The Greatest Present. (Christmas Story)
#1 of Short Stories
For many, Christmas is a date in which fam...
_ For many, Christmas is a date in which family reunites and affective bonds are strengthen, for others, it's a religious festivity with commercial purposes. Like these, there are countless meanings of Christmas, but unknowingly for Anthony Meyer, it's the day in which he'll realize the meaning of life._
"The Greatest Present"
By: D Ocelot
In a dim room completely furnished on a wooden fashion, lies an arctic wolf, snuggled under the bed's covers, sleeping. He seems to be in a peaceful sleep, his breathing can be heard anywhere in the otherwise silent room and the first sunlight threads shining directly in his face don't seem to bother him. The silence is broken by the sound of the room's door opening and a cheerful polar fox graciously stepping into the room. He is 5'7'' tall and is wearing a cooking apron that reads: "I can't cook but this looks cool!" In his head he's wearing a chef hat slightly leaned to a side, his face has a pair of spirited green eyes and a cocky smile on it. The fox is carrying a breakfast tray in his arms with a set of dishes on top of it, the smell of the food is mouthwatering and so are its looks. The fox is slowly approaching the bedside, saying loudly in a fake Italian accent:
"Risvegliare, Antonio, la prima colazione é pronta!"
The wolf perked his ears, barely opened an eye and stared at the fox. He couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him, he brushed his amber eye for a moment and looked again, but the result was the same nonetheless. The fox dressed as chef was still there, holding a tray in his paws and staring directly at him, the only thing the wolf said was:
"Adam, is that you?" The fox giggled loudly as he nodded, then replied:
"Of course I am! Why, is there anything different in me?" He tilted his head and smiled.
"Forget it" Said the wolf as he opened his other eye and shook his head. "By the way..." His nose sniffed and his tail began wagging crazily under the covers "...what's that in your paws?" Adam smirked and placed the breakfast tray over the wolf's belly and said in the same fake accent as before:
"La prima colatzione, signore Antonio." Anthony raised an eyebrow "The um... the prima... the first meal? He crossed his arms. "Oh, stop it Ad, I don't speak Italian and neither do you!" Adam burst in laughter.
"Not yet anyway." He stuck out his tongue and continued "But ok Tony, bon appétit!"
The wolf was drooling as he took the first bite. The food was so delicious that Anthony took bite after bite only stopping to take an occasional sip of orange juice. In the meanwhile, the vulpine had removed his apron and hat and had lain in the bed next to the wolf.
"Do you know what day it is today, Tony?"
"December 23. Why?"
"Well... Christmas is nearing and we haven't planned anything..." Anthony remained silent and pensive for a moment before replying:
"Well... let's have dinner together and watch some movies!" Adam's expression turned annoyed.
"That's what we do every day! Christmas is only once a year, it needs to be something special! Why don't we invite your parents and family for dinner?"
"My parents..." The wolf got lost in his thoughts as his stare went astray. Adam stared at him confused and asked:
"Is there something wrong?"
"No Adam, there isn't. I was just thinking that you're right, I'll give my parents a call later" The wolf smiled and wiped his muzzle with a napkin. "The food was delicious, Ad."
"I'm glad you think so! Do I get a reward?" The fox smiled at the wolf and giggled.
"Let me think..." Anthony pulled the fox roughly into his arms, making all the dishes over the tray shake wildly, and said: "I think you DO deserve a reward!" Immediately after saying that, he pressed his lips against Adam's, wrapping him in a loving embrace while caressing his body. The lupine leaned back and asked: "Is that enough reward for you?" The white fox nodded as a silly smiled appeared in his face.
"I think we should do some shopping, Tony. Would you take me to the mall?"
"Today?! It will be crowded as hell!"
"Then we better get used to it!" The fox giggled and looked at the wolf with a puppyish pleading stare. "C'mon, pretty please with sugar on top!" Anthony rolled his eyes.
