c h a p t e r. 35 pt 2

"What the mind can conceive and believe, and the heart desire, you can achieve."

-Norman Vincent Peale

chapter. 35 pt 2

"Jazz, come on!" Eris shouts, his sister smacking on the living room wall-- all his siblings, their partners, and his god were waiting for him to come back into. "We want to start."

"Is Papa back yet?" Jazz replies at equal volume, moving to face the living room, giving Axel the middle finger as the stupid D'silvetta nods his head in a goodbye-- going back to his own cabin to have his own Christmas gathering.

Papa replies for himself-- which gives him an answer-- and soon, all of the Reds and their loved ones are gathered around the room. It's a little tight, with so many people and so many different conversations going, but the musician doesn't mind because that means Castor is pressed right against his side.

His boyfriend, as the newbie, has to unwrap three presents first and decides to just go with the three packages he already had (the ones Axel had given him earlier) and quickly discovers what's inside.

When he first opened it, Jazz thought that it was just a red sweater, but then Castor pulled it out further and the green hoodie and the dark seed pattern covering it. Then the legs and the feet pooled over his legs and a grin pulled over his lips.

It was a strawberry onesie and he wasted no time in pulling it over his sweatpants. Pulling off his-- which is really Jasper's-- sweatshirt off to allow the top half to go over his arms.

Jazz doesn't miss the surprised silence his parents gave when they caught the scars over his boyfriend's arms but they don't say anything. They understand why they're there, and they also understand not to ask.

If Castor wanted them to know, he could always go to them.

Chuckling at how happy the god looked, Jazz tugged on either side of the onesie and buttoned it for him so he could pull him down for a short but sweet kiss.

"You're such a dork." Castor tells him, smacking one of the musician's shoulders with one of his sleeves that went well past his hand. Cute.

Jazz scoffs at his words, "Says the one wearing a strawberry onesie."

"Open the box that's wrapped shitty." Nyx interrupts, pointing to her fiance. "He likes whatever's in it, so I want to see."

The musician pulls Castor over his lap, snuggling closer after handing him Damian's gift. Reading the label he says, "It's from Tio Gus."

"Yeah," The god turns over the box that's covered from edge to edge in tape, the wrapping reading 'Birthday Girl!' over it as he tics and snaps his jaw multiple times. "I figured."

Jazz can't help but to grin at his boyfriend, eyes moving down to see what the gift is. Surprising him, there's a pair of earrings at the top of the box. The one on the right, one he can tell instantly catches Castor's attention is a soft pink strawberry earring with a mint green top that attaches it to a rose gold end. The other is a matching pink stud.

The musician forgot that he wore earrings, honestly, and watches as he puts them in.

But hell does he think that his boyfriend looks fucking adorable in his strawberry onesie and strawberry earrings.

The strawberry part of the earring lightly knocks into the hooked back as Castor tics, tinging in a soft purple that mixes beautifully with Castor's green. For a moment, just a moment, Jazz can't help but to wish his song was something brighter, something more beautiful instead of just... dark.

But Castor? He was bright and beautiful enough for the both of them.

"How much you wanna bet that that--" His twin interrupts his thoughts, pointing to the last box. "--is something strawberry too?"

"Hmm, it's from Ahmik?" Checking the label, his celestial shakes his head. "Then it won't be."

Not knowing why he's so certain, Jazz just watches as he opens it, peering in to see a box of bandaids with bears on them and a note that states: please don't have to use these. Next to them is a grey necktie with black bear faces in a pattern over it.

"Oh," Castor says, nodding to himself. His greens are content, and he smiles knowing he likes the presents he got so far. "Sweet."

Raising an eyebrow, Jazz wraps an arm around him and asks, "Why do you have to wear a tie?"

"Football thing." He shrugs. "It's stupid."

"Do I get to come?" This is asked without hesitation because, well, if Castor's there then why wouldn't he want to be?

"If you want, it's just a boring ceremony and shit." Boring? Means he won't have to pay attention and can just look at his handsome boyfriend in a suit the whole time. "My family is supposed to come but-- mother ducklings-- they'll all be busy except for Donny, Sawyer, Nemy and a family friend. Fly's already making bets with the team on who will win what."

Eris goes next, having been sitting on the other side of Castor and already having her presents in front of her. Jazz presses on, not fully understanding what his star was talking about. "What do you mean, win?"

