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ofthecaravel · 2 days ago

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Heaven In Time

Holiday Special

Summary: Danny's California love sees his first snow. Set between Chap 1 and Chap 2.

Tags: Nothing but fluff

Words: 3k

A/N: Happy holidays! Random little prequel for the GVF Writers Christmas Event by @hearts-hunger that allowed me to indulge in fleshing out this universe a little more!

Prompt #26: First Snowfall

“So, how was your day?”

“Goo-oo-d.”

“That’s all? Just good?”

Sam chuckled into a sip of water, replacing the crinkling plastic bottle in its cup holder as Danny shot him a scrutinizing little smile. They were illuminated only by the truck’s headlights on the trees in front of them, but Sam could read through Danny’s expression in a moment’s time.

“Busy,�� Sam answered anew, replacing the word with something more descriptive like Danny preferred to hear during their work day debriefings. “Which is good. I don’t get as bored as I do when it’s slow.”

“Are your hands feeling any better today, or no?” Danny asked, tilting his head slightly to assess the dry skin on Sam’s hands. Ever since the weather started cooling down, Sam’s dishwater-worn hands had become increasingly chapped and sore in the cool breezes that greeted him after his diner shift was up. Of course, Danny had done nothing but fuss over it since the time he’d picked Sam up after work and gone to kiss his knuckles, only to find the skin there cracked and his lips stained with blood.

“Meh,” Sam shrugged, holding a hand out for Danny to properly look while his other hand clutched the deli counter sandwich Danny had brought him.

“Gonna have to buy you some gloves, baby love,” Danny murmured as he took Sam’s left hand with his right and soothed his thumb over the tops of his fingers. “Christ, you’re freezing!”

Sam giggled again and darted his hand out to tickle at Danny’s neck with his ice cold fingers, braying a proper laugh when Danny shrunk away with a shout and slapped at him with his free arm.

“That’s what you get for using His name in vain,” Sam teased, managing to draw one more yelp by pressing his fingers against Danny’s cheek before retreating.

“Ah, fair enough,” Danny sighed with a wide, dopey grin. “You know, I couldn’t tell you why, but your pious nature seems to keep slipping my mind as of late.”

“I also couldn’t tell you why,” Sam muttered shyly, wiggling his eyebrows flirtatiously as he took a bite of his dinner. “How was your day?”

“Changing the subject, I see,” Danny joked. “My day was also good and also busy. Mostly just restocking and working the register. Nothing insane but- oh, actually, there was this old guy who came in who was a hoot.”

“Yeah? Tell me more.”

Danny cleared his throat and readjusted in his seat to face Sam more, pulling his knee up comfortably and visibly trying to chew faster through a bite of his own sandwich with an exaggerated facial expression that made Sam burst into giggles.

He’d hate to admit it later on, but Sam was unable to follow along with Danny’s story once it started. Just how it’d been from the very first day they’d met, Sam got helplessly distracted following the movements of Danny’s mittened hands and the glimmer in his dark eyes as they punctuated his jokes. Being an Alabama native, Sam wasn’t much used to the effect that the cold can have on someone, but he was very attracted to the way it forced Danny into jewel toned sweaters and colored Danny’s cheeks and the crest of his freckled nose. With a knit hat jammed snugly over Danny’s hair, his waves sprung out cartoonishly and hid his ears that had turned pink from cold breezes and the sting of a sewing needle Sam had used to pierce Danny’s right ear on a drunken night a week prior. Even if the little silver hoop didn’t stay in forever, Sam was fond of the idea of his actions leaving a scar on Danny. If Danny came to his senses some day and left, Sam would still be with him wherever he went, and Sam smiled at the thought of leaving that lasting mark on someone who seemed to be crafted every bit in God’s image.

“Funny, right?”

Sam snapped back to reality and was met with Danny beaming at him, clearly at the end of whatever anecdote he’d been building over the past few minutes. His excited breath puffed out in the air in little clouds and Sam’s stomach fluttered with fond feeling.

