{"sf1_id":609761,"sf2_id":null,"title":"A Favor Returned","author":"DarkSoulsSauron","words":8273,"posted_at":"2013-11-03T09:14:00.000Z","tags":["Gay Relationships","Soren \u0026 Eli","ninetales","pokemon"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/609761-a-favor-returned","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/609761","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=609761\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Soren\nfiddled with the broom as he absently swept the pristine kitchen\nfloor. Eli clattered down the loft stairs, making Soren jump at the\nnoise. Eli sighed. \"You do realize you cleaned the kitchen this\nmorning. And yesterday. The house is immaculate, sweetie.\" Soren\ndidn't seem to notice Eli's remark.\"Did we clean the guest bathroom\nEli?\" Eli\nrolled his eyes. \"Yes, Soren. Yes. We cleaned the whole damn house.\nTwice. Please, sweetheart, relax.\" Soren\nsighed, slipping into a chair. \"I can't relax, Eli. Your parents\nare here in less than an hour.\"Eli\ncouldn't conceal an exasperated groan. \"Oh, Soren, sweetie. They\ndon't hate you. They like you. They LIKE you. Mom, Dad, and\nElly all thanked me for bringing you to Thanksgiving. Mom called\nand asked to speak with you,\ndon't you remember. Hell, we went shopping two\nweeks ago and they had fun with you. You had fun too, didn't you?\" Soren\ngave a tiny growl. \"I KNOW they like me. I like them.\nthey're nice people. I'm just anxious. It's stupid. I'm just afraid\nI'll disappoint them, or something. It's not exactly a rational\nthing. I'm just trying to make their visit as nice as possible.\" Eli\nabruptly picked Soren out of the chair. \"Nope. You're not doing\nthis,\" said Eli as he steered Soren to their couch. He pointed an\nimperious finger. \"Lay down.\" Soren did so. Eli neatly placed\nhimself on Soren's lap. \"You are staying right here until the\ndoorbell rings. You. Need. To. Relax. And you can either make me sit\non you or you can attempt to wind down. Got it?\" Soren\nsighed but was unable to resist a grin. \"Will you cuddle with me,\nthen?\" Eli\nsmiled, shifting his position so he was laying on top of Soren now.\n\"Of course, sweetie.\" Soren\ngrowled as Eli lay on top of him, feeling his delicate hands run\nacross his shoulders. \"I'm sorry, Eli. I'm just high strung right\nnow.\" \"I\nget that, love,\" whispered Eli. \"But I'm telling you that you\nhave absolutely nothing to feel nervous about. They like you. They\nhave yet to find anything wrong with you. Hell, Elly wouldn't admit\nit to your face, but she admires how much you know about science and\nmusic and, well, anything. I promise you it will be all right. \"I'm\nsorry, Eli. You're right, and I know you're right. A few minutes\npeace might be a good idea.\"Eli\nkissed Soren. \"Thanks, sweetie. I love you.\" \"I\nlove you too, Eli,\" said Soren, his eyes closed. They lay there for\na while. Soren kept turning to check the clock, but Eli would pull\nhim back, kissing him or nuzzling him. It took a bit, but he was\nfinally starting to wind down. There was a knock on the door. Soren\njumped, knocking into Eli's cheek with his chin. \"Oof,\"\ngrunted Eli as he got up. He guided Soren to their front door,\nshouting \"coming,\" as they walked. Soren went to open the\ndeadbolt, but Eli put his hand on Soren's. \"Soren. Listen. All they\nwant to do is spend time with us. With you, really. We've been living\ntogether for months now and they've only met you twice. They still\ndon't know you as well as they want to.\" \"Well,\nlet's not let keep them waiting, dear.\" said Soren, kissing Eli.\nSoren opened the door, smiling widely with Eli's arm around his\nshoulder. \"Heya! Merry Christmas!\" \"Merry\nChristmas,\" chorused a pile of parcels and bags standing at their\ndoor. \"Oh\ngeez,\" said Eli, looking at the pile of stuff his parents were\nstaggered under. \"You could have asked us for help.\" Elly\ndumped a portion of her pile of boxes into Soren's arms. \"You know\nDad would rather die than take two trips. Wow... this is your house?\"\n\"Mmhmm,\"\nsaid Eli. \"It's a nice place. Just dump it by the tree. Do you want\na tour?\" \"Sure,\"\nsaid Lyra as she deposited her own burden under the small plastic\ntree that Soren had bought. \"This\nis a really great place,\" said Logan, taking in the spacious\napartment. \"You've been doing really well then.\" \"Yeah,\"\nsaid Soren. \"The last auction was brilliant. He was painting all\naround the city.\" \"In\nthe middle of winter,\" asked Elly, eyebrow raised. \"Did the snow\nmess with the paint at all?\" \"Dear\ngod, yes,\" smiled Eli. \"There was this one painting, the scene at\nthe park was too perfect, but it was sleeting. Soren stood outside\nfor hours with an umbrella and an enormous pot of tea, just so I\ncould paint.\" \"It\npaid off,\" said Soren, rubbing Eli''s shoulders. \"Someone paid\nthrough the nose for that. Besides, it was fun to watch it take\nshape.\"\"Why\ndon't we show you where you guys are sleeping,\" said Eli, opening\nthe door to the guestroom. \"We actually got a proper bed for the\nplace now.\" \"Oh,\nthis is really nice,\" said Lyra as she placed her own bag inside\nthe door. \"I'm\nsleeping here,\" shouted Elly from a different room. Eli poked his\nhead out the door. Elly was sitting neatly on the edge of the bed\nthat he Soren shared. \"Bullshit,\"\nsaid Eli. He pointed imperiously. \"You're on the couch.\" ''Uh-uh,\"\nsaid Elly, flopping backward and spreading out her arms wide to take\nup as much space as she could. \"This is an awesome bed. You're such\na bad host Eli. Aren't you supposed to cater to your guests?