"Ok, ok. I'll get dressed and then we'll go to the mall." The fox grinned happily and gave a peck to the white wolf, caressed his body with his paws and stepped up.
"Great! I'll take this..." He grabbed the tray and walked to the door "...and I'll see you downstairs in a few." He winked at the wolf and left the room.
Anthony smiled, closed his eyes and remained still.
'December...' He thought to himself '...I miss my family... my brother Mark, my sister Helen, my mom... and my dad too. Is this the life I wanted? Was lying to them right? I haven't seen them in 7 years! Was Adam worth all that?'
'You wouldn't be questioning yourself if he was.'
'Was the path I took the right one?'
'You wouldn't stop and look back if it was'
'Can I go back?'
'No.' The voice in his mind stopped and asked a question of its own 'Would you go back and change it all?'
The wolf ignored that question, opened his eyes and let out a sigh. As soon as he gained enough willpower, he stepped out of the bed. The wind touching his body made him shiver and realize he was still naked, he walked into the bathroom to get a shower, forgetting for a while the turmoil in his mind.
An hour later, plus half an hour of looking for an empty space in the car park, we finally reached the mall. It was as crowded as I expected, but I wanted Adam to feel happy. He quickly stepped out of the Rover and so did I, he seemed really excited about shopping, and his smile was enough to make me smile. We walked for a few minutes through the vast lot and reached our destination.
"Where do you want to start?" He asked me with his typical, curious smile.
"Wherever you want to start is ok for me!" I responded with a smile. Unfortunately he read me like an open book with a large font.
"You're not very excited about this, are you?" He said taking his paws to his waist. "Let's make a deal: you fake a smile for me this whole day, and in exchange I'll give you the greatest gift of them all for Christmas!" He grinned and continued "What say you, Mr. Anthony Meyer?" His proposal seemed as funnily extravagant as his personality and I decided to continue his game.
"A smile for the greatest gift, huh?" I placed my right paw over my chin and looked up as if I was thinking. I remained that way for three seconds before giving him an answer "You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Adam Winscott." I winked at him and smiled.
"Excellent!" We held hands and began walking through the mall.
The first store we visited, or rather Adam decided to visit, was a clothing store. I told him I would wait for him outside, he rolled his eyes and entered the shop clearly annoyed as I stared at him through the glass panel in the front. My attention was drawn by a white wolf reflected in it. He was 5'11'' tall with strikingly beautiful amber eyes, wearing a tight, midnight blue shirt and a pair of black pants and black shoes. His eyes, though attractive, had a distressed expression in them as if something was haunting them and filling the wolf's mind with doubts. The wolf I was staring at was me, and as I got lost into my own stare, my thoughts took ahold of me. I could hear the voice in my mind once again...
'Look at you, a miserable wolf living a lie. You are not happy, you are not sad, you just don't care and keep pretending to live a life'
'I can't help it, I'm not sure of the path I took.'
'And why don't you do something about it?'
'Because there's nothing I can do!'
'Repeat a lie a thousand times and you'll believe it yourself. You are a coward, you just think about you without caring for others, look at him, he gives you his best and you try your worst.' My stare switched from my reflection to Adam.
'I don't want to hurt him...'
'That's inevitable by now, but you can still choose how much you want to hurt him or how long you want him to live in your lie. Stop looking for excuses and act or you will lose what little you have--'
"Hey Anthonym, why are you so serious?" That voice didn't come from my mind, it was Adam's voice. He was standing beside me with a few shopping bags in his paws and a curious stare. I didn't know what to answer, so I evaded the question.
"Anthonym? Where do you get all those nicknames?"
"Well... mostly when the person I'm going out with ignores me and acts like a moving statue." That hurt me a little, but it was the least I deserved. "Should we continue my tour, chaperone?" He added in an annoyed tone and began walking through the mall once again.
"I'm sorry" I said as I took the bags from him and held his paw.
"Whatever, just remember you have to smile the whole day." I smiled and so did he.
