Christmas Trees and Perfect T's

"Hi Mom!" Vincent grinned as he entered his mother's apartment. Her smile matched his as she brought him into a tight hug. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" She practically screamed. The affair brought a bright smile to Lucas' face; even as a dignified nurse, Ms. Chance still had an air of a child about her. Not childishness, just a youthful heart. "I'm missed seeing you, it's so lonely up here!"

"You'll never guess who I brought with me." Vincent gestured, and Lucas stepped in the door after him, still wearing his amusement like a badge of honor.

"It's good to see you again, Ma'am."

"Oh Lucas!" Ms. Chance practically tackled Vincent's boyfriend to the ground. She hadn't seen him since before the boy went to college, and there was a lot of change to take in. "You look so different! You must have grown, what? Three inches since I saw you last! And your hair! It's gotten so long!"

"Alright mom, don't strangle the poor boy." Vincent chuckled softly. As a child he'd been slightly jealous of how well Lucas and his mother got on, but as a boyfriend it was amazing. "Lots changed with Lucas, but at least let him get in the door first."

"You're right, I'm being rude. You boys must be exhausted! Come in, set your bags down, I'll make us some hot chocolate!" She grinned with glee, rushing out of the room off into what Vincent assumed was the kitchen.

"So this is what it's like to meet the in-laws? It's terrible, I'm terrified, really." Lucas joked.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Vincent replied sarcastically. "She's practically more excited to see you than she is to see me."

"I'm sorry, babe, but I'm pretty irresistible."

"Oh yes.. I can hardly contain myself."

Vincent and Lucas put their bags down in the guest bedroom, then made their way back out into the main space. Ms. Chance had moved from the kitchen into the living area, and sat impatiently on the sofa with a Christmas-red plate in front of her. She'd gotten the speaker to play some classic Christmas songs, and Lucas was invaded with the feeling of nostalgia as the well heard words filled his mind.

Not everything was the same though, Lucas thought as he eyed Vincent from behind. He closed the gap, laying his hand on the small of his waist as they entered the room.

"Careful." Vincent chided playfully.

"Hmm?" Ms. Chance looked over, realizing they'd returned.

"No tree, Ms. Chance?" Lucas let his hand fall and slid them semi-awkwardly into his pockets.

"Not yet.." She smiled wistfully. "I hate to get a fake one... I think they're so clinical, but I couldn't handle a real one all by myself. Lucas, you wouldn't mind-"

"I'll help you mom!" Vincent finished for her. "Lucas is on strict orders to stay off his leg."

As Vincent said that, Lucas stepped out from behind the white chair blocking him from her view so Ms. Chance could see the black boot that adorned his leg.

"Oh goodness, what happened?"

"I fell during the champion game..." Lucas grumbled sheepishly. "But the doctor told me I could start doing stuff again, so I'm not sure what he means by strict orders..."

"Mine." Vincent interjected. "My strict orders."

"Oh?" Ms. Chance looked between the two boys with a knowing look. "That's my Vincent, he's always so protective of the people he loves."

"Mom!" Vincent flushed red.

"You know Lucas, I never would have asked you to help me if I'd known you were injured, but Vincent never tells me anything." She explained, and Vincent rolled his eyes knowing they probably spoke more often than was healthy anyway. "See, I only asked since you've gotten so big! You look very handsome, doesn't he Vincent?"

"He looks fine." Vincent's face only increased in redness.

"He's a very handsome boy, and I'm sure he'll make somebody really happy some day, I just hope that person knows he likes them back because my Lucas has always been so shy."

Lucas sat next to Vincent, beaming with pride and holding back laughter. Vincent eyed him helplessly, which only made Lucas want to laugh more.

"I'm sure they'll get the picture eventually... I'm shy, but very very obvious." Lucas teased.

"Now that's true, but you know.. some people can just be so oblivious." Ms. Chances smile grew even more as she looked between her two boys. At Vincent's current state, however, she elected to change the topic and spare him. "Alright boys, well I figure you'll need to rest for the day, seeing as you've done so much traveling, but tomorrow we'll go out and get a tree. Here's hoping some of the good ones are still left!"

