some stuff to sort out at base first."

Next were William and Martin, Tyler's twin cousins. Their gifts were wrapped in identical blue paper with snowflakes because despite being in their mid-twenties they still didn't seem to be beyond fighting over perceived injustices. Perhaps that's why both of them had gone into corporal law at their father's business.

"This one's for you, Tyler," Aunt Donna continued. Tyler lifted his sister from his lap and rose from his spot next to Robin to walk over to receive his gift. "Don't open it yet," his aunt reminded him. The reprimand came just in time as Tyler's fingers itched across the duct tape in the back, ready to rip the paper open.

As he returned to the sofa, Tyler plonked himself down in front of Robin instead of beside him--as Emmie had laid down across the sofa with her legs leaned upward against the backrest. Blond curls spilled over Robin's legs and made him feel safe while he caressed them between his fingers. Soft like silk and wavy like vines. Playing with Tyler's curls had become a coping mechanism for Robin in times of stress, like a fidget toy that was always there for idle hands.

"And here's one for you, Robin." Aunt Donna continued the gift delivery.

Robin looked up from the blond curls. He hadn't been sure if he would receive a gift. After all, he wasn't part of the family. Of course, Tyler would probably get him something, but he hadn't expected that his boyfriend's family would include him on their gift-buying lists.

"Everyone who's here for Christmas gets gifts." Aunt Donna smiled knowingly like she had read Robin's mind. "Because everyone here is family. And Santa probably has some gifts for you tomorrow as well, Robin."

"And for me!" Emmie chimed in, excited to hear the subject of Santa brought up. "I want an Elsa dress and then a doll, and maybe a dollhouse as well... And a pony! A live one. With bows in the mane."

While Emmie blathered, Tyler reached out his hand to deliver the gift from Aunt Donna to Robin. "There you go, cutie." He put the package in Robin's lap and once again leaned back so the blonde curls spread across Robin's jeans. The wrapping paper--decorated with teddy bears in Santa hats--crinkled as his fingers squeezed it lightly.

Liza Erie had proclaimed wrapping paper to be frivolous and unnecessary. Usually, Robin received some books for school and maybe bed sheets or towels or something else boringly practical but the gifts were never wrapped. They just appeared at the breakfast table, without fanfare or secrecy.

So this gift felt special. It was his first proper Christmas gift. Even if it was just a pajama. It felt like much more than that.

Although Des usually did give him some kind of home-crafted item--unevenly sized mittens or way-too-long scarfs--each Christmas, left in their secret treehouse for him to fetch whenever he could get away from his mother. But this gift felt much more official.

"Mine turn now?!" Emmie asked impatiently.

Taking her time, perhaps to tease the kid, Aunt Donna bent down and retrieved the next gift. "This one is for Janie," she said and handed her daughter a beautifully wrapped package. This gift seemed to have all the bows and frills. Perhaps to make up for all the other gifts Janie had wrapped for the holidays, her mom had made sure that her gift was more ornate than anyone else's.

"Then maybe... " Emmie bounced on the edge of her seat as Donna playfully rummaged around under the Christmas tree. "Maybe there's one more." Finally, she found a sparkly red gift remaining under the tree. "Here's one for Emmie."

Emmie shot off the couch, as if she was shot out of a gun, and skipped all the way to Aunt Donna. "That's me!" she bellowed. "That's my gift."

With a squeal of delight, Emmie tore into the wrapping paper, before she even had time to return to her spot-- perhaps there was a reason the gifts had been handed out in age order--and soon revealed a Frozen-themed pajama with images of Elsa, Anna, and Olaf.

"Look Ty! Look Robby!" she yelled and held up the blue and pink clothing item. Robby felt oddly proud to be included as the little girl proudly displayed her new sleeping wear.

Meanwhile, her brother had dug into his gift as well, possessing only slightly more patience than his kid-sister. "Cool!" he uttered and proudly held up a red pajama decorated with griffins, just like Liverpool's logo. Robin had learned to recognize that damn logo anywhere.

"You never shut up about that team," Aunt Donna chuckled, "so I figured it fit."

Robin wasn't quite as hasty in his unwrapping process. He couldn't stop admiring the work that had gone into wrapping the gift. Neat folds locked down with tape and curled ribbons tied into a bow. On top of it all, a festive sticker with his name was placed.

Carefully, to not break the paper, Robin slid his fingers under the edge to release the tape. Both Tyler and Emmie looked on in reverence as he unfolded the paper to reveal the gift hidden inside.

A pajama. But not just any pajama. This pajama was specially picked for him.

A snowy blue landscape was lit up by scattered red birds. Robin birds. But unlike the birds on the Christmas card he'd put in his mom's mailbox, these birds didn't look sad or lonely. The birds twirled together in the sky. The birds jumped in harmony on the ground. The birds sat closely together on bare branches, letting a wing nudge against another wing.

"Thank you, Donna," he mumbled and let his hand feel the fluffy fabric. So soft. So caring.

"I figured the pattern fit you," she said. "And Tyler said you wear a medium."

Robin nodded and held the pajama up. To most college kids getting a pajama for Christmas probably wasn't a big thing. But to Robin, it was. Because it was the first time he'd received a gift from a parental figure with nothing expected in return. No test results or grades were supposed to be achieved to make himself worthy.

"You'll be super cute in that." Tyler turned his head to look at Robin's gift. "Might be difficult to not tear it off you..."

Robin's cheeks blushed redder than feathers on the robin birds on the fabric. Tyler's often inappropriate comments had a tendency to cause that reaction.

"Tyler!" Donna disparaged her nephew. "Not in front of you sister!"

Apparently, that's where the line went for public displays of affection.

Author's Note: I realized there might be more than one chapter for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so these chapters won't be out on the exact days. And I will myself be busy celebrating Christmas as well, so I might not have much time for writing in the coming few days. But, after that, I have a few glorious days of nothing at all planned, so I should be able to catch up then!