We toured the whole mall and stopped in most of the shops, I decided to be with him all the time, trying to leave my thoughts behind and living the moment. Waiting was boring, but his smile and his funny remarks made me forget about that and made me have a great time. Since it had passed quite some time since breakfast, I decided to invite him to dinner, he agreed and we looked for a nice place. After many minutes of trying to convince him not to go there, we entered an Italian restaurant named "Toni's palazzo".
The maitre greeted us and led us to our table, we ordered, and after a few minutes we received our dishes. I had ordered "spaghetti alla Bolognese" accompanied with red wine and Adam just ordered a Caesar salad and an orange wine that didn't seem orange to me. He smiled at me, asked me to open my mouth and fed me with his food as he giggled.
"So Tony, what do you think your parents would like for dinner? The typical gobble gobble?"
"Um... yeah, I think that'll be okay for them." I smiled, not knowing what else to say.
'Lie after lie you will sink in your sea of deceit.' I heard the voice in my mind say.
"Are you sure? They're not vegetarians or something like that?"
"No, I'm sure that'll be ok. You know what? My mother would love a fruitcake!"
'And I'm sure Adam would love honesty. Every lie is a new hit his heart will have to endure, you better stop now... act!'
"Oh, really?" An enormous smiled appeared in his face "I know a recipe for a great fruitcake! Um, do any of your brothers have children? Just to be ready. I shrugged as my expression turned darker with every comment that voice said.
"I think Mark has a little girl, must be around 8 years old, but I'm not sure about Helen." I looked down at my dish as I said that, I knew that I was doing wrong but I just couldn't say the truth.
'Why are you doing this? Is it because of you? Or is it because of him? You don't want to hurt him, but when the walls break down, you'll see how he crumbles along with them, and you'll realize that it was all because of you. What once was a stone is now a boulder, and you, the sinner, will be the one throwing it... act!
"How's your food?" Adam asked me.
'You're holding a butterfly knowing you'll just tear its wings apart. What is worse is that you're not even doing it for yourself nor for anyone, you're not even enjoying it..."
"It's... it's ok, Adam." I could feel tears forming in my eyes so I kept my head looking down.
"You ok?"
'...you're just a coward and you accept that fact. You'll destroy everything, even the man you love just because you're afraid. Just remember, he's given everything for you, all that he had and all that he could've had... but you'll destroy what little is left.
"Tony, are you ok?"
'Don't worry, though, he's strong enough to stand back on his feet... hopefully. If he isn't... well you don't seem to care about him anyway. So live! Live your life of cowardliness and watch how all the people that approaches you gets hurt, because if you don't change once and for all, that's how your entire life will be...'
"Anthony..."
'...painful...'
"...are you..."
'...doubtful...'
"...ok, baby?"
'...false...'
"Talk to me!"
'...just a lie!!'
"Stop!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I broke into tears and stood up from the table. I walked out of the restaurant as quickly as I could, I could hear Adam calling out for me but I couldn't look back.
I ran towards my car and drove home as quickly as I could, not caring about anything or anyone, not even me. My cell phone rang incessantly, and I knew perfectly who it was but I dared not answer. I got home, headed straight to my room, I took out a box I had hidden, sat on my bed and began gazing at each and every of the pictures in it. They were pictures of my childhood and my teenagehood, pictures of my mother, my father and my brothers, and finally, pictures of Adam and me when we were young. All those pictures were more than 7 years old, and the good times of my life were embodied in them.
An hour or so later, I heard the door open and footsteps going up the stairs approaching my room, and stopping right outside. A few seconds later, I heard my cell phone ring and a knock on the door right after it stopped ringing, followed by Adam's voice.
"Tony, I know you're in there, please open the door."
"It's open" I said.
"Oh, duh." I saw the door open and Adam entering the room, walking slowly towards the bed and sitting beside me. He remained silent for a second, staring at the pictures in my paws and then said in the most serious voice I'd ever heard him: "What's wrong, Tony? Why won't you speak with me?"
I looked down to the floor without saying a word.
