That Christmas Thing

We're up to third chapter and I'm still way behind schedule. I just hope I can get this one finished before our special day!

WARNING: The normal gay hints, and more than just one heterosexual relationship! You know, I really didn't think I'd ever write a story with so much het in it!

Chapter 3- three berries and a chocolate egg (April)

Daniel (“Dan”) Tanaka was sat on a table in his kitchen holding a rolled up newspaper and staring at the floor. 'Come on you little bugger, I know you're around here somewhere.' The concentration on his face was apparent by the heavy creases in his normally smooth forehead. Suddenly his eyes widened. 'Ah hah, there you are. Now, just come a little closer. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just going to KILL YOU!' Daniel leapt off the table and whacked the newspaper down on the head of a large rat that had been terrorising his apartment since two nights previous.

Once he was sure the rat was dead, he picked it up by the tail and looked at it. He knew that there was a kid somewhere in the building that had a pet rat and he would hate to think that he'd just killed it, but this was defiantly no pet. "There is nothing wrong with rats." The dark skinned boy said, remembering something a friend had once said, "except that they're rats." He grinned, opened the living room window and threw the rat as hard as he could. "Bye, bye you evil little bastard!"

He rubbed his hands together, conveniently forgetting about the fact that there may be some poor passer-by who would now end up with a dead rat hitting them on the head from a great height. "Right, breakfast."

Rummaging through his fridge, he managed to find three eggs, which he felt were quite fitting for today of all days, so he took them out and then stared at them as he decided what to actually do with them.

"Well, scrambled is nicest on their own, but I prefer fried. I've got to remember to get some shopping today! Ok, scrambled, fried, scrambled, fried? Scrambled." He decided eventually, remembering that there was still half a loaf of bread in the bread bin and he could have it on toast, which was always nice.

Making and eating his small, but very nice breakfast, didn't take very long, but it gave the young man some time to think about what he was going to do with the rest of his day. One thing that he would have to do was get some shopping done. He had very little food left in the cupboards, and while he wasn't actually going to starve anytime soon, he liked having a choice when he went looking for munchies.

But that would only take an hour at most, especially if he went by bus, so what else could he do? Hmm... he could always visit Oscar, Rachel and their kid... oh wait, no; they were going away for the weekend. Luki? No, he was staying with his boyfriend while his brother was in town. Well... he could go home and spend Easter with his parents, but that meant putting up with their arguing, if they were still even together.

But who did that leave? Sam had moved away, Nick was probably going to be at work or something, Hideo spent most of Easter Sunday at church, and Tom hated Easter, or at least he hated the part after the eating of the chocolate. Well, that just left Alex...

Alex Tratchenburgh, a young genius and talented artist who had managed a small fame at the age of fifteen when a gallery displayed one of his paintings. Used to describe his sexuality as mostly straight, but was now married to a woman five years older than him called Maria with her four-year-old daughter, Christine.

Alex and Daniel had shared three kisses since meeting up again at a New Year's party hosted by one of their old friends. One had been while slightly inebriated at that party when the two had pretended that it was Christmas and had kissed under a sprig of mistletoe. The second had been at the same party when it turned midnight. And the third had been on Valentine's Day, but that kiss had led to Alex pushing Daniel away and telling him to get away.

But... he had been true to his word and talked to some people and had managed to get Daniel a few jobs as a photographer, mainly taking pictures of children and pets. The letter he'd received about a week after the kiss had been brief and very clear. Alex was pissed off with him, but he had made a promise, and he didn't break his promises.

Daniel sighed, if he went to visit Alex, he ran the risk of just getting the door slammed in his face, but if he didn't take a chance, then the boy who used to be his best friend might hate him forever.

Anyway, he'd learnt a long time ago that sometimes, the best way to win someone over was to be nice to the people they cared for, and at the moment that seemed to be his new family.

A smile slowly spread across the tanned face. Well, he was going shopping, so he could pick up a few gifts and then make his way over there and start the healing process.

