#44 Blueberry Hill, Monday evening

[holdingontolove]

Cole almost didn't realize it was Christmas the next day. Due to being, well, crazy and suicidal, he hadn't had much time for holiday shopping. So he quietly himmered away to quickly find some gifts for Phoebe and Anders. Without much of an income (or any for that matter), he couldn't afford much, not that that mattered between shimmering,

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[beenthroughthat]

Sam was slightly groggy and disoriented when he came home on Monday evening after what -- as far as he was concerned -- had been a fruitless effort to get a final round of Christmas gifts, but it didn't stop him from arranging the ones he'd already gotten under the tree.

For Cole, there were several packages of various sizes.

Phoebe had a small pile of packages of her own.

Still feeling a little sleepy, he built a small crackling fire in the fireplace and curled up under a blanket on the couch, watching the lights on the tree and smiling to himself. This was, by far, the best Christmas he'd had in years.

[holdingontolove]

"You got me too much," Cole protested, feeling guilty he had gotten only one gift each for Phoebe and Anders.

[beenthroughthat]

Sam, comfortably snuggled up under his blanket, shook his head and smiled. "I had years of Christmases to make up for."

[holdingontolove]

"I don't deserve all this," Cole said quietly, ducking his head.

[beenthroughthat]

Sam sighed lightly and reached out an arm toward him. "Come here, you."

[holdingontolove]

Cole set down his gifts and slid over to the couch. "Thought you could use the jacket," he said. "Because of your motorcycle."

[beenthroughthat]

"If I can get it running again." Sam wrapped an arm around Cole's shoulders and leaned over to give him a light kiss on the cheek. "I love it, though. Can't wait to wear it, working bike or not."

[holdingontolove]

"How come you're so tired?" Cole said, leaning against Anders. "Up all night or something?"

[beenthroughthat]

"My sleep patterns have been kinda frakked up lately," Sam conceded. He rested his head against Cole's shoulder and yawned a bit. "Was out earlier, trying to find you guys more gifts, but everything was so crazy."

[holdingontolove]

"Holiday crowds in Milieux?" Cole said curiously. "Or were you somewhere else?"

[beenthroughthat]

"Went into the city." Sam's forehead creased just the tiniest bit, as if he was almost unsure if he'd really done that. "That was dumb."

[holdingontolove]

"Dork," Cole agreed, bumping his shoulder against Sam's.

[beenthroughthat]

Sam turned, blinked, and gave him a broad smile. "I never realized how much I missed hearing you call me that until just now."

[holdingontolove]

Cole grinned. "Speaking of names, why are people calling you Sam now?"

[beenthroughthat]

Sam chuckled; he'd been wondering when that question would come up. "I've been going by that for a while. You get tired of being known by the name on the back of your jersey after a while. Feels less personal. It's been four years or so now since I started thinking of myself as Sam . . . kind of like how you slowly went from being Bel to being Cole in my mind. Feels more like the real me."

[holdingontolove]

"So is that what you want me to call you now?" Cole asked, understanding what Anders meant. After leaving Fandom, he'd started going by Cole. It made his human side seem stronger.