“It’s something that’d only happen to you,” Sam finally answered, hoping it made sense in the context of whatever Danny had said. Danny laughed and shrugged, taking a big bite of his sandwich and smiling out the windshield, staring through the thin trees like they’d ended up at the outskirts of a grand forest and not the parking lot behind their apartment building.

“I guess a lot of crazy shit happens to me, huh?” Danny affirmed. “Good crazy, though.”

“It always works out for you,” Sam added. “Going from Florida to California with no plan is pretty crazy. Scraping up enough to secure somewhere to stay and landing a job at the same time is even crazier.”

“That’s true! You know what’s the craziest thing I’ve done?”

“Hm?”

“Picking up a hitchhiker and moving in with him.”

A surprised laugh punched out of Sam and Danny mirrored it with his own delight, drinking in the victory of shaking a laugh from his still somewhat serious companion. Sam took a stray piece of lettuce and tossed it weakly at Danny, who snorted in response when it fluttered straight down onto the gearshift.

“I think that hitchhiker would also be pretty crazy for that, too,” Sam remarked, leaning slightly over the center console to bait Danny for a kiss. “Then again, you’re pretty cute, so I get why he’d get into your dinged up truck.”

Danny smirked and leaned in just enough for their noses to brush, sending both of their heart rates through the roof as Danny let the tension stretch.

“Those dings are from when I let you drive and you know it,” Danny teased in a whisper, treating them both to the amusing memory of Sam anxiously getting behind the wheel on a dead stretch of road in Roswell and kicking up a cloud of rocks that nearly shattered a back window and sent Sam into apologetic hysterics. Sam merely hummed at Danny’s accusation, letting his lids lower coquettishly and tipping his chin up ever so slightly to invite Danny in. With Danny so close, he was breathing in the sweetness of his warmth, and Sam felt himself begin to shiver with a hunger that had nothing to do with their dinner and everything to do with the man that had brought it.

Before Danny could make his move, he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to greet it with a furrowed brow and a squint. Sam frowned and followed his eyeline, a prickle of panic softening as soon as it had come when he saw what had made Danny breath out a soft whistle. It was simple what he saw; the slow descent of snowflakes through the headlights as they floated against the dark silhouette of the trees like strings of pearls. But for Sam, it was enough to wring a gasp from his chest. Sam tossed his sandwich onto the dashboard and struggled with the passenger door to get out of his seat. Danny followed suit in a flash, watching Sam as his lanky form hurried around the front of the faded red truck and halted in the center of the lights, his head tilted up to the sky to observe the featherlight flakes as they ambled down to kiss his blushed skin.

“Are you a big fan of the snow?” Danny asked gently, not wanting to fully stir Sam from his wonderstruck haze.

“I…” Sam trailed off, losing his thoughts for a moment as he noticed a dusting of snow beginning to accumulate on a low hanging branch. “I’ve never seen it in real life before.”

“Oh, wow,” Danny marveled, slowly approaching Sam and sliding a hand around his waist to settle on the thin material of Sam’s thrift store bought winter jacket. Sam spared him a brief look, widening his eyes in excitement for a beat before turning his head back to the sky.

A minute of quiet passed. Sam, struck dumb by the wintry spectacle, eyes glued to the deep heavens above. Danny, standing still so as not to disturb Sam, placing a sporadic kiss on Sam's temple when the mood moved him. Upon seeing the pale snowflakes gathering on Sam’s dark hair, Danny removed his hat and shook his hair free as he fit it over Sam’s head instead. Sam looked to him inquisitively, a stray snowflake dangling off his lashes as he blinked up at Danny with a mask of childlike joy.

“Where’d your hat go, baby?” Danny murmured, adjusting the snug brim of the beanie so it protected Sam’s forehead and tips of his ears from the chill.

“Ran away,” Sam joked, twisting at the hip to link his arms behind Danny’s back and huddle for warmth. “You know how fast I lose stuff.”