"Is it something wrong with me?" I shook my head and he continued "Is it something wrong with you?" I remained still and silent.
He wrapped one of his paws around my neck and pulled me next to him. He didn't say anything and just held me tightly, closing his eyes and kissing my neck.
"Tony, you can trust me, you don't need to handle things alone. That's why I'm here, to care about you, to love you and to help you with your problems. If you don't trust me, if you don't tell me what's disturbing you, then I don't think we'll work as a couple. So if we are to live as one, I ask you, no, I demand you, to tell me what's wrong."
My silence remained and my tears began dropping onto the floor.
"I never seem to give me the place that I belong. Do it just once, let me help you and let me show you I'm more than a nice guy that makes you laugh, more than a fuck toy and more than a boyfriend. Please, I don't want to lose what's in store for us. Talk to me!" I raised my head and looked at him.
"I don't want to hurt you."
"You're already hurting me."
"I don't think you'll understand."
"Then I'll try to understand! Anything is better than silence." I stared at him for a few seconds as I gathered enough courage to talk and say the truth once and for all.
'Act!' I heard the voice in my mind say for the last time as I began talking.
"Adam... I haven't been honest with you all these years we've been together."
"Huh? Bu--"
"This is really hard, so please let me finish before saying anything" He nodded and I continued. "I've been lying to you since we moved out to college. Remember I told you my family was ok with our relationship? Well that isn't true, they kicked me out of the house and told me to never get back or contact them again." I took a small pause "I left... not before wrecking the house and the car and saying really mean things to them. Even got into a fist fight with my brother..." I could see Adam was confused, almost scared.
"But... why didn't you tell me all this before?"
"I'm not finished yet." His face turned into a disappointed one. "Remember when we moved out of the campus dorms? I... it was because I was expelled in my senior year for breaking a sophomore's leg." I looked at Adam, he was disappointed of me, and he had a good reason to be. I continued nonetheless "I got help from a friend to get my job and I'm really grateful to him, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten this far."
"What about me?" He asked "Are your feelings for me real or just an obligation?"
"They were an obligation at first." Adam narrowed his eyes and his disappointment turned into annoyance "We were young and I was confused, I took you away from your family and all you had. I felt the need to protect you and help you as much as I could, but soon I realized what an amazing man you are and what an imbecile I was." I placed my paw on his cheek, but he removed it aggressively, I looked down and continued. "But my caring turned into something much deeper as time passed, until turning into that inexplicable feeling I sense towards you."
"Pity?"
"Love." I looked back at him "Adam, I'm sorry for not telling you this before, I know I was a coward but I didn't want to hurt you! I know I've hurt you even more after waiting for so long to tell you this, but I'm telling you now because I don't want to lose you." I placed my paw in his cheek once again "I love you Adam, and if I could rewind time, I would try to mend my mistakes." He looked back at me in a strange way.
"Would you go back and change it all?"
"No, not all. Just some things." I smiled at him "So Adam, the man from whom I took a rib, do you forgive me?" He stared directly at me with his charming green eyes and said:
"What you did to me for so many years, the pain it caused me right now... it's nothing compared to the love I feel for you." He smiled at me "So yes, I forgive you Anthony, just don't do that to me again."
I was hoping he would say that, it filled my heart with joy and a grin appeared on my face, I grabbed his head and gave him a passionate and deliciously hot kiss. He wrapped his arms around me as we made out, and a few minutes later, we broke our kiss and I heard Adam say:
"I'm not finished yet." I lowered my ears and nodded "Tony, there is something you need to understand... you are not alone, you have never been alone and you will never be alone, even if go. But believing no one cares, or that no one will understand you, is a mistake because you'll lose everyone sooner or later. There is always a person who cares, but ignoring them is the wrong thing to do. Everyone has a place in your heart, so give what is rightfully theirs." He smiled and placed a finger on my lips as I was about to say something. "You look tired and you've passed through many emotions today, so..." He laid me on the bed and massaged my belly "...why don't you get some sleep, Tony?" I nodded and smiled at him.
