(no subject)
Title: First Christmas
Author: Aelora
Pairing: Anderson/ Dan Abrams
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Any similarity between the fictional version of the person portrayed here and the actual person is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. This is not an attempt to defame the character of said person on the basis of libel, as the work is FICTIONAL (and NOT an intently false statement created with the express purpose of misleading others about the actual character of said person). Any mention of 'AC 360', 'Verdict with Dan Abrams', 'MSNBC', 'CNN', 'NBC', any associated entities, or any copyrighted material pertaining therein is reasonably protected by the Fair Use Rule of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, and is not intended to infringe upon any copyrighted material.
author's note: this was written in response to litterthisheart's prompt "Firsts" over at ths_just_in and well… umm, Christmas in June??? Yeah. I don’t know why I was in the mood for Holiday fic….
It was because it was their first Christmas together that Dan woke on Christmas morning feeling uneasy and out of sorts. He lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering why it had always been beyond him to fall in love with a nice Jewish girl, settle down, get married - you know, follow the lead of his parents. Instead, he’d fallen for a nice WASPy boy, and they were celebrating their first Christmas together, and their families were coming over later that morning for their first family gathering (“Holiday party,” Anderson had called it, kissing his lips with a smile. “Your parents have already said yes.”), and Dan was already picturing the horrors that would occur. His father wandering around the apartment, attempting to strike up a legal argument with anyone who would listen; Gloria embarrassing Dan with just one well-placed compliment, which she loved to do ever since the very first moment she discovered he grew “adorably uncomfortable” when praised; Dan having one too many glasses of red wine and passing out on the couch only to hear about it for months to come from Anderson.
He groaned aloud at the images, feeling like a teenager on the first day of a school year. He didn’t want to get out of bed. He just wanted to bury himself under the covers and wake up in a few days.
Unfortunately, the cheery Christmas music coming from outside the bedroom signaled he wasn’t going to have that choice. He figured Anderson had probably woken up sometime around 3AM (just like Hillary Clinton - ready to go on Day One), delivered the gifts they’d purchased for a few of the local homeless shelters, waved at Santa Claus on his way past him (Dan had teased Anderson throughout the month as he spent ridiculous amounts of money on gifts for people he hardly knew or didn’t know at all, claiming Santa had nothing on him), wrapped a few more gifts for the families, cooked a few Christmas meals, gave to every Salvation Army Santa on every corner in New York City, and was currently standing outside the bedroom door, fully dressed in seasonal appropriate, glancing at his watch, wondering when Dan was going to get out of bed.
He groaned again. It was only the faint smell of coffee drifting in from under the door that finally roused him out of bed. Pulling on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, he took a breath, steeled himself and pulled open the door as Perry Como broke out into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He practically darted past the living room into the kitchen, where his pot of hot coffee was waiting for him. It was one of those little concessions that Anderson made for him every morning that constantly reminded Dan why he loved Anderson the way he did. Dan wasn’t exactly an early riser; Anderson knew this. Hence, there was a pot of freshly brewed coffee waiting for him every day without fail, made by a man who wouldn’t touch the stuff.
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
“You haven’t even showered yet?”
Dan closed his eyes as he took a sip of the much-needed caffeine, attempting to ignore the question until he was properly awake to respond. Unfortunately, he wasn’t given that choice as Anderson walked up and pinched him.
“Ow!”
Dan glared through sleepy eyes at the man before him who, sure enough, was already looking both festive and handsome in a thick cream-colored turtleneck sweater and dark green slacks. Instantly forgetting how much he hated mornings, Dan reached out and pulled Anderson against him, kissing his cheek.
“You look nice,” he murmured, inhaling the spicy scent of cologne.
“And you look like you just got out of bed,” Anderson responded, though he didn’t sound as upset by that as he pretended. He wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist and returned his kiss.
“That’s because I did.”
“Our guests will be here in an hour, you know.”
“So? My family is used to seeing me like this.”
Anderson pulled back and rolled his eyes. “Mine isn’t. Besides, I wanted a little time to ourselves. Come here.” He took Dan’s hand and tugged him out of the kitchen.
For all that Dan considered Christmas to be an overly commercialized bastion of corporate greed, he was remarkably proud of the Christmas tree he and Anderson had purchased and decorated the week before. It rose to the top of the slightly vaulted ceiling, and sparkled in silver and gold ornaments they’d purchased from Tiffany’s. Of course, the best part of the night had been the wine they’d shared, which had led to a lot more than just the topping of the tree. At the memory, Dan found himself leering at Anderson, who caught the look and shook his head.
“Don’t look at me like that. We don’t have time.”