“No hat, no gloves,” Danny chastised, shaking his head and tsking. “What am I gonna do with you?”

“I’m a Southern belle!” Sam protested, pressing his chest flush to Danny’s and giggling. “I’ve never had a white Christmas before!”

“Well, I doubt this snow is gonna stick, so I’m not sure that’s a guarantee,” Danny noted. “But anything else festive that you want…I can try and make that happen. Not that I know any more about that than you do.”

“Yeah?” Sam probed. “All the jingle bells and whistles?”

“And all the hot cocoa you can drink,” Danny promised, cupping Sam’s chilly face in his knit covered hands. “Twinkle lights, tinsel, ice skating, candy canes. If we need a Christmas tree, I’ll just chop one down for you.”

“One of these spindly trees? No, thanks.”

“No, no, I’ll hike out to the forest and find the perfect one. Just me and the truck and a big saw. I’ll be a real lumberjack.”

“Good luck getting it up four flights of stairs.”

“What, you’re not gonna help me?”

“Not if I’m going to get all covered in sap!”

“You have to suffer for the sake of the holiday, Sammy,” Danny explained with a joking lilt to his words, squishing Sam’s cheeks in his gentle grip. “It’s all about Christmas spirit.”

“You’re the real sap,” Sam quipped, his thoughts dampened by the buzz in his head that sang out about Danny’s heavy handed romanticism. Danny laughed and pinched Sam’s cheeks one more time, puckering his lips into a ready pout.

“But before I get any of that, I’m really going to have to invest in some mistletoe,” Danny purred lovingly, nuzzling his nose against Sam’s. “So I can get my greatest holiday wish whenever I want. I can't wait until Christmas day.”

“What do you want for Christmas?” Sam asked as best he could with his mouth obscured by Danny’s hold and the smile that fought so hard to stretch that it burned his facial muscles.

Danny answered with a kiss, pressing his chapped lips to Sam’s and pulling his frame as close into his embrace as he could. The sounds of the nearby traffic and the frigid temperature seemed to melt away as they stood in the snow, clinging to each other out of pure and patiently built affection.

If Sam had opened his eyes he figured he would see the curved glass of a snowglobe creeping up around the corners of his vision, not unlike the big snowglobe his mother would put on the hearth on the first day of December. Sam used to stare at it while his older siblings were tasked with more important Christmas decorating tasks like stringing vintage lights with brittle bulbs or pushing needle and string through popcorn for garland. If he thought hard, he could follow the ceramic silhouette of the little house nestled in the snowglobe’s center and the memory of wanting it to be his own. That house was small, and quiet, and removed from the chaos that swept into the pastor’s house at the start of the all important Christmas season. It seemed like a place with someone inside waiting for him to come home.

Danny pulled away, immediately busying himself with dusting snow off of Sam’s shoulders and fussing with the front of his jacket to properly zip it up, chatting all the while about getting them thicker jackets after their next paychecks. Sam admired him with a lovesick smile, heart pounding with every noted detail of Danny’s long eyelashes and the squared build of his shoulders as they filled out his sweater.

“I’m happy I could be here for your first snow,” Danny commented in a hushed tone when he was satisfied with the state of Sam’s winter bundling.

“I’m happy you were here for a lot of my firsts,” Sam replied with the same gentle air as Danny, looking up through his lashes as he shuffled in place to stay warm.

“Me too, Sammy lamb,” Danny cooed, cradling Sam’s cheek again to kiss Sam’s forehead through the wool hat. “Come on, grab your stuff and we’ll go in and get you warm. Sound good?”

“Sounds great,” Sam affirmed with a shy smile.

“We’ll put on a kettle,” Danny proposed as they went around to their doors. “What’s that tea you like? With the red box?”

“Polar Peppermint,” Sam muttered. Like all things that brought him joy, Sam was embarrassed to acknowledge it.