\" \"I'll\nhandle this,\" said Soren, walking briskly to their bedroom. He\nleaned down, speaking quietly to Elly alone. \"You know, do you\nreally want to be sleeping in the same bed that your brother and I\nhave sex in? Elly\nsat bolt upright, her barbed tail poker straight. \"Eeep! When did\nyou last-\" Soren\ngrinned wolfishly \"Last night. Didn't think of that, did you? Now\nwhy don't you take your stuff and I'll get you some blankets and\npillows.\"Elly\nquickly got off the blue bedspread and walked back to the couch\nwithout a word. Soren dug some blankets out of the linen closet. Eli\nwas walking his parents through the house. \"...The stairs lead up\nto the loft. You can snoop around, but I swear to god do NOT lift the\ntarps.\" Lyra\nlaughed. \"And it goes full circle, now doesn't it. I remember\nyelling at you and Elly more often than I should have about looking\nat my works in progress.\" She gave Logan a playful push. \"You\ntoo, for that matter. Well, we're kinda tired. It was a long drive.\"\nEli\nnodded. \"Fine by me. Do you need anything?\" Logan\nshook his head. \"I think we're fine.\" \"Great,\"\nsaid Eli. He hugged his parents. \"Night Mom. Night Dad. Merry\nChristmas.\" Waving goodnight to Elly, Eli shut the door to their\nbedroom. \"Did you tell her we wash the sheets every time like\nnormal people?\" \"Did\nI need to,\" smiled Soren, kissing Eli. \"They\nwere impressed with the place,\" said Eli as he took off his shirt.\n\"they were surprised at how clean it was.\" \"I'll\nbe getting up early tomorrow,\" said Soren as he took off his jeans.\nEli\ngave Soren an appraising look. \"Dammit, how early? It's Christmas!\nAnd what would you be doing anyway?\" \"When\ndo your parents normally get up,\" asked Soren as he ran water to\nbrush his teeth. \"Mom\ngets up around nineish,\" said Eli through his toothbrush. \"Dad\nsleeps in when he deems it 'appropriate.'\" \"Then\nI'll be up around eight, eight thirty,\" said Soren as he rinsed his\nbrush off. \"I want to cook us all breakfast.\" \"I'm\nsure it'll be delicious,\" said Eli. \"Hey, congratulations.\" Soren\nraised an eyebrow. \"Wait, what?\"Eli\nkissed Soren, rubbing a hand across his bare chest. \"You graduated\nto boxer shorts, and Mom, Dad, and Elly are all in the house with\nus.\" Soren\nchuckled. \"It feels different when it's our house.\"Eli\nguided them to bed. \"Or maybe it's because you're getting used to\nthem. Merry Christmas, Soren. I love you.\" \"I\nlove you too, Eli.\" Soren rested his head on Eli's chest. He sighed\nas Eli ran delicate paws through his lengthening blue hair. He\nnormally liked it cropped fairly short, but Eli said he looked cute\nin longer hair, so he was growing it out a bit, just for fun. Snaking\nhis arms behind Eli's slender back, he snuggled himself deeper into\nEli's chest tuft and let contentment overlap him. Eli growled in\npleasure as his hands traced Soren's bare back. Soren sighed as he\nfelt himself drifting. \"I love you so much, Eli.\" \nSoren\nhit his watch alarm on the first ring. Slowly, he extracted himself\nfrom Eli's slender arms and got out of bed. Soren slipped out of the\nblankets. He walked to his dresser and pulled on navy blue pajamas\nand his bathrobe. Eli's groggy voice drifted from the pillows. \"Merry\nChristmas, sweetheart.\" \"Sorry,\nsweetie,\" frowned Soren. \"I didn't want to wake you up.\" \"It's\nall right,\" said Eli, turning onto his side. \"Do you mind if I\ndon't help with breakfast?\" \"It's\nok,\" said Soren, leaning over Eli to tuck more blankets around him.\n\"I'll tell you when your parents are up.\" Eli\ngrowled as Soren pulled blankets up to his chin. \"Thanks, darling.\nI love you.\"Soren\nkissed Eli. \"I love you too, Eli. Merry Christmas.\" Soren gave\nEli's shoulders a light rub before turning to the door. He slipped\ninto the dark kitchen. Soren went snooping around the fridge for\nsomething tasty to inspire him. Hrrmm... what to do with that kringle\ndough? Blackberries? Yes, for sure. But then what? Omletes would\nwork. There was bacon, cheese, ham, cheese, mushrooms, cheese,\navocados, cheese... nice. He preheated the oven in anticipation of\nthe kringle. Soren\nquietly gathered ingredients, placing them on the counter. Soren made\nsure that the sliding door dividing the kitchen and the living room\nwas shut. He didn't want to wake the others. He chopped briskly.\nGetting the omelets ready took many ingredients but little time. He\nthrew them back in the fridge, ready to be cooked when people were\nactually awake. The\nkringle on the other hand, what to do, what to do? He had crafted the\ndough last night, but the filling? The blackberries would work, but\nthe raspberries were getting to that zone where they were close to\ngoing bad. They were squishy, a little tart, but still not rotten.\nThey would make wonderful filling. Soren\nwent decided to fold the dough pretzel shape, mostly because he was a\nshow off and also because he had enough dough. Pasting the berries\ntogether with sugar, vanilla, and a bit of cream, he folded it\nbetween the dough, cutting slits for ventilation and aesthetics. Soren\ndecided to throw the kringle in the oven. It needed to cook for a\nwhile anyway, and people would be up by then. But now for the glaze.\nSoren poked around the kitchen. Where the hell was it? He didn't want\nto use the electric one, that would be too loud. The fact that he was\nunable to find something in his kitchen was bizarre in itself. Out of\nhabit, he checked the dishwasher, and lo and behold, there it was.\nThe dishes were clean too, but he'd have to empty that later. Too\nnoisy. Soren quickly mixed flour and powdered sugar for a glaze,\nchecking the clock as he quietly cranked the eggbeaters. It was a bit\npast eight. Soren\nchecked the oven. The kringle was looking ok. Soren set an alarm on\nhis watch for ten minutes before the kringle was out. Soren took his\nbook off the kitchen table, sticking his nose inside as he wandered\nto the living room and sat down on the couch. A short scream echoed\nthrough the apartment. Soren leaped off the couch apologizing\nprofusely. \"Oh damn. I forgot you were sleeping here.