#27 - Oh Holy Night, for sketchofsoda
Title: Oh Holy Night
Recipient: for sketchofsoda
Author: missy7280
Rating: PG
Pairings: Arthur/Cobb
Word count: 1,840
Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluffy sweetness
A/N: I hope you enjoy the holiday fluff!
The holidays were always an interesting time for Arthur. This time of year more often than not seemed to turn into a battle within his skull. His mind went back and forth between fighting the memories of childhood holidays with the family gone wrong and simply enjoying the normal joy and happiness that the month of December was supposed to bring.
Arthur was not a scrooge when Christmas time came along; at least he tried his hardest not to be for Dom and the children’s sakes. They didn’t deserve to have their holiday celebrations brought down because of any foul mood of Arthur’s. So he put on his happy face, the best one he could muster, and did all that he could for the Cobbs with Christmas fast approaching. In fact, he was probably going above and beyond the call of duty.
His first indication of this is when Dom comes home and laughs. Dom is just standing there in the middle of the living room, looking around at all of Arthur’s hard work and laughing, making Arthur feel all of two feet tall. He’s slightly comforted though when Dom grabs him in a bear hug and places a sweet kiss on the corner of his mouth.
“You were a party planner in one of your past lives, weren’t you?” Dom asks after giving him the kiss.
“Why do you say that?”
Dom’s smile kind of stumbles into a frown for a moment, but then it’s back in full force so fast that Arthur almost swears he imagined it. “Well, because you sure know how to go all out with the decoration,” Dom says.
Arthur shrugs and pulls away. “It’s just a few festive things. No big deal.” He didn’t think it was too much, the Christmas lights with icicles draped across the room, the large stockings hanging over the fireplace, the ten foot tall tree in the corner with every single branch seemingly decorated. It all seemed pretty traditional to him, at least from what he knew based on holiday-themed commercials and movies.
“You did this all by yourself?” Dom asks while walking around and inspecting the tree. His hand comes up to cup one of the ornaments covered in glitter and gold.
Arthur nods and says, “Most of it. The kids helped with some of the decorating, though James was more into taking things down than putting them up.”
“That sounds like him,” Dom agrees. He turns back to Arthur and there’s a sparkle of mirth in his eye and a grin still on his lips.
*
Dinner doesn’t exactly go as planned, at least based on Arthur’s prior expectations. The ham is overcooked, the potatoes not done enough, and both James and Phillipa seem more interested in playing with their food than actually eating it.
Dom compliments him on the food anyway. Though he helped in the kitchen, Arthur was the one who picked out the recipes and did most of the cooking. Arthur is grateful for Dom trying to reassure him, though he knows how fake the sentiment is.
“Maybe I should order us a pizza,” Arthur says, pushing his plate away. Dom shakes his head though.
“It’s fine, Arthur. I promise.”
There’s an awkward moment of silence before Arthur decides that he needs to break it. That kind of thing reminds him too much of holidays in his past, and that’s the last thing he wants to think about at the moment.
“James, Phil, how would you each like to open one of your presents now?” He looks to Dom after he asks, silently requesting his approval. Dom sort of nods but doesn’t say anything in return. Arthur knows the Cobb family is not too heavy on the need for keeping tradition, and Dom is not above spoiling the kids from time to time.
“Yeah, yeah!” they practically shout in unison. James is already squirming out of his chair and heading towards the massive tree in the living room, Phillipa quickly following after him. Arthur figures that the kids were looking for any excuse to move on from the table, and he’s sure there is no better reason than getting to open a gift early.
James goes for the first wrapped box with his name on it that he can get his hands on, not basing his decision on size and shape or any other factors. Phil is more deliberate, picking up each box in her hands, shaking them, and weighing their merits before choosing the one that most suits her curiosity.
James’ eyes go wide when the box he opens reveals a red monster truck inside. He calls his father over and immediately asks for his help in opening up the toy. Dom complies happily, while Arthur observes Phillipa opening her own present. It’s the dollhouse that Arthur had picked out for her all on his own; no help needed from Dom, a fact that Arthur is rather proud of.
He knows he made the right choice when he sees Phillipa light up, her expression one of excitement as she sets up the dollhouse and begins to explore playing with the miniature figurines. She asks Arthur to come over and play with the dolls as well, which makes Arthur’s chest swell with a sensation that he can’t even put a name to. He’s pretty sure that it’s a mixture of love and wonder, trying to figure out what he ever did to deserve her attention.