---

Alex leaned against the wall of the lift and closed his eyes. He could feel a headache starting and he really hoped that he wasn't getting ill. He'd had a call a couple of days ago from a friend in Germany asking him if he could come and do a picture for him. For some reason, Alex had agreed, and he'd be leaving tomorrow evening, staying a week or two, and then getting back as soon as possible.

He didn't really want to leave, but he had to now he'd agreed. On the other hand, getting out of the house and out of England for a couple of weeks might be good for him, he'd been feeling so sluggish lately.

Simply out of habit, Alex patted his jacket pocket, which would have normally held a box of cigarettes, not that he could actually smoke them in the lift. But the pocket was empty, as he'd finished his last box some weeks ago, and was now trying to go completely cold turkey.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't want his beautiful stepdaughter breathing in his smoke, he probably would have given up this stupid idea ages ago and just bought five boxes last Tuesday. They would have lasted him a couple of days at least.

'I really, really want a smoke!' He thought to himself rebelliously. Why, oh why did he ever even think that giving up smoking would be a good idea? He'd been smoking since the age of sixteen, and now at twenty- two, he was trying to give up? It was ridiculous

The lift stopped and the doors opened. Alex stepped out and contemplated pressing all of the buttons just to amuse himself, but the doors slid closed again before he made up his mind. Alex lived in a building known as ‘The Big House’. It had once been the Manner Home of a Lord in the 18th Century, but it had fallen into disrepair after he died. Harry Tratchenburgh had bought the property just before his marriage to Tamera and had restored it to it’s former beauty, installing a few modern comforts as well to make life easier, such as a lift so as to avoid having to climb all of the stairs to the main rooms where the family lived.

He shrugged and took out his key to the apartment. 'Easter Sunday, Easter Sunday. Just keep remembering that it's Easter, which means that it's a special day for Christine. Put your petty problems on hold for today at least.' He opened the door and took his jacket and shoes off.

"I'm home."

"Alex?"

"Yeah. Who else is it going to be?" He muttered to himself, and then felt guilty about it. Just because he was getting a headache didn't give him an excuse to take it out on his family.

"Come in here, we've got a guest."

"A guest?" Alex slipped his feet into the slippers by the door and walked into the main room. The floor was littered with paper, empty boxes, sweet wrappers, and Easter eggs, and there, sitting amidst it all, was Daniel, holding Christine as if he'd known her all his life.

"Hi Alex."

Alex walked forwards and lifted Christine out of Daniel's arms. "Daddy!"

"Hey, what've you been doing? Have you been eating chocolate without me?"

"Mummy said. Dan gave choccy, and so we eated it!"

"Ah." Alex smiled at Christine "You have chocolate all around your mouth. Go give mummy a kiss."

"Kay." Christine jumped towards Maria as soon as Alex put her down. Luckily Maria had quick reflexes and was able to catch her daughter and hold her at arms length.

"Oh no you don't, you little chocolate monster. Let's go get you cleaned up."

"Kay." Christine waved as Maria carried her out of the room to wipe her mouth. Alex turned a fierce gaze on Daniel.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, not even trying to pretend that he was glad to see the slightly younger boy.

"I brought chocolate for you all. I thought they'd like it." Daniel replied, a little worried about whether his plan would work or not. Alex looked really pissed off. In fact, he looked even more pissed off than on the day he had found out that Daniel had slept with Hideo Stiliana at a party while very drunk. And that was saying something.

"Christine gets more than enough chocolate, and they don't even know you, so why bother?"

"Well, that's exactly why." Daniel stood up so he no longer felt that Alex was towering over him, though how it was possible for someone who was pretty much the same height as him could tower, he wasn't sure. "You see, I've known everyone who is important to you before, and then I go away, and when I come back, there are these two people in your life that I have never met, and yet their so important to you that you marry one of them, and take on the other as your daughter. I just wanted to be part of your life again."

"Daniel, we were friends, and we have always been friends, you don't need to know everything and everyone." Alex sighed, wishing, not for the first time, that Daniel didn’t have such a calming effect on him, meaning that he couldn’t stay mad at him for too long.

"No, but I know that even Hideo has met them, and you're not as close to Hideo as you were to me. I was your best friend, and more for a while, I can't just suddenly become nothing. Please, just let me back into your life." The dark haired boy looked at his old friend hopefully. He knew that he was practically begging, but he really, really wanted to be accepted again.