\" Elly\nglared as she reached for her glasses. \"You could have set an alarm\nlike a normal person.\"Soren\nsat down on the other side of the L-shaped couch, \"I'm really\nsorry. That's what I get for zoning out in my book.\"Elly\nrolled her eyes. \"No, it's fine. Merry Christmas.\" She hugged\nSoren, causing his tails to shoot out and bristle. Eli\npoked his head out of their bedroom, bleary eyed. \"Who got\nattacked?\" Elly\nthrew the blankets over the back of the couch. \"Your boyfriend\ndecided to use my legs as a couch cushion.\" Soren\njumped as the guest bedroom door opened. Lyra walked out wearing\ncrimson pajamas that matched her pointed hair and tail tips. Soren\nfelt himself flushing with embarrassment. \"I guess I woke you up\ntoo?\"Lyra\nshook her head, smiling. \"No. I was getting out of the shower when\nI heard you guys.\" \"Is\nDad up,\" asked Eli. Lyra\nnodded. \"He's getting dressed.\" Eli\nshook his head. \"What, is he going to open Christmas presents in a\nsuit?\"\"No,\"\nsaid Logan, emerging from the guest room wearing dark gold pajamas.\n\"But these pajamas are nicer than the ones I slept in.\" Elly\nrolled her eyes, getting up to hug her father. \"Only you would have\nformal pajamas, Dad. Merry Christmas.\"Lyra\nfinished hugging Eli, switching over to hug Elly. \"Merry\nChristmas.\" Soren\nsat, slightly self-consciously, on the couch. \"So, uh, what do you\nguys want to do.\" Lyra\nand Logan turned to face Soren. \"Don't think we forgot about you,\"\nsaid Lyra, smiling. Soren\nblushed furiously as both Lyra and Logan hugged him. \"I-uh...\nThanks. Do you want to start gifts?\" He clicked a button on his\niHome remote, starting his \"mellow tones\" playlist.Elly\nperked a pointed ear as the music began, an exert from the Metroid\nPrime soundtrack. \"What? No Christmas carols? At least today of all\ndays you'd play carols.\" \"No,\"\nsaid Soren firmly. \"I really don't like carols. They bore me\nmusically and they're overplayed.\" Those weren't the real\nreasons. Back at home, carols were played nonstop by his parents\nevery damn minute of the days starting the day after Thanksgiving,\nand to be perfectly honest, home was the last place Soren wanted to\nthink about, today of all days.Elly\nshrugged. She deftly tossed a box to Lyra. \"Suit yourself. Merry\nChristmas, Mom.\" Logan\nsighed, walking to the plastic tree . \"Honestly Elly, where are\nyour manners. You give gifts to the host first.\" He passed a large\nbox to Eli and what looked like a hastily wrapped crate to Soren. The\ncrate was absurdly heavy. \"Thanks for hosting us.\" Eli\nunwrapped the box, pulling our a bright gold jersey. \"A hawkeyes\njersey? What are you playing at Dad?\" \nLogan\nstood up from his place on the couch. \"You spent eighteen years as\na hawkeye. Then you drove off to college. You took all these classes\nand met friends and got filled with dangerous ideas. And then you\ncame home one day and told us that you...\" Logan looked away,\nputting a hand on his forehead. He clicked a filed a nail on his\nhorn. \"You said that you were... a cyclone.\" Lyra gave a\ndramatic gasp from her perch on Soren's aged armchair. Soren\nstarted to withdraw for a moment. Faux-dramatics aside, this\nconversation was eerily similar to a conversation with his own\nparents. Soren tucked his knees under his muzzle, drawing his tails\naround his ankles. He closed his eyes for a second, biting his lips.\nQuietly, he slipped into the kitchen, he boiled water for coffee and\ntea. Soren\nfrowned into the teapot. Dammit, don't think about them! Not today of\nall days. Do you know what? Fuck them. They were probably up hours\nago for some five in the morning service or bullshit like that. Then\nit would be putting on their nicest clothes to go Rebecca's for\nboring-ass dinner. Gifts wouldn't even be opened until around seven\nor eight in the evening. He really didn't want to be home anyway. Not\nwhen Eli was in the other room.Soren\nfound five mugs, digging about for some tea bags as well. They didn't\nhave anything but oolong tea, but they had a wide variety of coffee.\nHazelnuts felt like a good choice. Soren didn't need to wait long for\nthe coffee. He liked this new coffee maker that Eli had bought. It\nwas fast. He barely had time to find cream and sugar for the coffee\nbefore it was done. Hooking\nthe mugs onto a tail, Soren grabbed the tea and coffee pots and\nreturned to the living room. He sat back down next to Eli, placing\nthe tea and coffee on the table. \"I didn't know what people\nwanted,\" said Soren, unhooking the mugs from his tails. \"But all\nwe have is oolong tea. It's strong stuff.\" Eli\nwas now wearing his gold hawkeye jersey and hat, clashing horribly\nwith his emerald green pajamas. He kissed Soren's cheek, wrapping his\narms around Soren's waist.\"You're the best, sweetie,\" said Eli as\nhe picked up a mug of coffee, spooning in copious amounts of sugar.\n\"We were waiting for you. You had a gift in your lap when you\nleft.\" Logan\nleaned forward on Jeanne's great winged armchair. \"I'm sure you'll\nlike it. Go on, open it up.\" Soren\nhooked the sturdy paper with a claw, ripping open the packaging. A\nlarger wooden crate was inside. It was sturdy and smelled slightly of\ndust. Soren gently lifted the lid off the crate, blowing away a cloud\nof dust off the top. The crate was filled to bursting with magazines.\nGingerly, Soren flicked a finger down the covers. He pulled out an\nissue at random. The cover depicted two dragons, one brilliant\nsilver, the other deepest crimson, waging war across a castle tower.\n\"Are these all Dragon?