Wednesday Brief

Well it's that time of the week again. And Tom and Ben are each attending holiday parties at their work places, but you KNOW they are both thinking of each other.

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Christmas Party

Prompts: Line Prompts:

Off in the distance I heard …

All I ever wanted was …

Word prompts:

Red, darkness, heat

Chill, blanket, tender

Include:

A surprise

An ancient tradition

Christmas Party by Lily Sawyer

“Hey, Tom, are you doing the secret Santa?” Harry Wilson, one of Tom’s friends and fellow firefightersasked.

“Yeah. I wasn’t going to, but Sammy talked me into it.” Tom had planned to skip this year’s Christmas party, but Ben was at his company’s holiday party so there wasn’t anyone to go home to.  Much as he enjoyed the holidays and having fun with the gang at the station, he’d rather be home with Ben.

“Okay everyone, you’ve stuffed your faces, now let’s open presents,”  the captain called out to the partiers.

Tom and his fellow firefighters sat around a table and Sammy passed the gifts out; thankfully, they’d put a twenty-five dollar spending limit.  That was a good thing. Tom had spent the rest of his holiday budget on Ben and a few other friends and family members. 

“Lizzie, here’s one for you.”  Lizzie was one of four female members of the firehouse.  

“Thanks, guys, how did you know I needed a new bathrobe?”    It was a set that came with a pair of slippers.

Tom took a sip from his mug of his coffee. He was so glad an anonymous donor had given the firehouse a Keurig coffee machine and a supply of coffee K-cups to go with it.   It made making coffee much easier.   Tom made a great cup of coffee, but unfortunately not every member of the house shared his skills.   So some days they had to deal with a cup of mud.   Not a great thing when you had to be awake for emergencies.

“Here’s something for you, Tom.”   Sammy handed him an envelope.   He couldn’t fathom what was inside; he just never knew what these guys could come up with. Could be a gag gift, for all he knew.    He slowly opened the flap.

“Come on Tom, open it already. It’s not going to bite you!”   Jimmy, his friend, told him.  

“Okay, okay, give me a minute.”  He dramatically took a deep breath and opened the flap.  He slowly pulled out the contents.    It was a gift card to Applebee’s restaurant.  “Oh wow, this is great.  Whoever gave me this, thank you.  Ben and I will put this to good use.”

Jimmy was the one who got the coffee package he’d picked up; it was filled with assorted coffee. Tom knew Jimmy couldn’t go without his coffee.   Jimmy gave him a smile; he knew he’d been his secret Santa.

The hours seemed to drag; they’d gotten one call before the end of their shift.  One was for a house fire. They were lucky they got there before the fire had spread beyond one room.   No one was hurt and they were able to extinguish the fire quickly.   Tom couldn’t wait to get home.  He drove his car up the driveway and parked right next to the garage door.  The rule was whoever got home first got the use of the garage.  He could see the lights were on, so Ben must have beaten him home. 

The minute he came in the door the smells of the holidays were in the room.  The smell of gingerbread filled the room.  Ben had set a candle on a candle warmer.  It was far safer than burning a candle; it melted the wax and the scent wafted throughout the house.

“Ben?”  Tom came into the kitchen and found his husband making potato latkes.   Since Ben was Jewish, they celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas together.    Tom had learned so many things about the Jewish people and their traditions by the food that was eaten for each holiday. 

“Tom, honey, I missed you so much.”   Ben had just finished frying the last potato pancake and laid it on the paper towel to absorb the excess oil. He turned and kissed him.  

“Mm, I missed you too, baby.  I was counting the hours until I could come home to you.”

“So what surprise did the guys give you at the firehouse?” Ben asked him as he was setting the dinner table.

“A gift card to Applebee’s.”  Tom helped him by putting out the napkins and silverware.   “Did you get anything from your co workers?”

“Yes, a bottle of wine and a large tin of assorted popcorn.  I wonder how they knew I love flavored popcorn.” 

“Oh, maybe cause you bring bags of microwave popcorn to the office to snack on,”  Tom said innocently.

Dinner was roasted chicken and potato latkes and the string bean casserole that Tom liked so much.

After dinner, they decided to celebrate and open up some gifts for Hanukkah.  It was the last day of the festival.  Ben wasn’t into the ‘giving a gift on each night of the eight night holiday.’  He suggested to Tom that he give any gifts on the last night, when all the candles would be lit on the menorah.  

Tom had showered him with many gifts.   Mostly small things and one big one—a winter coat he needed.

Afterwards they curled up in front of the fireplace, a blanket wrapped around both of them. 

“Wait until you see what Santa brought you, Tom.”  Ben couldn’t’ stop thanking Tom through all the hugs and kisses he was bestowing on him.

“I’ve got what I want. All I ever wanted was you.”

Christmas was still several days away, but for Tom and Ben they already had their holiday presents, each other.   They cuddled by the fireplace and that evening showed how much they loved each other in some hot, intimate ways.

TBC

 My fellow flashers

Victoria Adams m/f

MA Church m/m

Cia Nordwell m/m

MC Houle m/m

Tali Spencer m/m

Julie Lynn Hayes m/m