myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom.

[paterelohim]

Who: Chuck Shurley (and YOU??)
When: Christmas Day
Where: his apartment and Purgatory
Summary: Being away from home on your kid's birthday is rough.
Warnings: Depends on who comments in but probably language and listen, let's not even pretend that this won't be heavy on religious content. Chuck has a lot of feelings.

Comments

LUCIFER open thread

[abrotherlikeyou]

Lucifer comes in wearing a scarf. He had taken it off a man who had been too drunk to protest--season of giving, after all, and it was one of the few times Lucifer enjoyed being festive.

Not that he was skipping or whistling tunes today. Michael was in an introspective mood, which had never been good for their relationship. He still wasn't really talking to Gabriel, he didn't give two figs for what Castiel was doing, and Balthazar was barely an angel anymore.

But Aslan was back. And whether or not he would say it (even under pain of torture), that was why Lucifer had come to Purgatory. Whether or not the lion was around, it would prove to himself that he could put aside grievances, that he wasn't ruled by them the way God and Chuck and everyone else assumed he was

[paterelohim]

The look Chuck gave him back wasn't hostile, either. It also wasn't their first communication since that horrible day at the grave. On the 21st, the day of the God-Shadow emerging from the Darkness, Chuck flipped out. Anna's accidental post looking beat half to hell on the heels of hearing Balthazar get the tar beaten out of him drove Chuck to panic- to texting him an d asking the angel are you okay?

Later, it drove Chuck to running across the city to make sure, accidentally leading the Shadow straight to its ultimate target. He'd huddled there behind a car, watching in horror as the Shadow tried its very best to murder His second oldest son. He'd almost collapsed in relief at that roar from the lion, the roar that freed Chuck's heart enough to send him running, running and drawing the shadow off. Later, that fear (fear that Aslan wasn't enough to heal the physical damage) had Chuck texting him again, saying he thought Lucifer should stay inside, that a shadow as trying to kill angels. A little Captain Obvious, yes, but it was very

[abrotherlikeyou]

The truth was that Lucifer wanted to ignore those texts, that wave, every glance Chuck sent to him. Lucifer, contrary to popular opinion, did learn from his mistakes. He just found ever more creative mistakes to make later.

But he did feel like--well, like 'hell' was par for the course, but like an angel who'd been attacked by his Father? That was a new and hideous experience. So much of Lucifer's considerable will was spent on dealing with that, and with the fact it hadn't touched Michael. Lucifer knew God, and he knew what that meant.

That was the only reason he ended up moving through the crowd toward Chuck. He needed to know that anything he and Michael did here, any ground they broke, could make a gnat's worth of difference anywhere else. Despite Gabriel's advice, Lucifer couldn't focus on the here and now for long. He needed Michael on his side, and that was the end of it

[paterelohim]

Chuck tilted his head at Lucifer, little more than a small quirk, like the angel puzzled him deeply. Not that far off from the truth. It was strange that Lucifer was approaching him on purpose, not killing him, doing anything but killing other people to blow off steam from the Darkness creature's swathe of destruction.

The wine comment got that puzzled look, though, out of everything about the eternal state of surreality their lives had become. "Why?"

[aintnorain]

In contrast Fred's Christmas was all that one would imagine. She made her post on the network after busying herself with various Christmas things. It had always been about the feeling of Christmas, one of those tacky things they wrote Hallmark movies about

[paterelohim]

When Chuck answered the door a minute later (after polishing off the last of the cupcake and shoving the tree under the couch), the sight of her put a rare and real smile on his face.

Simplicity was one of the only things He wanted from his life anymore. Simplicity, ease, pure feeling and unadulterated heart. Fred was so sweet, so beautiful, and wasn't even terrified of her feelings. She didn't ask anything of him but to be exactly who and what he was.

Incredible, that anything was making him smile today.

He stepped closer to kiss her without preamble, then only pulled far enough away to greet her with a hand still in her hair. "If Santa always looks like this, I might finally get the hype."

[aintnorain]

Oh. Oh okay. That was a nice kiss. Fred smiled back at him and dipped her head down at his compliment. The way he looked at her always made her feel like she was beautiful. Leaning in, she kissed his cheek.

"You already got your Hanukkah presents, but here's your Christmas presents." Simply because Fred liked to give presents.