\" \"Yes,\"\nsaid Logan, grinning widely, \"I have every issue. I was a\nsubscriber from day one.\" Soren\ngaped. \"You... well, of course you know Dragon went out of print.\nAnd you're... giving all of these to me?\" \"Absolutely,\"\nsaid Logan, sitting back in the chair. \"That dust isn't there\nbecause I like the smell. I haven't touched them in years. You and\nEli have been actively gaming much more than I have in years. You'd\nput them to much better use than I have lately. \" \"I...\nuh. Oh my god. Thank you. THANK YOU,\" stammered Soren. \"These are\nso hard to find. There's so much history in this box! THANK YOU!\"\nSoren delicately placed the magazine back in its place, standing up\nto offer Logan his hand. Logan\ngave Soren a sharp-toothed grin. Taking Soren's hand, he pulled Soren\ninto a strong armed hug. \"I knew you'd like them. They've got a\nmuch better home here than in my basement.\" Eli\nwas fingering through the magazines. \"Damn, Dad. I had no idea you\nhad all these. How come when I was home you never showed me these?\"\"In\nall honesty, I lost them,\" said Logan. \"It was only recently I\nfound them. it was about a week before we went shopping together.\"\nSoren\nturned to fish through the pile of packages, looking for a small box.\n\"On the topic of games, I have something for you, Logan.\" Soren\nproduced a small package wrapped in gold paper. \"It's not much, but\nit's something I'd think you'd like.\" Logan\ntook the tiny package and carefully unwrapped it. \"Oh, fudge,\"\nsaid Logan. Using a long, filed claw, Logan cut a corner off the\ntwo-fist sized block of fudge. \"Mmm... chocolate peanut butter?\nHow'd you know that was my favorite?\"Soren\nsat back down, letting Eli cuddle up to him. \"It helps that I'm\nliving with your son. But also I saw you order that flavor of ice\ncream when we went shopping. But there's more.\" Logan\ninspected the smallest parcel, only about the size of his finger. He\nunwrapped it deftly. \"A flash drive?\"Soren\nnodded. \"Well, it comes with some stuff on it. Over thanksgiving\nyou said you wanted to game more, but you couldn't find the people to\ndo it with. Have you heard of Roll20?\" Logan\nshook his head. \"No. Never heard about it before.\" Soren\npulled up the homepage on his smartphone. \"It's an online medium\nfor table top games. It has maps, miniatures, number generators,\ncharacter manipulators, all sorts of fun stuff. It even has built in\nchat.\" Logan\nnooded. \"So... what's in the flash drive?\"\"Oh,\nright,\" said Soren, rolling his eyes and flicking his temple.\n\"Telling you what's on the thing is kind of important.\nThere's a notepad with a username and password for a gold account on\nRoll20. I paid for a one year pass on a gold account at Roll20, but I\nput it in your name. I also gave you digitial copies of every RPG\nrulebook I own. I have Scion, Changeling, Vampire the Masquerade,\nAdvanced and third ed Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and I even\nhad a few Nekorb books too.\"Eli\nrepositioned himself in Soren's lap. \"Soren also invited you to\njoin one of our virtual D\u0026D games. It's a game we've kept up with\nour college buddies. My username is WanderingMonster and Soren's is\nBardicBanquet.\"Logan\ngave Soren and Eli a bewildered grin.\"So, you two are inviting your\nold man to play with you ?\"\"Why\nnot,\" asked Eli. \"you got me into gaming. I'm not ashamed of you\nor anything. It'll be fun!\"Logan\nsmile grew wider, showing off all his pointed teeth. \"You're right.\nWhat's my user name, by the way?\"Soren\nflushed a little. \"You can change it if you like... but I couldn't\nresist, well, with you being a lawyer and all.\" Logan\nchuckled. \"What? Tell me, c'mon.\" Soren\nscratched the back of his head. \"I named the account Order's\nWrath.\" Logan\nand Eli roared with laughter. \"That's so, so... cheesy,\" huffed\nEli, punching Soren's arm. Soren\nchuckled half-heartedly. \"It's a terrible joke, but I couldn't\nresist. You can change it in your settings.\"\"No,\nno,\" said Logan, huffing a bit from his laughing fit. \"I like it.\nAnd I look forward to playing with you two. Are your friends ok with\nletting me sit in?\" \"It's\nfine,\" said Eli, waving away Logan's anxieties. \"They're eager to\nsee how a veteran plays new games.\"Logan\ngave the two half a grin. \"Are you calling me old?\" \"No,\"\nsaid Soren. \"You just have a lot of experience points.\" Logan\nchuckled as Soren turned around and dug under the plastic tree again.\n\"And I have something for you too, Lyra.\" Soren straightened up,\nholding another small box, wrapped in the same golden paper. \"Thank\nyou,\" said Lyra, using a finger to undo the tape on the box. A\nfruity scent filled the air as the paper fell the ground. Lyra\ninhaled deeply through her nose. \"Mmm... Raspberries?\" Lyra broke\noff of a piece of the fudge. \"This is delicious. Eli, does Soren\ncook like this all the time?\" \"All\nthe time,\" said Eli, kissing Soren on the cheek. \"He spoils me,\nreally.\" \"Sometimes\nwe get take out like normal people,\" said Soren, adjusting grip on\nEli. \"There's more, Lyra.\"Lyra\nplaced the box of fudge on the coffee table, opening the other box.\nIt was packed full of index cards. Lyra took one out and read the\ncontents. \"Are these all recipes?\" \"Yes,\"\nsaid Soren. \"I copied down as many as I could. I included\neverything from thanksgiving as well as Eli's favorites. Jeanne loved\nsharing recipes. It's a tradition that I thought I'd continue with\nyou.\" \"Wow,\"\nsaid Lyra, flipping through the box. \"There must be hundreds... I'm\nhonored that you'd pass these on to me.\"Soren\nsmiled. \"Jeanne always though that the idea of secret recipes was\nstupid. What good is good food if only one person can make it?