"Like, awards, metals. Some certificates, like 'most laps run' or 'most points scored' and some joke ones like 'most benched' for the annoying guys." Castor explains, fingers fiddling with the musician's collar as he speaks. "My siblings usually--" He growled. "--go on stage for me, or Fly collects them for me."

Fly? Why would Fly collect them when they're meant for Castor?

Jazz tilts his head, mint eyes blinking up at him, "Why don't you get it yourself?"

His god shrugs again, "I don't care."

"You're not proud of yourself?" Jazz frowns, hand squeezing his boyfriend's side as he protests. "But you work so hard."

"It's just another year, they don't mean anything. All of them just end up in a box somewhere anyway."

That's... that just seems so sad.

At this ceremony, when Castor wins something-- because he's certain that the god will, with his insane amount of talent-- he's going to proudly put them somewhere in their apartment where everyone who visits can see them.

Huffing, he doesn't argue and just turns his head to watch his family open all their gifts, smiling at their happiness. It seems too soon that it's his turn, but when it is, his papa rushes to stand.

"Oh fuck, hold on," Bar says "Give me a minute, I have to carry it in. Shit's huge. Wouldn't fit under the tree."

Um... okay? One of the gifts are big?

It can't be his, the biggest thing he suggested as a present this year was a large dinosaur book from the Cretaceous period.

Confused, he looks towards his goddess mother, "It's your gift?" But no, apparently it's not because she just points to him. It's his gift? "What is it?"

"You're literally about to open it." Eris laughs out while Dela boos him for wanting to spoil the surprise.

"Jokes on you, fucko," Nyx snickers. "We all already know what it is. I myself, was pleasantly surprised."

When his papa comes back in, there's a moment where all Jazz can do is stare at that monster of a present, it coming just below his papa's shoulders and as wide as his shoulders--which was a good width, given his build.

Slowly, he turns to Castor and asks, "What the fuck is that? It's almost as tall as you."

Not replying but standing so the musician would be able to unwrap it, Castor moves to the side. Without hesitation and due to simple curiosity, Jazz takes it and puts it right next to the god, eyes widening when he sees that Castor is barely-- barely-- an inch or two taller than it.

This triggers his sisters' and their partners' curiosities and they join in, Arabella and Lavender being the same height as it, Dela being just a little shorter than it and his older sisters a good couple inches away from being able to reach the top.

Dela, after his family laughs a little bit and her and their mom's jaw dropped, says, "You're short."

Scoffing, Castor retaliates, "You're shorter than me."

"By what? Four inches?" She moved closer to his boyfriend, cockily putting her hands over hips before nodding towards her brother and papa. "They're by a foot."

"It must suck then," Castor smirks, mockingly patting her head. "That even shorts guys are still taller than--" He squeaked. "--you."

Lavender doesn't bother to hide her laughter, even at the expense of her girlfriend who openly blushes; Dela clearly not expecting him to get playful right back at her.

Amused with the conversation, but very curious to what his present could possibly be, Jazz says, "I'm opening it." Not waiting for a response, he gently tugs the wrapping off of it, revealing what's underneath it.

It's a painting of him and his god, pressed together and cuddling. They look happy, a gorgeous half-smile stuck onto Castor's face with his body tucked against Jazz's chest and a content expression over his face as his arms hook over his boyfriend's hips.

It's background, he could tell, was made out of a black and white charcoal, the colors mixing and moving and making the focal point the two men in the middle.

It... it was beautiful.

The greens-- they were Castor's greens. It was them, purely them. It was happiness.

And his god made it.

His god took the time to make this, to create something so beautiful, for him.

Honestly, he didn't know if he wanted to cry or laugh.

So he went with both.

"I love it, my star." Finally letting his face drop into a dopey smile, Jazz pulls the god to stand in the space between his knees with the hand that wasn't holding up the painting and pulled them closer. "This is...I don't even have the words. Just, thank you. How did you do this?"

Almost sheepishly, Castor smiles at him with a shrug.. "With charcoal and just a little help with the lighting. I was reminded why-- bit hot innit-- I'm not an actual artist."

Not an actual artist? Bullshit.

"Could have fooled me." Scoffing, he places a kiss onto the celestial's collarbones.

Not able to stop the grin from staying on his face, the musician keeping Castor on his lap while opening his other presents, the painting now next to his goddess mama and papa-- he didn't trust his clumsiness around something that already means so much to him.

Pretty soon, everyone was done with their gifts and thank you's or you're welcome's and were relaxing-- that was until Dela and Fly (because of course it had to be one of them) rounded everyone of the Red kids and their partners, along with Scarlette, and squished them together in the main cabin to play a game call trainwreck.