"Will you be here beside me?"
"Of course I will!" He kissed my forehead and closed my eyes "Have a nice sleep, handsome."
After I closed my eyes, I could feel his paws stroking my fur lovingly, soon after that, I succumbed to my fatigue and fell asleep in his arms.
The next day, I opened my eyes to realize I was alone. I stood from the bed and looked at the clock, it read 2:30 in the afternoon, I had slept too much so I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs looking for Adam, he was nowhere to be found and all was silent.
"Adam, are you here?" I cried out in hope of getting an answer, but no reply was heard. I took out my cell phone and dialed Adam's number, he answered with his cheerful voice:
"Good morning, sunshine!" I heard him giggle.
"Hey Ad, where are you? Are you ok?" I asked.
"I'm doing some shopping for today's dinner. But no, I'm not ok because I'm not with you. I tried carrying you but you were just too heavy for me." I giggled "I'll finish this quickly and will see you home in short, ok hun?"
"Sure thing, I just wanted to make sure you hadn't dumped me."
"It'll take more than that to get rid of me! See you in while, Tonic." He hung up after saying that.
I couldn't believe he was so understanding the previous night. Was his love for me so big that he didn't care? Or was his heart so golden that he swallowed his pride? In any case, I was really thankful and determined to make it up for him. I took my keys and headed out to buy him a gift.
A pair of hours later I got back home, Adam's car was already parked outside and there were some lights on inside the house. I parked my Range Rover and I walked to the door with Adam's gift in my paws, there was Christmas music playing inside, I opened the door and saw a pair of blonde wolves playing on the floor with each other, apparently father and son. Beside them was a grey she-wolf, apparently their wife and mother. The older wolf noticed me and grinned, he stepped up and walked towards me with open arms.
"Anthony! Is that really you? Come give me a hug!" I knew that voice, his amber eyes, his height... his face... he was my brother!
"Mark! Is it really you?" I opened my arms as he nodded and gave him an enormous hug. "But... but how?!"
"Hey everyone!" He shouted "Tony is here!" He looked back at me "You have to thank your little man, bro. He gave us a call last night and asked us to come for dinner today. After so long without hearing from you, we happily complied!
I looked behind him, an older timber wolf, a red she-wolf, accompanied by a younger white she-wolf, came out from the kitchen. Respectively, they were my father, my mother and my sister. I ran up to them and hugged them all at the same time. I had never felt so happy. My past, my decision and regrets didn't care anymore and all that was in my mind was the now. Adam came out from the kitchen wearing his hat and apron, smiling warmly at the scene. I looked back at him.
"Thank you Adam, you made possible what I thought was impossible!" I approached him and hugged him tightly with my pair of teary eyes "I love you!" I leaned my head and kissed him passionately. He cleared his throat and whispered:
"There are children here if you haven't noticed" He giggled and smiled at me "but you're welcome and I love you too."
"Wow! That was hot!" I heard my brother's son say.
"What did you said?" My brother asked him in a scolding tone.
"Nothing!" He replied with a weak giggle. The room exploded in laughter after that.
The bell rang a few moments later.
"Oh, the final guests are here!" Adam said excited.
He opened the door and a known feline face appeared behind it. It was a lion, his wife and his two children. The lion was a long lost friend I hadn't even told Adam about. My jaw dropped as I stared at them. Adam greeted them warmly and so did I. I began introducing anyone with everyone, remembering great moments of my life in the process.
The rest of the evening was beautifully spent, we spoke for a long time, saying many anecdotes and stories, we exchanged gifts and had a magnificent meal cooked by Adam and my ma. I had never felt so happy in a long time, in more than seven years. The lights, the smell, the happiness, the food... everything was a reminder of the Christmas's magic.
* * *
After our guests left, I carried Adam to bed, laid him there and snuggled beside him.
"Thank you Adam, you have no idea what this meant for me." He caressed my cheek and smiled.
"Don't mention it Tony, it was just a present for you."