\" \"Thank\nyou, Soren,\" said Lyra. She got up and hugged Soren. \"It means a\nlot that you'd share these with me I'd offer to cook something\ntonight if I didn't know you'd out cook me every time. And thanks for\nthe fudge.\" Soren\nscratched the back of his head. \"You're too kind. Your cooking is\njust as good as mine.\"\"Speaking\nof cooking,\" said Logan as he began to rummage under the tree, \"I\nhave something for you. Merry Christmas, dear.\" He handed Lyra a\nsmall, rectangular box. Lyra\nunwrapped the box, revealing a small kitchen knife. It's blade was\nslightly curved and serrated, and was also full of holes. \"I've\nnever seen a knife like this. What's it do?\" Logan\nblushed a little, looking down. \"I uh... don't know. But I had\nnever seen something like it before, and I thought you'd know.\" \"I\nknow,\" said Soren. \"It's technically a cheese knife, but I have\nsomething just like it. The blade is designed to cut through soft\nfoods without squishing it. The holes stop food from sticking to the\nblade. When the kringle gets out of the oven I'll show you how I use\nit if you'll let me.\"Lyra\nflipped the blade over her fingers. \"Sure. I'll take your\nendorsement wholeheartedly.\" \"I\nguess it's my turn,\" said Elly. \"Open em up.\" Logan\nheld up a dark hardcover book. \"Dresden Files. I didn't know this\nwas a book first.\" \"Mmhmm,\"\nsaid Elly. \"I had to snoop around for ages to find a copy that\ndidn't have the TV show as the cover. Dig in. The books cover a lot\nmore stuff than the show. Have fun!\" Lyra\nunwrapped the box, undoing the ribbon with a her thumb. \"Oh wow.\nThese are really pretty. Is that real leather?\" She held up a pair\nof fine gloves, stained wine red and lined with black felt.\"Mmhmm,\"\nsaid Elly. \"You always walk around with that ratty old pair of\ngloves. They're what, ten years old? Go on, try them on.\" Lyra\ntugged on the gloves, wriggling her fingers as she felt the soft\nfabric inside. \"These are wonderful. Thank you.\" She returned\nthe gloves gently to the box. Getting out of her seat again, Lyra dug\naround the tree and produced four parcels of varying size. She passed\nthem out to Logan, Elly, Eli, and Soren, sitting back down and\nsmiling as they opened their gifts with a chorus of rustles. Logan\nheld up a book with a crimson cover. \"The Looking Glass Wars?\" \"Elly\nhelped me with that one,\" said Lyra. \"She told me you'd never\nread the series. It's a more intense interpretation of Alice and\nWonderland. A lot of fantasy action. I'm surprised you'd never\ntouched this series, to be honest.\"\"Wonderful,\"\nsaid Logan without a trace of sarcasm. \"No I have two series to\nsink my teeth into.\" \"I\nread the whole series,\" said Elly, pointing to the Looking Glass\nWars. \"This one is only the first book.\" She looked down at her\nown unwrapped parcel. A paperback book lay in Elly's lap. \"Walk Two\nMoons... I've never heard of this one. What's it about, Mom?\" Lyra\nleaned back in Soren's old chair as she spoke. \"It's about a girl\nwho goes on a road trip to find the place where her mother is buried\nand understand her past. There's this lovely nonlinear thing going\non, so pay attention when you read. I had fun when I read it.\" \"I\nlook forward to cracking this open,\" said Elly. She got up and\nhugged her mother. \"Thanks. I've been looking for a new book for\nages.\" Eli\nbegan unwrapping his own gift, ripping away the green paper. \"Oh\nwow... I can do so much with these. Oh my god... this stuff must have\ncost a fortune. You gave me about forty different colors here. And\nthese brushes... I don't think even the best of my collection is this\nnice. Thank you, Mom. Where did you get these?\" Eli held up one of\nthe bottles of paint to show. \"I\nhave my sources,\" said Lyra with a wry smile. \"The brush was a\ngift from a friend. She made it by hand. She game me one too. This\none brush can play with textures and thickness all on its own. It's\nsuper versatile.\" Eli\njumped off the couch and jogged up to the loft. \"I got something\nfor you, Mom.\" There was a brief pause as the sounds of rummaging\nechoed down the loft stairs. Eli clattered down the stairs, a tarp\ncovered canvas held gingerly in his hands. \"I thought it was about\ntime to do an art swap with you.\" Eli\nrevealed the painting beneath the canvas. The painting showed four\ncanine figures formed of sharp, angular polygons. On the far right\nwas a tall but stocky figure, emphasized by sharp, acute angles with\ndistinct horns and barbed tail. It was colored a bright gold. Moving\nfurther to the left was a shorter, crimson figure, with less sharp\nangles that held a flowing motion to the nine tails that carpeted the\nground. Further left still was a figure shorter than the previous\neven, retaining the sharpness of the profile on the far right. And on\nthe far left, placed off to the side to put focus on the other\nfigures but still be clearly within the family, was a bright green\nprofile. It was tall and lithe, with a figure and tails that shared\nthe motion and femininity of the red figure yet maintained the\nangularity and height of the gold one. Lyra\ngingerly took the canvas in her hands. \"Oh... wow... I love this\nstyle. Have you done work like this before? \n\"No,\"\nsaid Eli. \"This is the first time I was happy with the results.\" Lyra\ngently placed the canvas by her chair so that the everyone else could\nsee it. \"Now you were talking about a swap?\" \"You've\nalready filled your end of the deal,\" said Eli. \"It's called more\nthan twenty years of teaching me art, raising me, and generally\nmaking me the person I am today.\" Lyra\nlaughed. \"Well then, I'll gladly accept your work. I know exactly\nwhere it will go. Thank you.\" Digging beneath the tree again, she\npulled out a large wrapped box. \"This is for Soren.