The rules were simple, there was one chair for everyone except one person who stood up and said something like "If you're wearing socks" and whoever is wearing socks has to get up and find a new seat that can't be the seat on either side of them.

Whoever's slowest is now the person that stands and has to say something else.

Because the god was wearing his strawberry onesie and red fuzzy socks, he was able to move quickly which was good, because both of them have had to move quite a lot.

"Okay, okay," Arabella claps her hands together, having been shoved out of the way by her girlfriend when fighting to make it to his Papa's usual seat first. Since she was bigger, he doesn't know how his sister managed to overpower her. "I have a good one."

Eris sits up straighter in her seat, eyes focused on her partner as she spoke, seeming to believe her about her next one being good.

"If someone has ever confessed their love for you."

Jazz's body stalls for a good second, which almost makes him lose the next one to Scarlette but he makes it to the last spot before her, his heart beating fast in his chest and it isn't only because of the chaos that spawned around him.

It makes him sad that the face he first thought of was Keres; the last person who admitted they were in love with him. But that? That wasn't love. That was manipulation.

He doesn't like that Castor didn't move, either. He doesn't like that he hasn't been courageous enough to say those three words out loud instead of just hiding behind the finger boop-- which he isn't sure whether or not his boyfriend knows the meaning of but, if he does, the god hasn't mentioned it.

From across the room, Jazz hears the celestial tell Fly that he hasn't moved and choked in response, his twin smacking him in the face with a pillow twice as she shrieks out his full first name, "Jasper-Alaric! How dare you."

She knows, like any good sister, that he was in love with his boyfriend and, like any annoying sister, didn't hesitate to bother him because he's never been shy about saying 'I love you' before and would pick and prod until he told her why he hesitated.

"Adelaide." Castor saying his twin's name makes both of them freeze and for her to snap her head over to look at the star, Jazz snatching the pillow from her hands while she was distracted. "You can't make him."

He says that as if Jazz doesn't want to say it.

Castor says that as if he wants to say it.

Not realizing he was pouting and spaced out until the god is crouched in front of him, Jazz blinks a couple times, eyes focused on the ethereal green song playing worried beats, mint clashing with lightning-strike gray as he asks, "Are you okay, Jitterbug?"

"You just looked sad." The musician frowns. "I moved and you didn't. But you're not the one who said it, and I don't like that."

He doesn't like that at one point, he believed Keres was the definition of love.

But that's the anomaly of time, isn't it? How someone could believe something with all of them, how trust can be so strong and then something happens, or multiple somethings, and everything changes. Sometimes, the change isn't even noticeable. Sometimes it is.

But a second is only a second.

It doesn't get longer or shorter no matter how it feels.

Rolling his eyes, Castor cups his cheeks.

"Jasper Red," The god grants him a short kiss. "I am the textbook definition of in love with you."

Body jolting, Jazz grabs the side's of his boyfriend's onesie and pulls him down for a proper kiss, muffling his surprised yelp with his kiss, which his celestial wastes no time in reciprocating.

Pulling back soon after, he's too excited to do anything else than offer his finger up to Castor, wiggling in his seat with a silent 'I love you!'

The star frowns a little before blinking a few times, before poking it in reply.

"Oh my god, Jazz!" Eris shrieks, and then there's a fucking pillow smacking right into his face for the second time that day. "You can't do that!"

"I did it back?" He's so confused.

Dela cackles, shoving her twin's shoulder, "You're an idiot."

Sighing and in a move Jazz is all too grateful for, Nyx says, "Lay off, guys. He probably thinks that Cas knows what that means. You've finger booped with Viv in front of him?"

He nods, but then sees the 'what the fuck is happening' look on the gods face and flushes.

"Oh, o-oh! You don't know!" Jazz's eyes widened, and he's quick to pull Castor back towards him. "The fingerboop-- it means I love you. I, I j-just got too excited and couldn't say anything. I'm full blown, drunk on happiness in-love with you, Castor Alpha."

The musician cups his cheeks and brushes his thumbs over his skin, feeling how warm he's become, the blush bright against his pale skin which only makes him go a brighter red.

Which makes Castor laugh harder than he probably should of but soon enough Jazz is joining in and he feels like his heart is going to burst because--

--well, because Castor loves him and it feels so good to be loved by someone who knows how to love him properly.

And it feels good to love someone without fear, too.