He sits down on the floor with her, Indian style, and can’t help but smile when Phil uses two male figurines to be the head of the little family she is creating. She plays with one and hands the other to Arthur, who pretends as well as he can as if he knows what he’s doing.
When he takes a chance to look up at Dom, Arthur sees that he is smiling too.
*
Arthur wakes up in the middle of the night and reaches across the bed only to find that Dom is missing. He has a mild panic attack, brought on by years of working for Dom on dangerous jobs and worrying about his partner, before he remembers that it’s Christmas Eve. Dom has gone to play the role of Santa, putting the remaining presents under the tree and eating up the sugar cookies that Arthur baked earlier.
Arthur sneaks up behind him in the kitchen, snaking his arms around Dom’s waist while placing a kiss on the back of his neck. Dom shudders before leaning back into the touch, cookie in hand stopped halfway to his mouth.
“Are you going to eat all of those?” Arthur asks, emphasis on the word all. He can tell that Dom is grinning as he brings the cookie up to Arthur’s mouth, tempting Arthur to take a bite. He does so and smiles around the crumbs that are tumbling out of his mouth. His baking skills were infinitely better than his cooking abilities.
“The kids are still asleep?”
Arthur nods when Dom turns around to face him. “They were sleeping last I checked. Let’s see how long that lasts,” he adds.
“I give it another hour, tops. We better finish off these cookies before they wake up and discover that Santa isn’t really coming down the fireplace.”
“What?” Arthur asks in mock surprise, and laughs when Dom lightly hits him on the shoulder.
“Sorry I ruined the surprise for you,” Dom says with sarcasm.
“I think I’ll be able to live with it, but it would be worse if the kids found out.” Arthur winks and then reaches to grab another cookie off of Santa’s plate. Dom grabs the last one then and stuffs it in his mouth, crumbs flying everywhere and Arthur laughing in response. Once finished, they walk together to the tree, Dom grabbing the remaining presents from their secret hiding spot along the way.
After placing most of the boxes under the tree, the ones specially labeled “from Santa,” Dom turns to Arthur and holds out one long, thin box wrapped in dark red paper. Arthur reaches for it while asking, “this is for me?” Dom nods in response and grins.
“Go ahead, open it,” he prompts when Arthur hesitates to do anything. But then he does it with Dom’s insistence, ripping the paper off as neatly as he can before opening the top off the box. He gasps when he sees what’s inside. It’s a silver Rolex watch, one that Arthur has been coveting for some time, and it takes his breath away for a few moments. “Try it on,” Dom encourages.
“This is gorgeous,” Arthur says as he delicately takes the watch out and hooks it around his wrist. Dom reaches out to help, putting the two sides of the clasp together. It looks classy on him and appears to fit just right. It’s too perfect. “How can you afford this?”
“Could you just enjoy the gift?” Dom asks lightheartedly. When Arthur doesn’t respond to him he says, “I saved up the money from my last job.”
“It’s a beautiful watch and I love it, but you really shouldn’t have.” He momentarily feels horrible for pushing the point, but Arthur knows all about designer pricing and would never want it to be wasted on him, no matter how good it makes him look.
“I think I should,” Dom says. Arthur half expects him to be upset, hell even he would be upset with himself if the roles were reversed. But Dom still has that ridiculous smile on his face, and Arthur thinks that maybe somehow they will be okay.
“I don’t deserve you,” Arthur whispers. He knows that it’s a cliché thing to say, but he means every word. His whole upbringing he was made to feel inferior, and this is no exception.
Dom pulls him in once again, giving him a proper kiss while cupping the sides of Arthur’s face and holding him in place. Arthur melts into his touch, tasting the remnants of the cookies on Dom’s tongue. It tastes sweet. “You love me unconditionally, right?” Dom asks when they finally stop to take a breath. “Isn’t that enough of a reason to do this for you?”
Arthur doesn’t really have a response for that, so he just kisses Dom instead to convey all of the feelings he can’t express with words. In that moment Arthur realizes how insignificant the past is compared to the opportunities his future with Dom offers.
“You know, I did forget one of the decorations,” Arthur says to change the subject.
“What’s that?”
“Mistletoe,” he answers, a smirk quirking up the side of his mouth. Dom has a matching expression on his face.
“I guess we didn’t need it, anyway.”
“No, I suppose not.”
Dom goes back to kissing Arthur again, and Arthur thinks that maybe this is actually the best gift Dom could give him. He doesn’t feel the weight on his wrist when he grabs onto the back of Cobb’s neck and brings him in closer.