“Dammit.” Dan threw himself into the overstuffed chair, glancing up at Anderson from under his lashes curiously. “So… “
Anderson walked over to the Christmas tree, reaching down to pluck a small gift from beneath it. He returned to the chair, holding it out to Dan. “Here. I wanted to give this to you before everyone else arrived.”
Dan felt weird getting Christmas gifts. He always had. As much as he’d grown used to it from friends and girlfriends over the years, he still never quite knew what to say. With Anderson it was only slightly easier because they gave to one another so often. So he took the tiny box from Anderson, fingering the shiny gold bow for a moment before glancing up with a smirk.
“You know you didn’t have to get me anything, right?”
Anderson returned the smile. “You know I did have to, right? Besides, this… it’s important.”
Raising an eyebrow at that, Dan untied the ribbon and tore a finger through the wrapping paper, letting it fall to the floor. Anderson gave him a look, which Dan pointedly ignored, before bending over to pick it up. Opening the lid, Dan discovered a well-worn coin laying amidst the tissue paper. He reached in to pull it out, turning it in his fingers. He recognized it, of course. Anderson always carried it with him. Dan figured it was some kind of lucky charm but had never actually asked about it. He glanced up at the blue eyes that were watching him.
“I found it in New Orleans after Katrina,” Anderson told him softly, tugging his lower lip between his teeth. “I… well, I picked it up and kept it as a reminder… that I can survive anything. I thought… I mean, I want you to have it now. So that you know, as long as we’re together, we can survive anything, too.”
Dan was absolutely not tearing up. He glanced down at the coin, clutching it in his palm for a moment, memorizing the smooth warmth against his skin as he regained control of his emotions. Anderson was still standing beside him, silent and obviously anxious. With his other hand, Dan reached up for Anderson’s.
“Come here,” he said, pulling him down onto his lap. He pressed his face into his neck, kissing him gently. “You know I love you, right?”
Anderson nodded, leaning into his embrace.
“This is the best gift I’ve ever been given,” he told him, pulling back to meet Anderson’s gaze. “Thank you. I’ll never be without it.”
Smiling, Anderson leaned in and kissed him. “Merry Christmas, Daniel.”
****
When their families arrived, Dan was ready, just as he promised Anderson he would be. As Gloria moved toward him, arms outstretched, commenting as to how positively handsome he looked, and he felt the blush creeping over his cheeks, Dan slipped his hand into his pocket. His fingers closed around the coin, and he smiled.
Author: Aelora
Pairing: Anderson/ Dan Abrams
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Any similarity between the fictional version of the person portrayed here and the actual person is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction. This is not an attempt to defame the character of said person on the basis of libel, as the work is FICTIONAL (and NOT an intently false statement created with the express purpose of misleading others about the actual character of said person). Any mention of 'AC 360', 'Verdict with Dan Abrams', 'MSNBC', 'CNN', 'NBC', any associated entities, or any copyrighted material pertaining therein is reasonably protected by the Fair Use Rule of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, and is not intended to infringe upon any copyrighted material.
author's note: this was written in response to litterthisheart's prompt "Firsts" over at ths_just_in and well… umm, Christmas in June??? Yeah. I don’t know why I was in the mood for Holiday fic….
It was because it was their first Christmas together that Dan woke on Christmas morning feeling uneasy and out of sorts. He lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, wondering why it had always been beyond him to fall in love with a nice Jewish girl, settle down, get married - you know, follow the lead of his parents. Instead, he’d fallen for a nice WASPy boy, and they were celebrating their first Christmas together, and their families were coming over later that morning for their first family gathering (“Holiday party,” Anderson had called it, kissing his lips with a smile. “Your parents have already said yes.”), and Dan was already picturing the horrors that would occur. His father wandering around the apartment, attempting to strike up a legal argument with anyone who would listen; Gloria embarrassing Dan with just one well-placed compliment, which she loved to do ever since the very first moment she discovered he grew “adorably uncomfortable” when praised; Dan having one too many glasses of red wine and passing out on the couch only to hear about it for months to come from Anderson.
He groaned aloud at the images, feeling like a teenager on the first day of a school year. He didn’t want to get out of bed. He just wanted to bury himself under the covers and wake up in a few days.
Unfortunately, the cheery Christmas music coming from outside the bedroom signaled he wasn’t going to have that choice. He figured Anderson had probably woken up sometime around 3AM (just like Hillary Clinton - ready to go on Day One), delivered the gifts they’d purchased for a few of the local homeless shelters, waved at Santa Claus on his way past him (Dan had teased Anderson throughout the month as he spent ridiculous amounts of money on gifts for people he hardly knew or didn’t know at all, claiming Santa had nothing on him), wrapped a few more gifts for the families, cooked a few Christmas meals, gave to every Salvation Army Santa on every corner in New York City, and was currently standing outside the bedroom door, fully dressed in seasonal appropriate, glancing at his watch, wondering when Dan was going to get out of bed.
