From the North Pole to Indiana Chapter 6
This is a work of fiction; all characters' names are randomly generated, and the places in this story are complete works of fiction. If you disagree with two men loving each other, leave now. Yes, this is a Christmas story, so you are free to move on if you don't want to read it. However, if you're going to read it, I hope you'll enjoy it.
Copyright © 2021
From the North Pole to Indiana
Forever?
Chapter 3, part 2
Within the next two hours, a tree and a box of decorations arrive at Mick's apartment. Nicholas can elf port them directly into the apartment. Mick immediately gets to work setting up and decorating the tree. He was worried that all his work wouldn't matter if the decorations were horrible. His father and then elves had done a great job. There were some family decorations, some older-style decorations, and some newer decorations among the decorations. He has to admit that someone outdid themselves when they picked out the items to send. It really does look amazing.
***
He just hopes that Shea thinks it looks good. It just wouldn't look good on the family if the tree didn't look good. Mick loves Christmas, which includes decorating the tree and the house. Maybe, the tree was or wasn't meant to impress Shea. It could be that he just wanted to let him know that he likes Christmas too.
***
His family is big on gifts, but this year Shea has his eyes on something else; a boyfriend. It would be nice if they could find their way together before Christmas day. It may not happen, but it would be nice to have someone that he could just have someone to cuddle underneath a blanket. He doesn't want to spend another year alone. Mostly, he just wants to be happy and in love.
***
Before Shea leaves his training, he texts Mick to say that it's over and he's leaving.
"I'm headed home first, and then I'll pick you up."
A minute later, he gets a reply back.
"Okay, I'll see you when you get here."
Both Shea and Mick have butterflies going on right now. Shea hopes his apartment is clean enough. Mick hopes he can relax and enjoy himself once at Shea's place. He also crosses his fingers to say anything stupid or anything that might put his family at risk. Shea reaches his apartment and unlocks it in a hurry, almost forgetting to take his keys out of the door.
***
Shea wants to do this right. He pops enough popcorn to fill a large mixing bowl. Then, he quickly showers and puts on new clothes. He gives his place a quick but careful look over and gets ready to leave. Everything looks perfect; however, he did forget one crucial detail. He failed to remove the mistletoe. His grandparents always put it up, and now so does he. Now, he heads out for Mick's apartment.
***
He reaches the apartment complex that Mick lives in and heads for the building itself. He finds Mick's name and then pushes the buzzer button.
"Hello, can I help you?"
Shea recognizes those voices instantly.
"Hi Mick, it's Shea. Can I come up?"
Mick pushes the button that unlocks the doors without giving it any thought. At the sound of the buzzer, he enters the building and heads for the apartment. As he walks up the stairs, his heart begins to beat faster. Mick even gets a little nervous. Shea knocks at the door to the apartment and waits for Mick to answer, and Mick does in record time.
"Hi, Shea! You look great tonight."
Shea smiles at Mick. Shea's eyes check out the apartment, the tree, and the decorations. He's impressed by it. The tree looked like it had been decorated by a master decorator, and it had been because Mick is a Claus, after all.
"Thanks, Mick! That tree is amazing; it's like Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus decorated it."
Was it his imagination, or did the tree just glow brighter? The tree has a string of lights that respond to the belief of Santa Claus and the magic of the holidays. Every member of the Claus family has one string of these lights.
"I think we should head to my place."
Shea says to his date. Whenever he's around Mick, he feels happy and gives him a warm feeling in his belly. The guys leave the apartment, pausing only so Mick could lock the apartment.
***
When they arrive at Shea's house, Shea hangs up their coats. Shea shows his date where to sit and then runs to the kitchen to grab popcorn and eggnog. Bringing the food and the drink, Shea places them on the coffee table.
"I forgot the glasses, be right back."
Shea says as he heads back towards the kitchen. While he is gone, Mick is looking up looking at the Christmas tree,
`It's cute and real; that's 2 points for sure.'
Shea smiles when he sees Mick looking at his tree.
"Do you like it?"
Shea asks as the other guy jumps in surprise, making his date chuckle slightly.