Recipient: for sketchofsoda
Author: missy7280
Rating: PG
Pairings: Arthur/Cobb
Word count: 1,840
Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluffy sweetness
A/N: I hope you enjoy the holiday fluff!
The holidays were always an interesting time for Arthur. This time of year more often than not seemed to turn into a battle within his skull. His mind went back and forth between fighting the memories of childhood holidays with the family gone wrong and simply enjoying the normal joy and happiness that the month of December was supposed to bring.
Arthur was not a scrooge when Christmas time came along; at least he tried his hardest not to be for Dom and the children’s sakes. They didn’t deserve to have their holiday celebrations brought down because of any foul mood of Arthur’s. So he put on his happy face, the best one he could muster, and did all that he could for the Cobbs with Christmas fast approaching. In fact, he was probably going above and beyond the call of duty.
His first indication of this is when Dom comes home and laughs. Dom is just standing there in the middle of the living room, looking around at all of Arthur’s hard work and laughing, making Arthur feel all of two feet tall. He’s slightly comforted though when Dom grabs him in a bear hug and places a sweet kiss on the corner of his mouth.
“You were a party planner in one of your past lives, weren’t you?” Dom asks after giving him the kiss.
“Why do you say that?”
Dom’s smile kind of stumbles into a frown for a moment, but then it’s back in full force so fast that Arthur almost swears he imagined it. “Well, because you sure know how to go all out with the decoration,” Dom says.
Arthur shrugs and pulls away. “It’s just a few festive things. No big deal.” He didn’t think it was too much, the Christmas lights with icicles draped across the room, the large stockings hanging over the fireplace, the ten foot tall tree in the corner with every single branch seemingly decorated. It all seemed pretty traditional to him, at least from what he knew based on holiday-themed commercials and movies.
“You did this all by yourself?” Dom asks while walking around and inspecting the tree. His hand comes up to cup one of the ornaments covered in glitter and gold.
Arthur nods and says, “Most of it. The kids helped with some of the decorating, though James was more into taking things down than putting them up.”
“That sounds like him,” Dom agrees. He turns back to Arthur and there’s a sparkle of mirth in his eye and a grin still on his lips.
*
Dinner doesn’t exactly go as planned, at least based on Arthur’s prior expectations. The ham is overcooked, the potatoes not done enough, and both James and Phillipa seem more interested in playing with their food than actually eating it.
Dom compliments him on the food anyway. Though he helped in the kitchen, Arthur was the one who picked out the recipes and did most of the cooking. Arthur is grateful for Dom trying to reassure him, though he knows how fake the sentiment is.
“Maybe I should order us a pizza,” Arthur says, pushing his plate away. Dom shakes his head though.
“It’s fine, Arthur. I promise.”
There’s an awkward moment of silence before Arthur decides that he needs to break it. That kind of thing reminds him too much of holidays in his past, and that’s the last thing he wants to think about at the moment.
“James, Phil, how would you each like to open one of your presents now?” He looks to Dom after he asks, silently requesting his approval. Dom sort of nods but doesn’t say anything in return. Arthur knows the Cobb family is not too heavy on the need for keeping tradition, and Dom is not above spoiling the kids from time to time.
“Yeah, yeah!” they practically shout in unison. James is already squirming out of his chair and heading towards the massive tree in the living room, Phillipa quickly following after him. Arthur figures that the kids were looking for any excuse to move on from the table, and he’s sure there is no better reason than getting to open a gift early.
James goes for the first wrapped box with his name on it that he can get his hands on, not basing his decision on size and shape or any other factors. Phil is more deliberate, picking up each box in her hands, shaking them, and weighing their merits before choosing the one that most suits her curiosity.
James’ eyes go wide when the box he opens reveals a red monster truck inside. He calls his father over and immediately asks for his help in opening up the toy. Dom complies happily, while Arthur observes Phillipa opening her own present. It’s the dollhouse that Arthur had picked out for her all on his own; no help needed from Dom, a fact that Arthur is rather proud of.
He knows he made the right choice when he sees Phillipa light up, her expression one of excitement as she sets up the dollhouse and begins to explore playing with the miniature figurines. She asks Arthur to come over and play with the dolls as well, which makes Arthur’s chest swell with a sensation that he can’t even put a name to. He’s pretty sure that it’s a mixture of love and wonder, trying to figure out what he ever did to deserve her attention.