[paterelohim]

Chuck turned his head to make that cheek kiss a real kiss.

"You- got me Christmas presents?" That got her a surprised but appreciative look. "You didn't have to do that."

[wingsandwill]

Castiel had been having a difficult past few weeks.

Or, well, he had been for the parts he'd been awake. He wasn't sure if he was sick or what, but he'd felt like doing nothing but sleeping, and even when he wasn't he felt terrible. Therefore he'd been pretty out of it for the entire Shadow disaster, which probably ended up a good thing in the end, and had slept the vast majority of the past few days.

When he awoke late in the afternoon on Christmas, he wasn't entirely sure what day it was for a few minutes. Discovering that it was Christmas ultimately meant little, but he did feel better enough to bother actually getting up instead of going back to sleep.

It wasn't until he'd showered and dressed and was considering food that he realized something was different. As it snapped into place what, he was out the door in an instant, heading upstairs to Chuck's apartment and knocking on the door just as he'd been told he should in the future.

[paterelohim]

It took a second for Chuck to answer- he had to scramble to shove the tree under the couch and pretend that he'd been writing or something, something mundane instead of anything Christmasy.

Cas. That was a nice surprise. It felt good, honestly, to see one of them- especially him. His smile was genuine. "Hey, Cas. Come on in."

[wingsandwill]

Castiel nodded in greeting and stepped in, a little quicker than normally and certainly more so than recently. Moving across the room a few paces, he turned to face Chuck.

"I regained something else."

[paterelohim]

Ah, Cas. Always so down to business. He straightened up and looked at the angel with surprise.

"Yeah? Another power?"

[I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THIS IS OKAY]

[kissesdarling]

It was just a box.

The server left it at the bar -- a pristine white box, packaged in blue and silver ribbon, tied off with a perfectly made origami star of David tag, with the note --

The holidays are universal. xoxo

But should Chuck decide to open the box -- and, let's face it, who wouldn't open the box when given such a strange opportunity? -- he would find a surprising amount of red and green Saran Wrap tucked around what appeared to be a perfectly cooked and roasted Christmas ham.

A Christmas ham in Hanukkah wrappings for the little Jew that could.

No one could say Crowley lacked a sense of humor.

[THIS IS A CALL IS WHAT THIS IS]

[paterelohim]

[I COMPLETELY RUINED THE PURPOSE OF THIS LOG]

[kissesdarling]

Crowley picked up the NV lazily, but it was on speaker phone, and Chuck was not granted to video. He was in his kitchen, carefully poking through what appeared to be a fruit basket. Someone left it on his door step. He wasn't entirely sure who would be stupid enough to think he would need one.

"Prophet. What can I do for you today?"

[YOU BEAUTIFUL CREATURE]

[paterelohim]

Chuck was slumped lazily in a couch in a back room, one of the many staff rooms he slipped into. Something stupidly plush and fuzzy, something tacky and soft and incredibly them.

"Your handwriting is really distinctive. Also, you're an ass."

Magneto | Open

[makes_asteroids]

He almost hated Christmas. Really. The last holiday he'd had with Anya before she'd died, one not his, and his own he had been forbidden to teach her about.

Christmas always brought tension, if not fighting, into his marriage. Something he tried so hard to forget, the problems, the disagreements. Tried so hard to hold on to the little bit of peace he'd known, to the happiness he'd had and lost.

Oh but how Anya loved the candles in the tree. And after what had happened, with Jinx, she was so close in his mind.

He trusted Gabriel to not let him be stupid, which is why he'd chosen to be here to drink. Although he was only on the second glass of wine from his favourite bottle, and he was nursing it.

[paterelohim]

Chuck almost laughed bitterly at seeing Magneto there. After a day of successfully avoiding his fellow housemates and Jews at the House, he ran into their deer leader at the freaking archangel nightclub.

Something something great minds, probably. Chuck always did hate aphorisms.

He slid onto a stool next to Erik. "Howdy."

[makes_asteroids]

"Hello." He tipped his glass to Chuck, and tried, truly tried, to look happy. It didn't quite make it to his eyes.

"Gabriel keeps my favourite wine in stock. I should make him cookies or something."

[paterelohim]

"Sugar cookies," he answered dimly. Chuck didn't look all that much happier.

"So... something tells me you aren't just moping because you didn't get presents from Santa, are you?"