Danny knew what kind of tea it was, of course. He’d bought it a few times now, definitely enough times to know it by name. He just liked to pry as many words out of Sam as he could, and even though it wasn’t as needed anymore as Sam continued to open up, he didn’t really want to stop doing it. Sam knew this, and Danny didn’t care if he knew, and they both flushed with warmth as Danny put his hand on the truck door handle.

And pulled.

To no avail.

Danny arched a curious eyebrow and jiggled the door handle again, feeling a curse blossom on his tongue when he looked through the window and saw the keys still in the ignition.

“What?” Sam queried from the other side. “You okay?”

“Uh,” Danny answered awkwardly. “Well! I may have locked the keys in the car.”

“What?” Sam blurted. He instantly pressed his face up against the glass and looked in, finding the keys glimmering from where they hung, illuminated by the headlights that were still on and now unable to be turned off. Sam felt his pulse begin to quicken, already anticipating a rage to follow this untimely conflict. The ghosts of his past were here to haunt him again, and he heard them whisper in his ear to run.

Instead, he was startled from his impending spiraling by the perplexing sound of Danny laughing.

“Ah, shit, okay,” Danny sighed, pulling out his phone and shaking his head with a grin. “What can you do, you know? I’ll call, uh, I don’t know, the fire department. Right? Yeah, they’ll know what’s up.”

Danny started tapping at his phone as Sam regarded him in slightly bug eyed shock, mapping Danny’s every calm and collected movement as Sam attempted to charter anything that would throw them off kilter. All he was met with was Danny amicably chatting with a firefighter and holding out his hand for Sam to take, leading them towards the doors to the apartment building. Danny mouthed ‘Don’t want you to freeze!’ and wiggled his eyebrows, but Sam could only watch as Danny navigated this irritating inconvenience as casually as he moved through his morning routine before work.

It hit Sam in a rush, out of nowhere, out of everywhere, that he was in love with Danny.

He felt kind of stupid as he reeled in the reality of it, fumbling for his keys to let them in as Danny started bantering good-naturedly with what sounded like half the fire department. It rendered him as speechless as the snow had and Sam hoped that his face didn’t betray the overwhelm of emotion that washed over him as they drifted down the dingy hallway towards their little apartment. Now he heard it accompanying every little thing Danny did.

Danny tapped the toe of his boot against the welcome mat to shake off the snow.

I love you.

Danny winked at Sam as he listened patiently to someone on the other end.

I love you.

Danny waited in the entryway for Sam to walk in first, like he always did. Like a gentleman.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Sam faced their living room as he unzipped his jacket, drinking in the sight of the space that they had built together. It wasn’t much, a scavenged couch and a 2 dollar table and a TV with a crack that worked just fine despite its outward flaw. Lamps with bulbs that Danny had pilfered from work, a plant that Sam had rescued and somewhat successfully nursed to the point of flowering. Around the corner was their bedroom, which would greet him with a double bed that weathered all their long nights and a closet that blended their wardrobes together. It was simple, and it was theirs.

“You stay put, I’m going to wait downstairs for the lock guys,” Danny called.

“ ‘kay,” Sam replied dreamily, looking over his shoulder and smiling at Danny. “You want a cup of tea too?”

“Sure,” Danny agreed. “Thank you. I promise we will be reunited with our sandwiches soon.”

Sam chuckled and Danny winked at him again, closing the door behind him. Releasing a rattling breath full of emotion, Sam turned back to their living room and watched the snow continue to drift softly down through the window. He took off Danny’s hat and kneaded it in his hands as his eyes began to sting with tears. In his head, he picked up and put down a thought he couldn’t quiet no matter how hard he tried to turn away from it.

God, help me, I love him.

#merry early xmas yall #this was so fun! nothing crazy #gvf #greta van fleet #danny wagner #sam kiszka #karoufiction #greta van fleet fan fiction

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ofthecaravel · 3 days ago

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I'd Rather Be With You

Sequel to But You Look So Cool

Summary: Happy (????) Holidays!