\" Soren\naccepted the large box and sat back down. \"Wow, This is enormous.\"\nSoren unwrapped seven different hardcover books and an enormous\nleather-bound binder. \"Oh... this... these books, but this edition\nis out of print... but of course you know this. You wrote them.\" Lyra\nlaughed. \"That's the advantage of being the author. I kept a few\nsets lying around. I remembered you saying how much you loved Chasing\nthe Sun. The collector's set didn't really catch on, and they stopped\nbeing printed when you were what, eight?\" \"Lyra,\"\nmuttered Soren. \"I... I did have these books, once. But I lost\nthem. They're in a place where I can't get them again. I... Thank\nyou. You have no idea what it means to see these books again.\"\nSlowly, Soren got up and hugged Lyra. After a brief moment he broke\napart, incredibly self consciously. Lyra\nsmiled. \"I'm glad it means a lot to you. Look in the binder.\" Soren\nslowly sat down, taking the thick leather binder in his hands. \"Oh\nmy... is this all concept art? This... This is just like how I\nimagined Soluh. All this is your work? It's amazing!\" Lyra\nlaughed, a short yip of glee. \"Actually some of it's Eli's. Eli got\nswept up in the Crimson Veil as much as you did from what I can tell.\nHis stuff is in the back half.\" There was a rustling as Soren\nflipped to the back. \"How old was Eli when he did these sketches?\"\n\"Stuff\nlike this was all he drew from ages eight to ten,\" said Lyra. \"Moooom,\"\ngroaned Eli, \"Why didn't you tell me you were giving Soren old\nwork? You're embarrassing me. My old stuff is terrible.\" \"No,\nit's not,\" said Lyra. \"Besides, I'm pretty sure that Soren would\nwant to see it. He told me himself Chasing the Sun shaped his\nchildhood. You helped me shape the series yourself. Soren would want\nto see how we collaborated.\"Soren\nwas still flipping through the binder. \"Eli,\nwhen you were eight you drew better stuff than I did when I was\ntwenty. This is all\nreally good stuff. To be honest I like your take on Soluh better.\" Eli\nkissed Soren's cheek as he continued to flip through the binder.\n\"You're a dirty liar. If you're trying to get laid tonight you'll\nhave to do better than that.\" Soren blushed deeply at this, burying\nhis nose deeply in the binder and forcing a laugh. His awkward\nchuckles were drowned out by Elly's cackle of mirth and Lyra and\nLogan's stifled guffaws. \"Wow,\nEli,\" said Lyra through her stifled laughs. \"You're worse than me\nat taking compliments.\" \nEli gave \"Mom, don't do\nthat again without asking me, or I will tell Soren about that\nbook.\" Lyra\nleaned to the edge of the chair. \"You wouldn't!\" Eli\nshowed all his teeth in a devious grin. \"I would. I'll tell him the\npseudonym you wrote it under.\" \"That's\na low blow. I was younger than you when that got published,\" said\nLyra, color rising under her fur. \"Oh,\nnow I'm curious,\" said Soren. \"What's this skeleton in your\ncloset, Lyra?\" Eli\nbegan to speak, but Lyra cut him off, brandishing her new kitchen\nutensil. \"I swear to god if you tell him I will castrate my own\nson with this knife!\" \"Not\non this couch, please,\" said Eli. \"I'd hate to stain it. This is\nfor Elly.\" He threw his sister a red envelope. \"I wasn't too sure\nwhat to get you, but a friend dropped me a hint.\" Elly\nsliced open the envelope with a filed claw. \"Tickets? OH! I didn't\nknow Wicked was back in San Francisco!\" \"Well,\nit's not, yet,\" said Eli. \"A friend tipped me off that it's\nmoving there this spring. So this is a long term gift. If you lose\nthe tickets, call me. They're under my name and I can print them out\nagain. Last year you were moaning that Wicked was in Iowa while you\nwere at school, so I thought I'd treat you. I got you three tickets,\nso bring some friends.\"\"Thanks,\nEli. I've been wanting to see this for ages!\" Elly hugged her\nbrother, her tickets clenched tightly in her hand. \"Tell\nme how it is,\" said Eli. \"I haven't had the chance to see it yet,\nthough honestly it's not high on my list.\" Eli broke apart to dig\nour three long, thin boxes under the tree. He passed them to his\nfather. \"And I didn't forget about you Dad. Logan\nunwrapped the boxes, producing a driver, an iron, and a putter. He\nstood up, feeling the wieght of the golf clubs in his hands. \"Oh\nwow, where did you find these? You're really cruel to give these to\nme now!\" Eli\nlooked perplexed. \"What?\" \"It's\nsnowing out! I'll have to wait at least three months before I can\nreally play with these! Now they'll just have to gather dust in my\noffice, taunting me, until it gets warm! I didn't know you golfed,\nEli. These are wonderful.\" Eli\ngave his Dad a bemused smile. \"I don't golf. Soren gave me help.\"\n\"I\ndon't golf either,\" said Soren. \"I asked my boss about good brands.\nDoes Harold have good taste?\"\"Yes,\"\nsaid Logan, walking over to find a thin, wide box wrapped with a\nsilver ribbon. \"Very good taste indeed. I can't wait to try them myself. This is for Elly.\"Elly\ntook the box, unwrapping the paper and holding up, \"...A dress? You\nbought me a dress, Dad? But it's not pink, ruffled, or ugly...\" she\nheld up the dress. It was strapless and charcoal gray. The fabric was\nslightly reflective, and a single bold, gold stripe followed the\nvertical contours of the dress, placed on the left side of the front\nand waving slightly as it dramatically split the dress into\nasymmetric pieces. \"You had help didn't you. Was it Mom?\" \"No,\"\nsaid Logan, smiling as he shook his head. \"But he is in this room.\"\nElly\nlooked from the dress to Eli, who shook his head without a word when\nthey made eye contact. Elly again looked down at the dress in her\nhands, then slowly up to... \"Soren?\" Oh... you dirty liar. 'try\non the dress,' you said! 