Alex looked at one of the boxes on the floor. "They're expensive chocolates."

Daniel looked at the box as well. "I know."

"I take it that the jobs I got for you paid well then?"

"Very. I've never had so much money from only a few hours work. And they were really nice to me as well."

Alex nodded as he knelt down and started to clear up some of the devastation. "People usually are kinder to artists and photographers because they can make them look very bad, very easily. It's easy enough to do if they want to do it."

"Here, I'll help." Daniel knelt as well and started picking up the sweet wrappers Christine had been happily ripping up and throwing like confetti before Alex had got back. And that was how Maria found them when she returned with a freshly cleaned and changed Christine. Both of the young men were on their knees picking up the pieces of litter that Christine had left behind.

"What on earth are you doing?" Maria asked with a laugh.

Alex looked up and grinned, "It's called cleaning, I'm not sure if you've heard of it."

"Cleaning? Why, a lady of leisure such as myself would never lower oneself to such as level as to clean ones own floor. Let the help do it when she arrives." She replied as she put Christine down.

Daniel looked up at Maria. Despite the joking tone and the put on upper class accent, there was something in her voice that made him feel that she meant the part about leaving it for Miwa to do. No wonder she didn't like Alex's new wife.

Alex shrugged and carried the last of the rubbish to the bin and shoved it in. "I couldn't possibly leave it to her, one never knows what she might do. For all one knows, the silly girl may just sweep all of it under a mat."

"Have to be a bloody big mat. Oh! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to swear in front of-"

"It's ok, Dan, Christine was too busy laughing at me to take any notice of your obscene language." Alex reassured him with a smile, and then lifted the laughing child into his arms. "Ah, my beautiful Christine, blood not of my own, but actions still the same."

"Daddy." Christine replied with a large grin.

Alex looked at Daniel "Not quite the same effect huh?"

"Not really." Daniel looked at Christine carefully. "I'm guessing that she looks like her real dad then?"

Maria nodded and sat down on the settee. "Yes. Matt was… well, if he was anything, he was good looking. Half of me did hope that she’d end up looking like him so that she’d be a beauty, but sometimes I wish she didn’t so that I wouldn’t have to keep remembering him when I look at her.” She smiled, “I don’t mind really though. Christine is wonderful and that’s all that matters."

"So where is he now?" Daniel asked as he watched Alex playing with the young girl in his arms. It was strange seeing Alex with a child, especially as he’d spent most of his life being terrified of babies and particularly young children because they freaked him out and were too “squashy”.

"Now? I don't know. Last week at some time he was spotted somewhere in Southern California. I don't really care where he is, but I think he has a right... well, at least some, to see Christine while she's still young and not brainwashed by the things I might say about him once she's old enough to understand them."

"Oh right. So does know he has a daughter?"

"He knew I was pregnant. I think that's why he left." She shrugged, "I don't really mind; it's good that he's gone really."

"Yeah, after all, you got to meet and marry Alex." Daniel said, and earned himself a glare from Alex.

---

At about three in the afternoon, Miwa arrived at the apartment having spent the rest of the day with her own family and was rather surprised to hear the sounds of laughter and talking coming from the main room. As far as she knew, Alex had been planning on spending Easter at home with Maria and Christine, and no one else.

"Hello?"

"Miwa-san!" Miwa suddenly found herself being hugged very tightly by a dark skinned boy.

"Daniel-chan?" Miwa Nabi was originally from Japan but had moved to England when she was fifteen with her younger sister. She had started working for the Tratchenburgh family at sixteen and had proceeded to teach Alex and his friends small Japanese phrases and terms, though Daniel and Alex were really the only ones who had used them regularly.

Daniel looked up and grinned at her "That's me!"

"Oh my god!" She returned the hug happily "Look at you, my little chibi of joy, though you're not so chibi anymore are you! Look at you!"

Daniel let go of Miwa and did a little spin for her. "I've grown a bit, sure. But I'm still the same old Daniel!"

