Page 28 of A Little Christmas! 4: Song

“To be annoying,” Zachy said. “No one better try to be mean to you if I’m in the crowd.”

“And what, exactly, do you plan to do to them if they are, little one?” Daddy said.

Zachy poked his lower lip out, eyes narrowing into one of the fiercest scowls Zachy had ever seen. “Create a whole new snow-snow dance that calls for all the snow to land right on their heads.”

Snickering, Song tried to picture what such a focused snow-snow dance would look like, especially if Zachy executed it with the same look as the one he was wearing now. Angry didn’t even begin to describe his expression, the combination one that was both extremely fierce and fiercely determined. In the end he just started laughing along with his daddies because it really was both humbling and positively amazing to have these three men in his corner, wanting nothing from him but to be his true, authentic self.

And love.

Something that was so very easy to give them because he was falling swift and hard for the trio who’d swept him into their lives like a tidal wave while wrapping him in their gentle humor and warm, comforting arms, refusing to let him be sucked under. He knew how lucky he was, how lucky they all were to have found one another. Listening to them speak so honestly and openly about their own struggles, fears, and insecurities made it easier to be open with them. Solo would tell him that was what relationships were supposed to be built on. Mutual honesty, trust, respect, and encouragement, something he’d already come to rely on from them.

After years of having only his siblings and bandmates looking out for him, it was awesome to find himself in a relationship that offered the same protection and nurturing. As far as Christmas wishes went, he couldn’t have asked for anything better.

But the best part of all was that he didn’t have to ask or even beg for it the way he had in his last relationship. They’d simply opened their hearts and had given it to him.

Who needed gift wrapping and bows when they were handed a treasure like that?

Someone somewhere, probably, but definitely not him.

Chapter 11

(Cooper)

Snowmageddon part two wound up dumping almost a foot of fresh snow on the region, leading him to beg Song, Zachy, and Gage, who’d joined in on the final one, to put an end to the snow-snow dances for a while. While he’d never been a superstitious man, he’d begun to wish that Shanny had never taught him the dance or gotten so many of the littles involved in it, as he’d heard through the grapevine of Daddies he communicated with about snow dances being held all over town.

Of course, Gage had just chuckled at that, wiggled his ass, and mouthed the word "snow," prompting Cooper to smack him with a pillow that ignited a full-fledged pillow fight when Song and Zachy joined in. How nothing had gotten broken in the ensuing melee was beyond his scope of understanding, with how fiercely the boys had battled before Gage and Cooper had abandoned their pillows in favor of tickling them.

While Zachy had surrendered after several seconds, Song had shoved his hands up Cooper’s shirt and found a few of histicklish spots, even managing to roll and reverse their positions so he was on top, tickling until Cooper gasped and squirmed before finally admitting defeat. His giggling boy had collapsed on him to snuggle against his chest and pin him to the floor, growing heavier until Cooper realized the little imp was attempting to take a nap on him. They had all been up late the night before, so he’d dragged a nearby pillow under his head and insisted on staying right there until Song had the chance to catch up on his sleep.

Gage draped a blanket over them before sitting on the couch with Zachy, who’d promptly fallen asleep snuggled up to Gage on the couch, the TV on low as he and Gage watched one of their favorite Christmas movies.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

So what if the humor was a bit off-color and the disasters a bit far-fetched? The cast was hilarious, while the dysfunction was so over the top that it didn’t trigger memories of real holiday disasters he’d experienced over the years.

Fingers carded through his hair as Gage separated the strands, the soothing motion making his eyes feel heavy, especially with Song’s warm body pressed against him while he lightly snored in Cooper’s ear. If a more perfect moment existed, he wasn’t in the mood to think about it. Even the movie was growing hazy as Gage caressed his cheek, drawing Cooper’s attention from the television to him.

“Take a nap; you look like you need it,” Gage urged, his voice a low, rumbly whisper that didn’t disturb either boy in the slightest.

As much as he wanted to protest, keeping his eyes open and formulating words took too much effort. Best to sneak a bit of rest in while he could, because something told him that when the boys got up again, they’d be all riled up and ready for some time in the playroom. Just as he was beginning to tumble overthe edge between wakefulness and slumber, Born to be Wild erupted from someone’s phone, startling him and Song, who sat up blinking, bleary-eyed, and looking completely disoriented.

“Shit, sorry,” Song muttered, gaze darting around as he searched for the basket they kept their phones in when they were enjoying family time.

“To your left, sweetheart,” Gage said, pointing Song over to where it sat on the top of the turntable stand just inside the entryway to the living room.

As Song shambled over to it, Cooper sat up, cracked his neck, and decided to relocate to the other end of the wraparound couch, where he and Song would be more comfortable.

“Hey, Solo, what’s going on?” Song said by way of greeting.

The only one who hadn’t twitched was Zachy, who could sleep through a hailstorm as long as nothing hit him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cooper watched Gage prop himself up as much as he could, eyes trained on their boy the same way Cooper's were, waiting with bated breath to hear that everything was okay with his family.

“Oh, okay, yeah, you’re looking for the green tote in the far left-hand corner of the garage,” Song explained. “I think we need to start writing on them with Sharpies. The label idea was nice, until half of them melted off the plastic over the summer. There’s an extra one in my room too if you need it; it’s hanging on the hook over the bed. I kept forgetting to put it back.”

More silence, but Gage eased back down on the cushions again and gently rubbed circles on Zachy’s back.

“Cool,” Song said. “Check the hall closet if you need extra blankets; I washed a couple loads of them the other night and put them back in there.”