“You’re late, and we couldn’t even go get you for our own sanity.” Alex huffed at the island.

Four bowls of cereal, waiting for milk sat on the island.

“Thanks for waiting.” Lillian chirped. “Ben was being difficult.” She accused.

“Me? Difficult? Your alarm tried to kill me at 6 o’clock in the morning, and then you let me get out of bed BEFORE the sun was even trying to rise.” Brayden huffed back indignantly.

“It’s Christmas?” Liam and Alex said in unison.

“And?” Brayden tried again.

“Well, on Christmas, the three of us gather to eat Froot Loops for breakfast. We make coffee. Then we turn on Charlie Browns Christmas. We wrap the gifts we got for our parents that we always forget to wrap, probably not forgot as its tradition now. Then the parents wake up, coffee and a cigarette before we’re allowed to look at them, then second cup of coffee and Christmas morning commences.”

“Cute – weird – but cute.” Brayden muttered.

“Thank you!” Lillian cheered.

She beamed up at him and winked.

“Now, we have to do Charlie and wrapping at the same time, and we’ve already made coffee.”

“Sorry.” Lillian offered, before filling all the bowls with milk.

“Sit.” Gesturing to the stool in front of Brayden.

They did just as Alex described, they ruthlessly included Brayden in their Christmas traditions. By the end he could see why they thought it was so important. They were easiest the closest siblings he had ever seen. Like friends but more. These extra years they got to spend together as adults, not a lot of siblings got to do that.

Brayden’s own sister was several years older than him and they were never very close. Watching them made his insides feel like mush, and he supposed, he could feel the Christmas spirit too.

The whole family was scattered around the living room. Brayden forgot how good it felt to wake up in your childhood home on Christmas morning. The joy was infectious. Brayden had only really expected a gift from Lillian, if anyone, this morning.

“I should have known better.” He thought to himself.

He had to shuffle under the tree 7 different times to fish a gift with his name on it out. Alex and Liam had split their combined gift into several pieces. It had been a new computer microphone, a stand for it, and a Steam card.

“It’s so we can play together.” Liam added, his genuine smile made Brayden grin back.

His old microphone had died a while ago, and he never replaced it, he did miss playing online.

“Thanks guys, I forgot I even needed a new mic.” Brayden smiled.

Liam shrugged and waved it off.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Liam opened his from Brayden next.

“How’d you even get your hands on this?” Liam exclaimed. “That’s sick man, thanks.” Liam grinned across the room showing Alex the exclusive record.

Alex was just as excited when he opened his. The tools were epic, according to him, and the ink ribbon was perfect because his officially died last week.

Her parents had gotten Brayden two gifts of their own, one of them a new hockey jersey. He’d complained someone had thrown up on his last season and the smell just never went away. The second was a pair of tickets for him to take Lillian to a game.

“I – you guys listen way too well in this house, this is fantastic.” He gushed, despite himself.

Her father just grunted and nodded, and her mother smiled.

When her dad opened his gift from Brayden he grunted and nodded again.

“This’ll be really neat.” He said gruffly, before flipping it open and starting to read on of the entries. Mrs. T shut the book and laughed.

“Thanks kid.” Her dad nodded at him.

Brayden just nodded back.

Everyone tried to look busy when Lillian handed her own gift over to Brayden.

“It is really corny okay.” She mumbled.

Brayden tore into the wrapping paper, flashing his teeth in a suggestive smile at her. A small photo album plopped into his lap. When he flipped it open, there was pictures they had taken on Halloween, pictures Alex had taken at the bonfire that Brayden didn’t even know about. A couple shots of Lillian tossing different items at Brayden’s laughing face, one specifically of when she had domed him with a tv remote and was hovering worriedly over him. And then there was pictures he recognised from his own phone.

“How did you…?”

“You’re not the only sneak around here Ben.” Lillian shrugged.

As he continued to flip through it, he found photos he recognized, only because he had been there. A string of photos from Lillian’s own camera roll, one of him swaying drunkenly with Luke from Halloween, another of the day he had helped Jasmine and Naz move, just leaning against a counter on his phone.

“I love it Ann.” He grinned flirtishly at Lillian, before grabbing her face and kissing her deeply.

“Damn if I knew that’s what happened when you got him a good gift, I might not have tried so hard.” Alex gagged to Liam.

Brayden pulled away from her slowly, his breath a little uneven.

“Sorry.” He smirked.

Lillian just tossed a ball of wrapping paper at him to retaliate. Her brothers snickered, and her mother beamed.

“Yours next.” He nodded to her small tower of gifts from him.

“Why is there so many?” Lillian looked suspiciously at him.

He just shook his head, holding back the sad look that tried to cross his face.

“C’mon open em.” Brayden gestured again.

She started with the three little boxes. Each one a different charm for her bracelet. She looked skeptically at him.

“Are these from…?” She trailed off.

“Uh, no they aren’t.” He said sheepishly.

“But I only told -…”

Brayden looked at her pointedly and smiled gently. He inclined his head and changed the subject.

“C’mon, open the next one.” He encouraged.

“Oh, I wonder what these are.” Lillian teased.

She gently pulled the mistletoe out of the front of the ribbon, gingerly placing it on the end table near her. The last charm catching her eye on the front of the books.

“Always?” She looked sideways at him.

“C’mon, I’m trying to make you fall in love with me. What was I supposed to do?” Brayden rolled his eyes and smiled impishly.

“Oh right, how could I forget.” Rolling her eyes right back.

She finally started pulling the paper off the books. Instead of early edition copies of books, they were the same versions he owned of three books he’d loved and annotated for her. He had transferred his notes into them and had even asked her some questions in the margins about what she thought.

American Psycho, because he knew she’d roll her eyes at it, Before the Coffee Gets Cold, which he only bought after he had seen it in her library, and a copy of Romeo and Juliet, her favourite was Hamlet, but he was making a point.

Lillian looked at him confused before she flipped through one of the books and saw all his writing in the margins. Her jaw dropped and her eyes weld up.

“Ben… it’s so thoughtful, thank you. I can’t believe you did this.” Lillian choked.

Brayden just tucked her under his arm and kissed her temple.

“For you? Anything.” He whispered only for her to hear.

Her answering smile was watery, she just let herself melt into his side as the rest of the gifts were opened.

He had to get to his mom’s house. He glared at the road in front of him. When he had left, the family was preparing for a totally different kind of feast. They had all dressed more casually and her mother was trying to make room in the oven for even more food. Liquor was going to be poured more freely as well, if the way he was employed to haul up cases from the basement had to do with anything. He had looked at Lillian confused at one point.

“You said you wanted to be here for Christmas eve, it’s not my fault that my dad’s family was coming for Christmas eve. My mother’s family, is well, rowdier?” Lillian smiled, clearly excited for the evening.

He was clearly missing the better party. Something about the thought of both mothers being disappointed in him if he continued to sulk had him forcing a cheerier smile onto his face, that melted into a real one when his mother opened the front door for him.