'It's for a friend,' you said!\" Soren\nchuckled. \"It was for a friend,\" said Soren as he pulled his\nphone out of his pajama pocket. \"You and Sasha have the same body\ntype, although she is a lot taller than you.\" Flicking through his\ntexts, he found Sasha's text confirming she got the dress. It\ncontained a photo of her in a dress in the same style and cut, but\nalabaster white with a royal blue stripe. \"There. I did actually\nbuy her that dress, but I did also happen to tip off your Dad. You\nlooked good in it, but I thought it would be obvious if bought a\ndress in the color that matched your fur, not to mention a little\nawkward.\" \"Try\nit on,\" said Logan, gesturing to the bathroom door. Elly\nwordlessly got up, the dress draped over her left arm, and slipped\ninto the bathroom. Shortly after, the door opened. The dress was snug\nenough to emphasize her lithe, powerful form honed by hours on the\nuneven bars. It was fairly high cut, but the back was open, ending in\na sharp angled V in the small of her back. The dress ended three\ninches above her knees, tight but still loose enough to allow full\nmovement. The gold stripe followed the curves and contours of her\nbody in a way that it looked completely straight and vertical rather\nthan wavy.\"Wow,\nSoren,\" said Elly, spinning in place a bit so the reflective gray\nfabric could catch the light. \"You have good taste. I bet you\ndisappoint a lot of ladies.\"Soren\nraised an eyebrow. \"What do you mean? Do you not like the dress?\"\"No.\nIt's great,\" said Elly, rotating her torso to feel how the dress\nmoved. \"But seriously, how many girls have hit on you only to learn\nyou were into guys? I wish I had a boyfriend who had as good of\ntaste as you.\"\nEli\ngave a bark of laughter as Soren blushed a small bit. \"You have no\nidea, sis. It happened at least once a week once upon a time.\" Soren\nplucked at his arm, grinning just a bit. \"It's this damn fur.\nApparently girls are into silver. And I got some really disappointed\nfaces when I told them girls I wasn't interested. I'm glad you like\nthe dress, but thank your Dad. I just thought it was a good idea.\"Elly\ngave a quick hug to Soren and a longer one to her father. \"Thanks\nto both of you. I don't think I want to take it off.\" Soren\ndug under the tree to find two boxes as Elly sat down. He passed them\nto Eli, kissing him on the cheek. \"Merry Christmas, Eli.\" \n\"Thanks\nsweetie,\" said Eli, taking the stack of boxes in his hands. He\nunwrapped the first box, opening up the shoebox in his lap. These\nshoes... I thought I lost these last week... But they're different.\"\n\"They're\nfixed,\" said Soren. \"You wore these into the ground, so I thought\nI'd take them to a cobbler and get them refurbished. But there's\nmore. Sorry I didn't tell you about taking them. I wanted to surprise\nyou.\" Eli\nnodded, opening the second, larger box. \"... more shoes? Are\nthese... dancing shoes?\" He held up two pairs of jet black dancing\nshoes, one pair slightly larger than the others. \"Soren\ntook the newly repaired shoe and rolled it in his hands. \"I kinda\nsorta stole these,\" said Soren with a rueful smile. \"I needed\nsomething that fit well so I could get these refitted. These shoes\nbelonged to Jeanne and Gregory, and I needed Jeanne's shoes to be\nwidened a bit.\"\"These\nbelonged to Jeanne... oh my god. Thank you Soren,\" whispered Eli.\nHe hugged his boyfriend, holding him tight in his arms. \"It means\nso much that you'd give something of hers to me.\" \"I\nhad a lot of fun dancing in November,\" said Soren, closing his eyes\nand relishing the embrace. \"I'd love to keep dancing with you. I\nthought I'd put those old shoes to work. They hadn't left their box\nsince Jeanne left them for me.\" Eli\nbroke apart, sitting down next to Soren and resting his head on his\nshoulder. \"I'd love to keep dancing with you, Soren. Especially if\nyou keep teaching me music. I'm so grateful you'd share an heirloom\nlike this with me. I have something for you, too.\" Eli jumped up\nand walked to the tree, procuring a somewhat small box. \"Merry\nChristmas Soren.\" Soren\ncut open the paper with his index finger. \"Oh... are these what\nI... this is an instrument case!\" Soren flicked open the case\nclasps, revealing a silver flute. \"Eli.. is this sterling silver?\nI... How much did this cost?\" Eli\nhugged Soren. \"Not as much as you'd think. But try it out.\"Soren\nautomatically assembled the flute, blowing half a scale. The pitch\nwas immaculate. \"Eli, it's perfect.\" Suddenly, he reached over\nand kissed Eli, a hand on his cheek. Soren He couldn't help himself.\nHe was so overwhelmed by the extravagance of the gift. \"I love you\nsweetie. Thank you so much. I can't believe you'd spend so much on\nme.\"Eli\nsmiled as he held Soren's shoulders. \"You've done so much for me,\nSoren. Living with you has been worth more than a flute.\nEspecially when you just gave me something that belonged to Jeanne. I\ncan't wait to hear you play.\" \"Hey,\nlover boy,\" shouted Elly. \"Catch!\" She deftly threw two boxes\nat Soren, who bungled the catch but didn't drop them. \"Merry\nChristmas, Soren.\" Soren\nunwrapped the larger box first. \"Hrmm... Counting to Four: Basic\nSteps for Wannabe Swingers.\" He opened the book, examining the two\ndisks inside. \"Hrm... it includes instruction videos?\"\"You\ntold me you were learning to dance over Thanksgiving, so I got you\nsomething for the very beginners.\"Soren\ngave Elly a wry smile. \"Beginners? Smart ass.