He groaned again. It was only the faint smell of coffee drifting in from under the door that finally roused him out of bed. Pulling on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, he took a breath, steeled himself and pulled open the door as Perry Como broke out into Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He practically darted past the living room into the kitchen, where his pot of hot coffee was waiting for him. It was one of those little concessions that Anderson made for him every morning that constantly reminded Dan why he loved Anderson the way he did. Dan wasn’t exactly an early riser; Anderson knew this. Hence, there was a pot of freshly brewed coffee waiting for him every day without fail, made by a man who wouldn’t touch the stuff.
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
“You haven’t even showered yet?”
Dan closed his eyes as he took a sip of the much-needed caffeine, attempting to ignore the question until he was properly awake to respond. Unfortunately, he wasn’t given that choice as Anderson walked up and pinched him.
“Ow!”
Dan glared through sleepy eyes at the man before him who, sure enough, was already looking both festive and handsome in a thick cream-colored turtleneck sweater and dark green slacks. Instantly forgetting how much he hated mornings, Dan reached out and pulled Anderson against him, kissing his cheek.
“You look nice,” he murmured, inhaling the spicy scent of cologne.
“And you look like you just got out of bed,” Anderson responded, though he didn’t sound as upset by that as he pretended. He wrapped his arms around Dan’s waist and returned his kiss.
“That’s because I did.”
“Our guests will be here in an hour, you know.”
“So? My family is used to seeing me like this.”
Anderson pulled back and rolled his eyes. “Mine isn’t. Besides, I wanted a little time to ourselves. Come here.” He took Dan’s hand and tugged him out of the kitchen.
For all that Dan considered Christmas to be an overly commercialized bastion of corporate greed, he was remarkably proud of the Christmas tree he and Anderson had purchased and decorated the week before. It rose to the top of the slightly vaulted ceiling, and sparkled in silver and gold ornaments they’d purchased from Tiffany’s. Of course, the best part of the night had been the wine they’d shared, which had led to a lot more than just the topping of the tree. At the memory, Dan found himself leering at Anderson, who caught the look and shook his head.
“Don’t look at me like that. We don’t have time.”
“Dammit.” Dan threw himself into the overstuffed chair, glancing up at Anderson from under his lashes curiously. “So… “
Anderson walked over to the Christmas tree, reaching down to pluck a small gift from beneath it. He returned to the chair, holding it out to Dan. “Here. I wanted to give this to you before everyone else arrived.”
Dan felt weird getting Christmas gifts. He always had. As much as he’d grown used to it from friends and girlfriends over the years, he still never quite knew what to say. With Anderson it was only slightly easier because they gave to one another so often. So he took the tiny box from Anderson, fingering the shiny gold bow for a moment before glancing up with a smirk.
“You know you didn’t have to get me anything, right?”
Anderson returned the smile. “You know I did have to, right? Besides, this… it’s important.”
Raising an eyebrow at that, Dan untied the ribbon and tore a finger through the wrapping paper, letting it fall to the floor. Anderson gave him a look, which Dan pointedly ignored, before bending over to pick it up. Opening the lid, Dan discovered a well-worn coin laying amidst the tissue paper. He reached in to pull it out, turning it in his fingers. He recognized it, of course. Anderson always carried it with him. Dan figured it was some kind of lucky charm but had never actually asked about it. He glanced up at the blue eyes that were watching him.
“I found it in New Orleans after Katrina,” Anderson told him softly, tugging his lower lip between his teeth. “I… well, I picked it up and kept it as a reminder… that I can survive anything. I thought… I mean, I want you to have it now. So that you know, as long as we’re together, we can survive anything, too.”
Dan was absolutely not tearing up. He glanced down at the coin, clutching it in his palm for a moment, memorizing the smooth warmth against his skin as he regained control of his emotions. Anderson was still standing beside him, silent and obviously anxious. With his other hand, Dan reached up for Anderson’s.
“Come here,” he said, pulling him down onto his lap. He pressed his face into his neck, kissing him gently. “You know I love you, right?”
Anderson nodded, leaning into his embrace.
“This is the best gift I’ve ever been given,” he told him, pulling back to meet Anderson’s gaze. “Thank you. I’ll never be without it.”
Smiling, Anderson leaned in and kissed him. “Merry Christmas, Daniel.”
****
When their families arrived, Dan was ready, just as he promised Anderson he would be. As Gloria moved toward him, arms outstretched, commenting as to how positively handsome he looked, and he felt the blush creeping over his cheeks, Dan slipped his hand into his pocket. His fingers closed around the coin, and he smiled.