Tags: Being home with your family for the holidays, The Twins conspiring, shame, doubt, arguing, Danny being a saint, NSFW at the very very end for like 2 secs

Words: 3k

A/N: Itty bitty holiday sequel to my most beloved! Wanted to touch more on Sam's family dynamic and what they've been up to since we left them. Thanks for reading MWAH

~~~

“Oh, my God, you were serious.”

“Did you think I was lying?”

“I mean, a little! Can you blame me?”

The Kiszka twins -home for the holidays, clutching wine glasses, and peeking around a doorway- were struggling to understand just what they were seeing. Not only had Sam brought someone home for Christmas (which is something they had never, ever expected from him, at least not in the state he’d been in for the past couple of years), but he had brought Danny Wagner. Danny fuckin’ Wagner, who stuck out in their collective consciousness for being a consistent presence during their Sunday school days and very briefly being the solitary member of their high school’s golf team. A nice, well adjusted boy with a nice, well adjusted family that he could easily be spending a much merrier Christmas Eve with. But here he was, laughing in the quiet living room of the Kiszka household and going through a photo album with Sam and their sister.

“Crazy,” Jake murmured into a sip of his wine, shaking his head slightly as Josh nodded thoughtfully next to him.

“It’s not like I’m mad he’s here,” Josh added, his eyebrows still high in surprise. “It’s just funny to see him next to Sam.”

They did admittedly look a little out of place nestled shoulder to shoulder. Danny’s smiling face was aglow with a wine drunk blush, snuggled up in a well fitting blue sweater and his hair tucked dotingly behind his ear. Sam, on the other hand, had his knees clad in oil stained mechanics pants and pulled up to his chin, looking not unlike an anxious pretzel as he chewed on his thumb and rested his head on Danny’s shoulder.

“He pierced his ears,” Josh noted as he wiped some crumbs off the chest of his sweater. “Ya think Sam had something to do with that?”

“Definitely,” Jake smiled, his lips still stuck to the lip of his glass. “He probably did it for him. He’s gonna corrupt that sweet kid. Poor guy.”

“He’s been doing better,” Josh argued on behalf of his baby brother. “He’s got a job and his own place now. I swear Mom was gonna start charging him rent.”

“She would never,” Jake hummed, tuning in to the sound of their mother in the kitchen, talking to someone on the phone as dishes clinked in the sink. “He could crash the car into the house and she’d forgive him.”

“I guess the standards have been set pretty low,” Josh mumbled. Jake sighed a little and Josh cringed at his own words, slotting another cookie into his mouth and pulling out his phone.

He’d meant it as a joke, but it was still weird to even allude to everything that had gone down with their dad. It was hard to ignore, mostly when they were all together. It made it all the more obvious that someone was missing from the equation. Sure, he was a phone call away, but none of the siblings really wanted to talk to him. The twins were already graduating when their dad had been arrested, and they quickly escaped the immediate fallout with the titles of valedictorian, salutatorian, and two full ride scholarships that they rode the hell out of town. Ronnie had escaped into time with their mom and a myriad of friends to disappear in. And Sam…Sam had found his escape in means that only added to the fallout of the situation.

So, yeah. The joke didn’t land.

Especially during December. The family that used to fill their house simply didn’t bother to come by anymore, leaving only the immediate family to desperately try and revive a festive cheer that none of them really believed in anymore. Sam had barely attended the past few gatherings, and Jake and Josh had skipped them altogether under the pretense of their busy lives and jobs in Detroit. So imagine the oddity of having someone know all of the tension that would come with their awful little Christmas party and deciding to come anyway.

“It’s just weird, dude,” Jake said plainly, finishing off his drink and setting it down loudly. “Kinda thought we’d be the ones bringing people home to try and fill the silence.”

“He’s making us look bad,” Josh chuckled, making a fond noise in response to seeing Danny give Sam a quick kiss to the forehead. “Look at that! What witchcraft has he been cooking up in his shitty little basement to swing that?”