He sits down on the floor with her, Indian style, and can’t help but smile when Phil uses two male figurines to be the head of the little family she is creating. She plays with one and hands the other to Arthur, who pretends as well as he can as if he knows what he’s doing.
When he takes a chance to look up at Dom, Arthur sees that he is smiling too.
*
Arthur wakes up in the middle of the night and reaches across the bed only to find that Dom is missing. He has a mild panic attack, brought on by years of working for Dom on dangerous jobs and worrying about his partner, before he remembers that it’s Christmas Eve. Dom has gone to play the role of Santa, putting the remaining presents under the tree and eating up the sugar cookies that Arthur baked earlier.
Arthur sneaks up behind him in the kitchen, snaking his arms around Dom’s waist while placing a kiss on the back of his neck. Dom shudders before leaning back into the touch, cookie in hand stopped halfway to his mouth.
“Are you going to eat all of those?” Arthur asks, emphasis on the word all. He can tell that Dom is grinning as he brings the cookie up to Arthur’s mouth, tempting Arthur to take a bite. He does so and smiles around the crumbs that are tumbling out of his mouth. His baking skills were infinitely better than his cooking abilities.
“The kids are still asleep?”
Arthur nods when Dom turns around to face him. “They were sleeping last I checked. Let’s see how long that lasts,” he adds.
“I give it another hour, tops. We better finish off these cookies before they wake up and discover that Santa isn’t really coming down the fireplace.”
“What?” Arthur asks in mock surprise, and laughs when Dom lightly hits him on the shoulder.
“Sorry I ruined the surprise for you,” Dom says with sarcasm.
“I think I’ll be able to live with it, but it would be worse if the kids found out.” Arthur winks and then reaches to grab another cookie off of Santa’s plate. Dom grabs the last one then and stuffs it in his mouth, crumbs flying everywhere and Arthur laughing in response. Once finished, they walk together to the tree, Dom grabbing the remaining presents from their secret hiding spot along the way.
After placing most of the boxes under the tree, the ones specially labeled “from Santa,” Dom turns to Arthur and holds out one long, thin box wrapped in dark red paper. Arthur reaches for it while asking, “this is for me?” Dom nods in response and grins.
“Go ahead, open it,” he prompts when Arthur hesitates to do anything. But then he does it with Dom’s insistence, ripping the paper off as neatly as he can before opening the top off the box. He gasps when he sees what’s inside. It’s a silver Rolex watch, one that Arthur has been coveting for some time, and it takes his breath away for a few moments. “Try it on,” Dom encourages.
“This is gorgeous,” Arthur says as he delicately takes the watch out and hooks it around his wrist. Dom reaches out to help, putting the two sides of the clasp together. It looks classy on him and appears to fit just right. It’s too perfect. “How can you afford this?”
“Could you just enjoy the gift?” Dom asks lightheartedly. When Arthur doesn’t respond to him he says, “I saved up the money from my last job.”
“It’s a beautiful watch and I love it, but you really shouldn’t have.” He momentarily feels horrible for pushing the point, but Arthur knows all about designer pricing and would never want it to be wasted on him, no matter how good it makes him look.
“I think I should,” Dom says. Arthur half expects him to be upset, hell even he would be upset with himself if the roles were reversed. But Dom still has that ridiculous smile on his face, and Arthur thinks that maybe somehow they will be okay.
“I don’t deserve you,” Arthur whispers. He knows that it’s a cliché thing to say, but he means every word. His whole upbringing he was made to feel inferior, and this is no exception.
Dom pulls him in once again, giving him a proper kiss while cupping the sides of Arthur’s face and holding him in place. Arthur melts into his touch, tasting the remnants of the cookies on Dom’s tongue. It tastes sweet. “You love me unconditionally, right?” Dom asks when they finally stop to take a breath. “Isn’t that enough of a reason to do this for you?”
Arthur doesn’t really have a response for that, so he just kisses Dom instead to convey all of the feelings he can’t express with words. In that moment Arthur realizes how insignificant the past is compared to the opportunities his future with Dom offers.
“You know, I did forget one of the decorations,” Arthur says to change the subject.
“What’s that?”
“Mistletoe,” he answers, a smirk quirking up the side of his mouth. Dom has a matching expression on his face.
“I guess we didn’t need it, anyway.”
“No, I suppose not.”
Dom goes back to kissing Arthur again, and Arthur thinks that maybe this is actually the best gift Dom could give him. He doesn’t feel the weight on his wrist when he grabs onto the back of Cobb’s neck and brings him in closer.