"Yeah, I love it. Do you have any ornaments that have a story?"
Mick asks his date. As he stares at one ornament, in particular, there is a reason why this one stands out because it is older than the other ornaments on the tree.
"The white one close to your left hand belonged to my grandmother, and when she died, I took it and added it to my collection."
Mick is delighted to hear that his crush treasures his family. Mick moved away from the tree and sat down. As Mick moved away from the tree, he passed directly under the mistletoe that Shea hadn't taken down yet. He's not going to push for a kiss, not on a first date.
"Your grandmother's ornament is beautiful."
Shea is glad that he likes the ornament. Once Mick sits on the couch, Shea gets up and puts in the Blu-ray disc.
***
Shea sits down and grabs the remote, and starts the movie. Together, they cuddle on the couch. The film is enjoyable, but it's the company that is the best for both guys. Shea is content to sit beside Mick. Mick loves the movie. They're watching "A Christmas Carol," but Mick would be happy watching anything.
"I am loving this movie."
Mick loves that his crush invited him here to see it.
"I'm glad you like it. It's a tradition for me; I watch it every year."
Shea has been hooked on the movie since he saw it for the first time when he was 12. He hasn't missed a year yet. Shea and Mick snack on the popcorn and drink the eggnog as they watch. The move ends, and Shea is feeling a bit hungry.
***
With the movie over, Shea knows that he's hungry, so he invites Mick to stay for dinner. Mick agrees because he hasn't had dinner either. Shea pops in a pizza, and they get busy making a fresh salad.
"Thanks for coming over; the evening has been great."
The host says as he stands making the salad. His guest smiles at his date.
"You're welcome!"
Mick gives Shea a hug, and Shea hugs him back. Shea wants to provide him with a kiss, but it's not happening, at least not today. As the pizza cooks, Shea takes his date into the guest bedroom where his keyboard is; he thought they could play and sing Christmas carols. It is the season for them, after all. They do quite a few songs, and when the timer goes off, it ends the singing.
"You have a nice singing voice."
Mick says to his host, which gets a blush from Shea.
"Thanks, Mick, I was going to say the same about you, but you beat me to it."
Mick's thankful for Shea; he's a blessing in disguise for him. The dinner is filled with laughter and conversation.
***
After dinner, they decide that it would be okay to watch another movie since Mick doesn't work till later in the day tomorrow. They sit down on the couch and start the movie. It's another Christmas movie, and Mick is enjoying it. Mick and Shea like being in each other's arms.
They're pretty happy to have a chance to be in each other's arms and enjoy a movie. It's around 11:00 pm when the movie ends. It's getting late, and Shea thinks that maybe, he needs to invite Mick to stay the night. He doesn't want him worrying about having to go home. It's still kind of early in their friendship, but all the same, it is late, and he would rather not go out. Maybe, Shea is being a bit selfish.
"Mick, it's late. Are you okay with spending the night? You can either sleep in my bed, on the couch, or in the guest bedroom?"
Mick considers his options, but he quickly makes up his mind.
"Okay, I'll spend the night but with one adjustment."
Mick was sure that it would be okay to stay the night with Shea.
"What is the adjustment?"
Shea is a bit nervous since he has no idea what his crush wants to do.
"I thought maybe I could sleep in your room? We don't need to have to do anything. Literally, we could just sleep."
Shea isn't unhappy with Mick's adjustment. He is okay with not having sex.
"Okay, if you're sure that is what you want?"
His guest is positive that is what he wants to do. They clean up whatever mess might have been made, then head to bed.
***
Shea has a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest. He can't believe he's going to be sleeping next to him. It seems unreal that he's here against the man he's been searching for. Maybe, this friendship, crush, or relationship will work after all. Having him here right here means everything to Shea. It really feels lovely.
***
Mick has been sleeping like an angel. He was anyway until he woke up and he wasn't home. For about ten seconds, he was in a complete panic. When he looks over at the sleeping man next to him, the anxiety melts away. What was left was absolute peace. Mick laid down his head and fell asleep breathing in Shea's scent, a smell that will ease anxiety instantly when triggered. He loves the solace that he feels.
***
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