“Love potions,” Jake responded in a silly voice and they both erupted into harmonizing giggles.

The three on the couch looked up in confusion at them, which only made them laugh harder. Sam bristled instantly and Danny turned to see his eyes flicker with insecurity before glazing into a cold glinting squint.

“Shut the fuck up!” Sam barked, immediately (and correctly) assuming they were laughing at his expense.

“Sam!” their mom yelled from the kitchen, and Sam immediately closed his mouth and continued to glare stormily at his snorting brothers.

“What’s funny?” Danny asked innocently, applying a gentle pressure to Sam’s shoulder with his own to try and calm him a little. Sam had been touchy for days leading up to this and Danny was honestly running out of ideas on how to soothe him.

“Nothing, nothing,” Jake said coolly, turning his back on them to return a bottle to their bar cart.

“He’s drunk,” Josh accused teasingly, exchanging an amused look with Danny that made Danny ease up ever so slightly.

“He’s an idiot,” Ronnie quipped, which Sam passionately nodded in agreement with.

“You’re an idiot,” Jake retorted, his words carrying no bite as he and his sister traded mocking faces at each other while Danny watched with a shy smile. While the bickering continued, he looked over at Sam and melted a little at the sight. Around his siblings, Sam seemed smaller and softer than when he was trying to put on a suave front when he was on his own. Danny had obviously seen through that facade over a year ago, but Sam still attempted to carry himself with that same edge that Danny had fallen for but never really bought. However, in his childhood home surrounded by family and the ghosts of dynamics established long ago, there was no hiding for Sam. He was a little boy in a leather jacket being picked on lovingly by his big brothers and sister, and while Danny knew that Sam was going to be annoyed for the rest of the night, he really couldn’t help but find the whole scene adorable.

“Danny is very tired and we are going to bed!” Sam finally shouted over his jabbering siblings, holding onto Danny’s arm and tugging to try and get him to his feet.

“Aw, lame, Sam, come on!” Jake cackled while Danny gave Sam a look of confusion and amusement as they both stood up. “We were all gonna stay up until midnight and throw rocks at Santa’s sleigh.”

“I thought we were seducing him,” Josh complained, clearly much more into his idea.

“Well, give him my number, then,” Sam countered. “Or throw a rock in my honor. I can’t be around you assholes for a minute longer.”

“That’s not very festive of you, Sammy,” Ronnie frowned, pulling on his sleeve as Sam attempted to shuffle Danny across the room almost as if he were a human shield. “Come on, stay.”

“I really am tired,” Danny said with remorse, giving all of Sam’s siblings a sincerely sympathetic smile. “But we’ll be up bright and early for presents, I promise.”

“You’re the sweetest, Danny,” Jake replied, clapping Danny on the back as they passed. “Don’t know why you bother with this street urchin.”

Sam rolled his eyes but Danny felt the genuine shiver of irritation from him as Josh and Ronnie hummed similar sentiments about Danny and Sam being…Danny and Sam.

“Goodnight, you guys,” Danny bid them, giving a little wave as Sam practically dragged him up the stairs.

They had all tossed him enthusiastic and properly festive goodnights as he chuckled and let himself get pulled along by Sam, who let out a frustrated sigh the second they were out of earshot. Danny only got a moment of appreciating the cute, vintage wallpaper of the hallway and the childhood photos hung up before Sam pulled him into his old bedroom and closed the door noisily behind them. Sam immediately collapsed face first into his pillow and let out a muffled groan while Danny cracked his neck and did a little perimeter walk of the room. He ghosted his fingers over posters ripped haphazardly out of magazines and Scotch taped to the wall and sun bleached science fair ribbons. Sam let out another noisy sigh while Danny continued to dote on every tchotchke and think with red cheeks about another time he’d surveyed Sam’s room while Sam vied for his attention.

“They only razz you because they love you, baby,” Danny hummed, finally turning away from the sweetly dorky photos of Sam and his school peers to smile at Sam sprawled dramatically on his twin bed.

