#twas supposed to be them tripping hazel (and generally just throwing him around. for better or worse lol)

[brazen-art]

Attack on @ambathy for Art Fight!

[leisurelypanda]

Here We Go Again chapter 8

http://archiveofourown.org/works/11776227/chapters/27687576

Twas a week before Christmas, and all through the cul-de-sac, kids were off school and their parents tried to hit the sack. Maple Bay, Maine was sitting tight under a foot of snow and counting. Coincidentally, it was also the day that was supposed to be the last day of school before Christmas break, so the kids of the neighborhood were celebrating an extra day of break by building snowmen on the cul-de-sac itself. Lucien and Ernest had paired up with their respective fathers in building snow forts and had declared war against each other.

Thankfully, Amanda had gotten home from her finals a few days before the big storm hit and had instigated guerilla warfare against both parties and somehow roped Craig into it. Michael watched proudly as his girls and bros ran around throwing snowballs at unsuspecting victims. He was helping River build tiny snowmen. And by helping, he would help her make snowballs, stack them, and then River would knock them down.

Brian and his daughter, Daisy, eventually made their own snow fort (which was, of course, bigger than the other two). He threw bigger snowballs, too. Mat Sella brewed copious amounts of hot chocolate and handed out mugs to parents when they took breaks from their kids’ antics. Carmensita went and teamed up with Brian and Daisy. Joseph, Mary, and their kids built snowmen in their yard with somewhat terrifying faces. Robert wandered around sabotaging all the teams in what had become a four way war between the neighborhood.

Sometime in the early afternoon, Michael went back inside with River and lay down for a nap. He was pregnant, after all, and not generally up for constant activity the way his kids or bro were. He was just about to fall asleep when he felt… something like gas rumble in his stomach. His eyes flew open and his hands went to his abdomen. His babies were kicking. A lot. Another set of athletes, he thought with amusement.

He was suddenly wide awake and he rushed outside to see Craig messing around in the snow with the twins.

“Craig,” he shouted. Craig looked up and Michael gestured him over to the door. Craig walked over. He was about to ask what was wrong, but he saw Michael’s excited face. It was a good thing.

“What’s up, bro?” he asked.

Michael didn’t say anything but took his hand and placed it on his abdomen. The babies were still kicking around, thankfully. He watched Craig’s eyes widen and he knelt on the ground and pressed his ear to his bro’s stomach, closed his eyes, and listened. Michael looked down at his bro and cradled his head. Craig looked up and said, “That’s… incredible, bro. You’re incredible.”

Across the way, some of the other dads started looking over with a bit of concern at Craig kneeling in front of Michael. Hugo was the first on the scene.

“Umm… sorry to interrupt, don’t mean to be rude,” he said, “but is everything okay here?”

“Oh, yeah, we’re fine,” Michael said blushing. Totally from the cold, not from embarrassment. That would be silly. “Craig’s just, um, you know, feeling the babies kick.”

Hugo’s eyes widened. “The babies? You’re pregnant?”

Craig stood up and grinned, taking Michael’s hand in his. “Yeah, dude, we’re unexpectedly expecting.”

Hugo smiled and shook their hands. “Congratulations,” he said. “I mean it. I’m happy for both of you.”

Hugo wandered off and Michael looked up at Craig and smiled. “I guess we’re announcing it to the neighborhood, now?”

Craig kissed his forehead. “I mean, if you want to, bro,” he replied. “It’s your choice.”

“Michael kissed Craig’s freezing lips. “I absolutely want to announce to the whole world that I’m having our little hybrid bros.”

“I love you so much,” Craig said. “Our little hybrid bros are going to be beautiful.”

They made the rounds, telling each dad on the cul-de-sac the news. Damien actually jumped up and down excitedly and invited him over for tea one day soon to discuss the baby. Joseph and Mary congratulated them. Joseph offered cookies and Mary jokingly offered wine. Brian gave them both a hug and offered to build a crib for them if River wasn’t out of hers by the time the baby arrived. Robert was legitimately stunned but offered his (only a bit awkward) congratulations. Mat was the most surprised and offered them free Right Said Banana Bread once the coffee shop was back open.