Miwa smiled, "I hope so. My goodness, Dan-chan, you're looking very handsome, how do you keep the girls away?"

"I tell them that my boyfriend is just around the corner and he's a builder." Daniel replied with a large grin.

"Does it work?"

"Not really, most of them want to 'cure' me after that!"

Miwa hugged him again and looked at Alex, "Why didn't you tell me that our dear little Dan-chan would be paying a visit today?"

"I didn't know. If I had known, I would have warned you not to come. I remember all too well what you two were like when you were together." The blond replied with a slight grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Miwa asked, masking her amusement.

"Miwa-san, you always used to start acting like a child and helping Dan-chan come up with all of his little pranks, especially the ones intended for me!"

Miwa and Daniel looked at each other and smiled, "Good times."

---

Daniel spent the rest of the day with the extended Tratchenburgh family, enjoying a proper Sunday dinner cooked by Miwa, and then sharing one of the boxes of chocolates he'd brought. Then he sat with Christine and taught her some of the games he and Alex had played when they were younger.

As the day wore on, even Maria noticed the change in Alex's mood. For the past month or so, Alex had seemed to be in a state of bad temper for some reason, she couldn't understand what had started it, or why it wouldn't go away, but she was very glad that this boy, who'd turned up very unexpectedly this morning, had been able to have such a good effect on him.

Eventually Christine seemed to start falling asleep right where she sat on Alex's lap, so Maria decided that it was probably time to put her to bed. Miwa also said her goodnights and made her way back to her own house, back to a loving family and three young children.

Daniel looked at Alex, who was sitting on the floor, his legs stretched out in front of him and his back leant against the settee behind him. "I think I'd better get going as well, give you and Maria some peace."

Alex nodded, "It might be an idea. Christine has a habit of waking up at unnaturally early times in the morning, so we try to get all the sleep we can. It was nice to have you with us today though."

"Thanks. Hey, maybe I could see you again soon?" Daniel asked, his hopeful expression back on his face. He hoped that his efforts had been rewarded.

Alex shrugged, "Sure, Christine seems to like you, and Miwa always loves to see you."

"And Maria?"

"I think she likes you, even if it is just because you've got me out of my bad mood for a while." Alex sighed, "Look, Daniel, if it makes you happy, just come over whenever you're free, but phone first."

A huge grin spread slowly across Daniel's face. "Thanks!"

"That's ok." The blond pushed himself up to his feet. "I'll see you to the door."

"OK." Alex led Daniel back down to the main floor of the huge house and walked with him to the front door. He waited while Daniel put his shoes back on and picked up his coat. The darker boy looked up at his friend. "Thank you for letting me get to know them."

"I had any choice in the matter?"

"Not really."

Alex opened the door, "Well, I'll be seeing you soon then?"

"I guess so. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, go safe."

"I will." Daniel smiled, then turned away and started walking down the long drive. Alex watched him as he got closer and closer to the main gates and suddenly a thought came into his head. Diving back into the house, Alex ran up the stairs and into bedroom that he now shared with Maria and grabbed a small wrapped package that had been left on the desk. He then ran back to the door with the package in his hands.

"Daniel, wait!" Alex ran out, just as Daniel reached the gates.

Daniel turned around and looked at his friend a little worriedly. "What?"

"Here." he held out the package, standing between Daniel and the gates that would open once a small button on the side was pressed..

Daniel took the package and looked at it uncertainly. "What's this for?"

"A late Christmas present. After I saw you at the party, I bought you something, but I forgot to give it to you." Alex panted, out of breath from his unexpected exercise.

"Thanks, but... but I haven't got anything for you."

Alex waved this protest away with his hand "Don't worry about it; you've bought all this chocolate so you've done more than enough."

"Thank you. But Al-" This time it was Daniel who was caught unawares as Alex kissed him, much in the same way as he'd surprised the blond two months ago. The kiss was quick, nervous, but it still meant something.

As Alex drew away, Daniel pulled him back, pulling him towards him and then pushing them both back against the gates.

---

Anyway, I am actually ahead of schedule now, which means I'm going to be able to take a bit of time on this next chapter, but hopefully not so much time that it's late. (13th March)