“I wish they would do it in a way that didn’t remind me I’m such a fantastic fuck up,” Sam spat bitterly, flipping so he was staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were flat and dark in the way that Danny had seen for so many years and his heart fluttered sadly as he sat on the edge of the bed and put a reassuring hand on Sam’s cheek. Sam immediately let out a little huff and nuzzled against his palm.

“You’re really warm,” Danny noted simply as he felt the heat brewing on Sam’s skin.

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m fucking pissed off,” Sam muttered, rolling his eyes dismissively and shaking his head slightly as he stared at the wall and allowed Danny to swipe his thumb over his cheek and smooth his hair.

“You’re not a fuck up, Sam. I hate hearing you say that,” Danny assured Sam, using every ounce of sincerity in his body when he said it. Sam didn’t answer, simply continuing to chew on his lip and petulantly avoid eye contact.

“Hey, can you look at me when I’m talking to you?” Danny asked sternly.

“Can you stop pretending like I’m some pathetic wimp fishing for a compliment?” Sam snapped, pulling Danny’s hand off of his face and rearranging himself again to stare into the expanse of the room. Danny recoiled slightly, unable to fend off the sting of Sam rejecting his kindness. But after a year of learning how to navigate Sam’s many tantrums and categorizing the roots of the meltdowns, he knew that Sam didn’t mean to hurt him. He never did.

“Sammy,” Danny said softly, moving further onto the bed and tucking his feet under Sam’s legs. “I know you were really hesitant to come and do this at all.”

“They just make me so mad,” Sam whispered. “There’s just, like, this hole whenever we’re all together. Dad, I mean. His stupid choices and then, you know, my stupid choices. I don’t…I don’t want to be another empty space for them. And I feel like no matter what I do, I’m gonna be that.”

Danny couldn’t stand to give Sam his space for a second longer. He lowered himself to lay behind Sam and Sam immediately turned and buried his head into the crook of Danny’s neck, the both of them awkwardly entangling to keep Sam as close as possible to Danny’s chest while they clung together. There weren’t any tears from Sam, but Danny could feel the shudder in his thin chest as he fought to even out his breathing and calm down.

“And then,” Sam continued weakly, his voice high with emotion as he stumbled over his words frantically. “They’re giving me all that shit about how great you are and how you don’t belong with me. Like I don’t already know that. Fuck, Danny, I’m sorry but I agree with them. You deserve so much better than me and my-”

“Sam-”

“I’m serious, I swear I’m just waiting for you to wake up and realize I’m an asshole with-”

“Sam.”

Sam, ever the obedient listener even in the midst of a full blown rant, cut himself off with a ragged exhale and pressed his mouth against Danny’s neck to silence himself. Danny held the back of his head and rested his lips right next to Sam’s ear, resisting the urge to nip his earlobe like he usually did when he was this close.

“Sam,” Danny whispered, soft and smooth and steady. “You know I love you. You know I hate hearing you talk about yourself like this. I know you’ve had a lot of trouble coping with everything since your dad went away, and I know you made a lot of choices that you’re not proud of. But, I mean, you were a kid. A really hurt kid. And you’ve been trying so hard to change from the person you were and frankly, I can hardly believe you can’t see how much you’ve grown in this past year alone. You’re amazing.”

Sam sniffled slightly and burrowed up further against Danny. Danny smiled, his mind fuzzy with fondness as he thought about every instance that proved his own point. Sam, who quietly leafed through self help books rented from the library and wrote down all the tips and tricks he could because he was so determined to stop picking fights with anyone and everyone. Sam, who taught himself to cook with nothing but the cooking channel and the goal of having a new dish for Danny to try every week. Sam, who had worked infuriating shifts at the mechanics to pay for the lovingly hand picked presents for his family that now lay under the tree downstairs. Sam, who Danny loved more than anything.