They finally got back inside the house where it was warm and started a fire in the fireplace. Amanda and the girls were already in there continuing where they left off with Warehouse 13. She had gotten all the Cahns hooked on the show and it was something she was quite proud of. They sat in the warm comfort of their home, the tree festive and bright, drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows. Craig was constantly leaning down to place his ear to Michael’s stomach to see if the baby was active. Michael laughed at him occasionally, suggesting that he could let Craig know if the baby was moving around. Eventually they settled in, with Michael resting his head on Craig’s lap. *******************************************************************************

Christmas Eve was a day of celebration. At the Cahn household, it was a day of rest. Michael persuaded Craig to take it easy. All the shopping was done, the gifts were all wrapped and put away to mysteriously appear Christmas morning. Snow was still on the ground and the girls reveled playing snowy games with other kids in the cul-de-sac while Amanda took pictures.

It was admittedly strange to spend Christmas in a state where it wasn’t 70 or 80 degrees. And a white Christmas, at that. Of course, Michael’s family always insisted on going to church for the Christmas Eve service, something which Michael didn’t necessarily get anything out of, but he humored his family. This year, he was with Craig, who though friends with Joseph, didn’t feel particularly inclined to attend church, especially if the people there were going to give his family looks just because of his relationship with Michael.

I guess it’s time for some new Christmas traditions, Michael thought.

Eventually the kids came back inside to find Michael and Craig reading a recipe on making ginger bread. Fairly successfully, too.

“What’s all this, dad?” Briar said jumping up on a stool to look at what they were doing.

“My bro had this idea that we should make gingerbread houses,” Craig said, kneading the dough so the ingredients would be evenly spread throughout. “We’re almost done with the dough, you wanna help us with the icing?”

“Yes!” she cried.

“Can we eat the icing?” Hazel asked.

“Good job, Hazel,” Michael said, pointing a wooden spoon at her. “Asking important questions. Eventually. We need the icing to stick the walls and stuff together.”

Michael and the twins collectively hovered over one of those electric mixers. Between the three of them they managed to get enough of the mixture into the pastry bag. Then they settled on the couch to watch Nightmare Before Christmas while the dough cooled in the fridge. About halfway through the movie, the oven dinged signaling that the gingerbread was done. The five of them piled into the kitchen to assemble the houses. Amanda was put in charge of the icing since she was an artist and had a steady hand.

Unfortunately, they had to wait 8 hours to actually decorate the houses, which provided the perfect opportunity for trip to the grocery store candy decorations and a Christmas movie marathon, which also included various Christmas episodes from TV shows they liked.

Finally, the 8 hours were up and they were able to actually get to the fun part of the gingerbread house project. Hazel and Briar raced to the island and excitedly started putting candies on the gingerbread house. It was a magical moment. Hazel and Briar put gumdrops, red hots, peppermints, and caramel candy on the house. Briar took chocolate truffles and put them around the house like a fence. Amanda found a way to use leftover icing to glue candy canes outside the house to imitate trees. Craig covertly set up a camera to video tape the whole thing.

“Pops, dude, why aren’t you doing yours?” Amanda asked looking up and into the camera.

“We have two?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, we had enough dough so I made two to see if the kids could make a better house than the oldies,” she replied. River cooed and giggled, playing with Arnold. “And River.”

Sure enough, there was another gingerbread house behind the kids on the counter. There was also more than enough candy for two gingerbread houses. Craig arranged red and green gumdrops along the edges of the rooftop while Michael made cut York Peppermint patties into squares and made roof tiles out of them. He promptly ate the edges.

“Hey bro, leave some for me,” Craig said.

Michael didn’t say anything, but he put one of the edges in between his teeth and winked at him. Craig grinned and leaned in to kiss him full on the lips, snatching the candy out of his boyfriend’s mouth.

“Tasty,” he said.

“This is why I put that one behind us,” Amanda said loudly. “So they can at least be out of our sight while they’re being gross.”

“Good thinking, sis,” Hazel said. “Saved our butts with that.”

“Wanna make out on the couch when we’re done?” Michael asked.

“I’d love to, bro,” Craig said, smirking. River began kicking and fussing.

The girls chorused their distaste and Amanda took River. “See? Even River doesn’t need to see that.”

Eventually they finished, but were unable to come to a conclusion about who won their little impromptu competition. So Amanda took pictures and posted them on Facebook for people to vote for their favorite. When she was done, the twins were sent off to bed so that Santa could come around while they were asleep. River was put to bed as well. Amanda, Michael, and Craig stayed up a while longer and watched It’s a Wonderful Life.

It really is, Michael thought as he leaned in to lay his head on Craig’s shoulder.