"It was the greatest present, just as you promised." He stared at my eyes.
"No, that wasn't the greatest present." He kissed me "I'll give it to you when you're ready." I smiled evilly.
"Oh, I see where you're getting at..." I climbed on top of him and kissed him*
"You do? I don't think so but go ahead, I won't mind receiving..." He placed his paw over my crotch and winked" ...this gift.
I gave him a peck and raised his arms to remove his shirt. His body was beautiful, perfect and delightful to the eye. I leaned down and kissed his chest several times. I felt his paws raising my own shirt so I raised my arms and let him remove it. Both of our torsos were now naked, and our paws explored each other's body. I ran my paw through his zipper while looking at him, he nodded and I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. I stood up from the bed and slowly removed his pants, after I did, I unzipped mine letting them fall to the floor, stepping out of them. Adam stared directly at my briefs and I knew why, I slowly ran my paws through them and lowered them little by little, revealing my red member slowly coming out of its sheath
I climbed back onto the bed fully naked, he smiled wickedly at me as I approached him. I could feel his paw stroking my cock as we were making out, a few minutes later he broke our kiss and whispered at me.
"Mate with me Tony. I can't wait anymore."
I slowly moved down his body and slowly removed his underwear with my paws, throwing it away afterwards, I smiled at him and he nodded. I massaged his legs a little before raising them in the air. I could clearly see his hole now and so I slowly took my member into his hole. I pushed slowly at first, hearing Adam moan silently. When I stretched him enough, I pushed my cock inside him, slowly but firmly until I went as deep as I could, then I repeated the process.
I could feel his tight hole around my cock and it was really pleasurable feeling, but I wanted him to have a good time which, by his moans, I inferred he was having. I kept thrusting back and forth, faster and harder every time. Our moans turned louder each time and I could see his pre flowing out of his member. I wasn't able to control myself much longer, I pounded his as hard, fast and deep as I could as my moans turned shorted and louder, I firmly grabbed his hips and pushed even harder, right before I reached my peak, I gave the hardest thrust I could, knotting him and shooting my seed inside him. His moan was really loud and apparently so was his pleasure, because I saw him shoot several shots of cum into his chest.
We remained motionless and speechless. I slowly lowered his legs and laid in his chest, soaking my fur in his seed. A few moment of silence later, I heard him say:
"Thanks for the gift, love. It was the best gift of them all" I chuckled and caressed his body.
"It was a gift for us both."
"I don't mean THIS gift, you silly. Don't you remember?" I shook my head and he continued. "Seven years ago today, you gave me the best gift of them all. You sacrificed everything and escaped with me, you chose me over anything else and took me where I'd be safe, you took me with you up until this very day. And it's time for me to give you the greatest gift I have." I smiled and kissed him
"And what is that?" He caressed my cheek and stroke my head fur.
"You'll find out tomorrow when you wake up. For now we should have some sleep." I nodded and saw him close his eyes "Good night, Tony."
"Good night, Adam." I laid my head on his chest and heard his heart beat, a beat that was so rhythmic that I began dreaming almost instantly."
The next morning I opened my eyes and looked around, everything seemed different somehow. I stood up and walked out. It definitely wasn't my house, the rooms were all different. I walked outside and I realized where I was. It was my parent's house. I ran back in and went to the bathroom, when I looked in the mirror I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was me, but I was a teenager once again!
Just then, my cell phone rang. I think I could remember that number and when I answered the first thing I said was:
"Adam?" I heard a giggle and Adam's voice after.
"Hey handsome, are you ready to fulfill your promise and take me out of here? I can't stand my parents anymore. Please..."
It was that day when I took the first decision I would regret for the rest of my life. I had no idea how I got here and I had no time to figure it out so I took my decision.
"Sorry Adam, I think we're rushing things too much. We will soon go to college and no one will be able to control our actions there."
"Aww, my charming prince is not coming today." He paused "Can we at least go shopping?"
"Of course" I said smiling.