One year later

Lance was sitting on the floor finishing up wrapping all the presents before Christmas the next day when the doorbell rang.

“Hold on,” he yelled, hurrying to hide all the unwrapped presents. He opened the door to Justin.

“Merry Christmas, baby!” He said cheerfully, holding up his arms full of gifts and alcohol bottles.

Lanced raised an eyebrow. “Trying to get me drunk, are we?”

“No, you do that yourself.” Justin answered laughing. Lance playfully punched Justin in the arm and took the bottles from him.

“Not true, I have drank more in this last year since I met you, than I have in my whole life,” he said, putting the bottles in the kitchen while Justin put the presents under the tree. “And my mom isn’t too happy about it.”

Lance joined him in the living room and turned on the radio to one of his favorite Christmas stations. They rarely played commercials and always played the songs he loved. He threw a few extra logs into the fire place.

“Speaking of your mom,” Justin said, while he held up a gift box perfectly wrapped in red Christmas wrapping paper and a white bow. “This is for her.”

“Justin, that is sweet of you,” Lance said. “But she isn’t coming.” He handed it back to Justin and sat on the couch, his face in his hands.

“She couldn’t make it again?”

“It’s been happening more often now.” Lance rested his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I don’t think she wants to be around me. It used to only happen a couple times a year, but now she’s finding more excuses to not spend time with me. I even tried to go visit her. She was too busy and asked me to leave.”

Justin was horrified to see tears stream down Lance’s face as he pulled him into his arms. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. Everything will work out.”

Lance looked up at Justin. “How do you know?” Justin wiped the tears from his face and held him tighter. “Everything is falling apart. Every day I wake up wondering if I still have family or not.”

“Of course you do. They will love you no matter what.” Justin soothed him, stroking his face. “It took my parents a few years to come around and accept me, but they did.”

“You don’t know my mother.” Lance broke into sobs, laying his head back down on Justin’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around him.

That was true, Justin didn’t know his mother. He wanted to meet her, that’s why the two of them planned many dates to meet up with her. She not only had to cancel, but never canceled in a nice way. It was always ‘I have something more important to do’ or ‘I don’t want to meet the man that corrupted my baby boy’.

The last one never made any sense to Justin-he met Lance in a gay bar! He had obviously been with guys before. Maybe she was looking for a person to blame, maybe she knew she couldn’t change who he really was and maybe meeting her wasn’t such a good idea, but he was going to. Lance wanted him to meet his mother and he wanted to make Lance happy.

“She does love you. It’s hard for a mother to give up on her son, no matter what they do.” He tilted Lance’s chin up to meet his eyes. “Unless, you know… you kill someone.”

Lance finally smiled. He knew Justin was trying his best.

 “I’m here for you Lance. I’m not going to let you go through this alone.” Justin leaned forward and met Lance’s lips.

I should tell him now. This would be the perfect time to tell him. Don’t be a wimp like in all you other relationships that you’ve fucked up in the past.

When Lance broke the kiss his eyes met Justin’s. “I love you,” he whispered, prepared for the worst reaction-- Justin to drop him on his ass, hurry out of the house and never see him again. That’s what he was afraid of, but it was too late to turn back now. Why hide your feelings if you have them?

Except Justin did the complete opposite. “I love you too.”

Lance’s Christmas list was complete. He had wanted to tell Justin for weeks. Knowing he felt the same was the best Christmas gift he could ever ask for.

All of a sudden, Justin shouted out “This is my favorite song!” and began belting out O’ Holy Night.

“O’ Holy Night?” Lance asked. Justin nodded. “Do you want me to go turn it up?”

“Do you remember the night I met you?”

“Yes,” he answered, confused with the sudden change of subject. 

“Do you remember singing this during karaoke?” Justin asked. Lance smiled and nodded, remembering. “I wanted nothing more than to sing with you that night.”

“For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” Lance started to sing, his deep baritone filling the room. Justin was quick to join in with his sweet tenor. “Fall on your knees. Oh, hear the angel voices. O night divine, the night when Christ was born; O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!”

The two cuddled together on the couch, near the warmth of the fireplace and with the sounds of Christmas in the air.