“You should be with a good man,” Sam breathed, barely audible. “You’re gonna die wishing you hadn’t wasted so much time on me.”

“Good men die too,” Danny replied with a disbelieving laugh. “I’d rather be with you.”

Danny felt Sam’s lips smile slightly against his skin and he kissed his temple, still gently cupping the back of his silken head as his other hand absently doodled soothing shapes on the considerable curve of Sam’s back. If his hand dipped any lower, he’d be tracing the inky wings of the lower back tattoo Sam had surprised him with a few months back. Danny’s cheeks burned thinking about it for a moment too long and he channeled the warmth into pressing more kisses against Sam’s hair.

After a few minutes of silence, Sam pulled away just enough to look up at Danny through his starry lashes and give him a lovelorn smile.

“Thank you,” Sam whispered sincerely, tucking a frizzy wave behind Danny’s ear with his deft calloused fingers. “I’m sorry for spinning out on you.”

“Family makes everybody crazy,” Danny shrugged, reaching up between them to lightly hold Sam’s chin with his thumb and forefinger. “And you never have to apologize. I’m happy to help.”

Danny tried and failed to smother his smile watching Sam’s pupils blow wide with affection as Danny kept a hold on his jaw.

“I love you, Sammy,” Danny purred, teasingly brushing his nose against Sam’s. “And for the record, I have never once thought you were bad. You’re actually very, very good.”

“How good?” Sam asked bashfully, his lips parting to let out a shaky smiling breath as he playfully pressed his finger against Danny’s lip. If there was one thing Sam loved, it was hearing mountains and mountains of praise from Danny. And with all things considered, Danny figured he was owed it in.

“So good,” Danny grinned, tapping Sam’s nose. “You’ve always been so good for me, Sammy, right from the start. Such a good listener especially. So gentle and kind and nothing but good. And so, so pretty.”

“Now you’re just buttering me up,” Sam murmured with flushed cheeks, still staring unabashedly at Danny’s lips.

“I’m serious,” Danny rasped, his hand moving to properly cup Sam’s jaw with his fingers pressed right behind his ear. “If I had known how well you take direction, I probably would’ve started bossing you around a lot sooner.”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly and Danny knew he was teetering on the edge of falling deep into a sweet, needy headspace that he’d initially been shocked to uncover. But these days? He counted on it.

“You want me to boss you around a little, baby?” Danny asked gently. “Do you want to forget your hard night and let me do the thinking for a little bit? And then you can wake up nice and happy on Christmas morning and open all the presents I got you. Does that sound good?”

“Yeah,” Sam breathed desperately. “Please.”

Despite his impatience, he always knew what Danny wanted to hear from him.

“I didn’t even have to ask you to say please,” Danny delighted, finally giving Sam a kiss but pulling away far too quickly to whisper again. “You’re gonna have to be quiet, okay? I know that’s not your strong suit but we can’t have anyone hearing all your cute little noises.”

Sam nodded eagerly and, with both hands firmly planted on the sides of Danny’s head, pulled Danny into a much longer kiss that had Danny readjusting to pin Sam under him. Under any normal circumstance, Danny would’ve had Sam by the throat for grabbing him the way he did. He would’ve had him on his knees until there were tears in his eyes showing Danny how sorry he was for getting handsy without asking Danny first. But maybe Danny was feeling the holiday spirit a little more than usual and decided to show Sam some mercy. He’d bring it up later after Sam had the nice, black necktie Danny had gifted him as an early present wrapped around his wrists.

“Love you,” Sam murmured dreamily against Danny’s lips as Danny put his weight on his knees and began moving his hands up to smooth over Sam’s chest and play with his waistband.

“Love you too,” Danny echoed with a mischievous smile.

He didn’t give the chance for Sam to speak again before his palm muffled Sam’s chatty mouth and stifled his growls and whines until the first rose flush of dawn stretched over the newfallen snow and the lovesick boys tangled in a creaky little bed.

#its that time of year for a holiday classic

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