Ms. Chance, Lucas, and Vincent ended up deciding that a good Christmas activity for the day would be to watch a Christmas movie, and they'd chosen the original animated version of The Grinch, and it played on in the background as they sat. Lucas' mind drifted away from high spirits and cheer back to its most familiar pastime; Vincent. The two boys were sitting a few inches apart on the sofa, while Ms. Chance had moved to the chair to give them some space. Two inches was too much for Lucas, and after verifying that Ms. Chance was in fact religiously keeping her focus trained to the screen, he closed the gap.

Vincent shot him a warning glance, but Lucas let his lower arm shift behind Vincent's back, where it could sit, covered by the blanket they were sharing. This Vincent allowed without question, and after a glance of his own towards his mother, he let his head fall onto Lucas' shoulder snuggling more into the embrace. Ms. Chance's undisturbed face twitched into a smile, though Lucas wasn't sure if it was a result of the Grinch's heart growing three sizes, or whatever the hell was going on in her peripheral vision.

...

Vincent was shaken awake by a gentle force. His eyes opened to see Lucas above him with a pretty little smile, the kind he only gave to Vincent, painted on his striking face.

"Your mom wanted me to wake you for dinner."

"I didn't realize I fell asleep..." Vincent looked around groggily.

"You must have been really tired from driving the whole way here."

"Yeah." Vincent smiled playfully. "Do you know where-?"

Lucas closed the gap between them with a kiss, catching Vincent's meaning from the brief part of the sentence he heard.

"Kitchen." He grinned after their kiss.

"Boys?" Ms. Chance called, and Lucas rolled off Vincent onto the ground. The thump caught Ms. Chance's attention, and she poked her head into the doorway. "Lucas what happened? Did you fall?"

"Yes."

Ms. Chance's brows frowned, but she accepted that answer and returned to her work. Vincent pushed playfully at Lucas' shoulder, pulling him up off the ground. They walked side by side into the kitchen, where Ms. Chance had prepared a home cooked meal for them.

"Sit! Sit!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the table. "I've got everything, don't worry about anything!"

"Thanks mom." Vincent smiled. "But really, I can-"

"It's done!" She said, and moved to bring the many plates onto the table. Lucas rose and helped her with the few she'd left, but even that she tutted. "I wanted to do something nice for you boys since I knew you'd be exhausted after the ride. Especially since I saw Vincent dozing off on the couch!"

"I'm sorry!" Vincent defended. "But Lucas made me drive the entire way here!"

"I didn't make you drive, you wouldn't let me drive." He countered.

"Details, details."

Ms. Chance looked between the two boys with a small smile. She wanted to say something about being happy that they appeared to be getting along just like they used to, but held her tongue to not set off Vincent's stubborn streak. Instead she left it with a simple "I'm just glad you didn't kill each other on the ride down here. That's a lot of togetherness!"

"Oh we're all about the togetherness now." Lucas smirked, and Vincent elbowed his shoulder under the table. Lucas paid him no mind, but took his hand in his own where the were out of sight. "Everything looks wonderful."

"I'd hope so! I know how you college kids sometimes eat, so I made sure that you'd get a nice home-cooked meal to make up for some of that crap."

"Vincent and I have actually been cooking for each other a lot." Lucas shrugged.

"Oh? You must really be spending a lot of time together then..."

"He practically lives at my apartment!" Lucas laughed.

"That's lovely." She said thoughtfully. "Really.. I'm glad you two seem to be so... in sync."

"So.... Christmas tree tomorrow?" Vincent changed the subject. "Where do you think you're going to put it?"

"Oh you know... just in the living room. Shoot, that reminds me. I don't think we have any decorations up here... I left them all back at the house. Maybe Vincent and I could go get the tree, and Lucas could run to the store with my card and buy some decorations, since he can't do any heavy lifting?"

"Sounds good, Ms. Chance!" Lucas nodded cheerily, happy to be of some service.

"Great."