\" Suddenly he\nreached over Eli and picked up the remote to his iHome. He pressed\nthe play button, starting Bella Belle by the Electric Swing\nCircus. The\npiano provided a snappy introduction, long enough for Soren and Eli\nto synch into each others steps through brisk stomps. The opening\nlyrics dampened the music, the two focusing on a two step, snapping\ntheir fingers to the song. As the refrain picked up they switched to\nCharelston, clapping their hands to the beat. Soren grabbed Eli's\nhands, swinging them into a spin that picked up as the song\ncontinued. They cooled down as the second verse began, keeping up\ntheir brisk pace but using less intense dance elements. As they\ntransitioned into the scat solo, Soren backed off to let Eli do a dance solo. They synched up for the final verse, finishing their impromptu\nroutine with a spin, a stomp, and a bow. Eli also made a face at his\nsister. \"Beginner\nmy ass,\" said Soren, sitting back down looking just a little smug.\nElly\napplauded, slowly. \"There's a receipt in the cover. I got you\nsomething else. I'm surprised you never picked up the series, to be\nhonest.\" Soren\nripped open the paper revealing a paperback book. \"Oh, I've heard\ngood things about Discworld. I was meaning to read this for ages. How\nmany books are in the series now?\" Elly\ntapped her muzzle. \"That's a good question. Dig in and find out.\"Soren\nlooked at the swing music book before tossing his gift to Elly. \"Well\nafter that book I don't feel bad getting you this.\" Elly\nraised an eyebrow as she unwrapped the package. \"What's this?\nPersonal Power Applications and Cardiology? And what's this inside?\"\na thin book slipped out from in between the pages of thick science\nbook. \"Sheet music? For the bass? Wait... oh ha ha ha. Who's\ncalling who a smart ass? 'You\nare the heartbeat of the band. If you get off rhythm, the whole\nensemble falls apart.'\"\"There's\nmore,\" said Soren, holding up an envelope and a small green\npackage. He handed them to her. \"This is your real gift, though the\ncardiology book was a good read.\" Elly\nsniffed the small package as she opened it. \"Mint chocolate? Good\nchoice.\" A moment later, her eyes widened as she opened the\nenvelope. \"More tickets? Five of them? To Book of Mormon? Oh thank\nyou! I missed it in both Iowa and California.\" She leapt to her\nfeat and hugged Soren. Soren\nsmiled and blushed a tiny bit. \"I got a ticket for all of us. The\nshow is tomorrow at eight.\" \"Soren,\nyou dirty liar,\" shouted Eli, pointing a finger at him. \"You said\nyou had no interest in seeing that show. You told me to not waste\nyour time.\" Soren\nscratched the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. \"Ehh... I kinda\nwanted it to be a surprise. I wanted it to be a new show for all of\nus. Sorry for the secrecy.\" \"I\nthink it's sweet,\" said Eli, cuddling up to Soren kissing his\ncheek.\"Hey,\nlovebirds,\" shouted Elly from across the house. \"I've got the\nlast gift for Eli.\" She passed him a two boxes. \"Open the big one\nfirst.\" Eli\nobliged, opening the larger box. He held up a bright green button\ndown shit, along with a new pair dressy gray slacks. \"Wow, these\nhave a really nice feel. I love the fabric on the shirt.\"\"Soren\nhelped me out,\" said Elly. \"he knew what you liked better than I\ndid. But open the other gift. Technically, it's for Soren, but I\nthought you should give it to him.\" Eli\nraised an eyebrow as he undid the small box. Suddenly his face fell\ninto a comical \"o\" as the paper fell off a box of condom.\"I\nthought I'd give these to you so you could have some fun when we're\ngone.\" Lyra\nand Logan were stifling snickers, but Eli was speechless. \"Did my\nsister just...\" Soren\npicked up the box, examining the condoms. \"There's one problem\nElly. These are way too small.\" He threw the box back to Elly, who\nmissed the catch as the box landed in her lap. Elly's eyes were wider\nthan saucers, her mouth closed tight. She shook her head slowly, but\nSoren nodded just as slowly, smiling wolfishly. For the first time\nsince Soren met her, Elly was lost for words. Soren couldn't help\nhimself. He started to laugh. It began as a slow, awkward chuckle,\nbut it suddenly began to build momentum, becoming full throated bawdy\nlaughs that were shared by everyone in the room. \"Do people want\nbreakfast now?\" asked Soren, standing up.\"That\nsounds good,\" said Eli, getting up with Soren. \"I'll help you set\nup.\" \"Thanks\nsweetie,\" said Soren. \"Can you get the kringle out of the oven?\"\nSoren retrieved the egg mixture from the fridge, suddenly\ncontemplative. It was weird in a way. Christmas was such a big deal\nin the Saul household. Selecting a \"proper\" gift was tantamount,\nand homemade gifts were frowned upon. And they had exchanged joke\ngifts!\nGiving a joke gift was considered a mortal insult. The idea that he\nwas even giving out joke gifts was almost inconceivable to Soren.\nWhat made the Vatras so relaxed about giving gifts? Or... really what\nhe should be asking himself was why his family was so anal. \nSoren\npassed omelets to all five places at the table. \"Eat up. I hope you\nlike it.\" The\nfirst few minutes were occupied by vigorous eating. Opening gifts had\nmade them inexplicably hungry, though the Vatras had their appetites whetted by fudge. As they moved on to the double berry kringle, Lyra\naddressed Soren. \"So Soren, could your parents not make it? Or did\nyou not feel like you could fit more guests than just us in your\nplace? We're kind of eager to meet your family.\" Soren\ndropped the piece of kringle he was eating back on his plate. Eli\ngripped his hand. \"Lyra... let's just say there's a really good\nreason I'm not welcome in Wisconsin right now.\" There was a long\nand awkward pause and before he could stop himself Soren was talking.\nAlmost automatically he retold the story he told Eli those months\nago, recounting his path to atheism, Jeanne's tutoring and\nprotection, when he told his parents at the end of college. He spoke\nwithout emotion or embellishments, providing an almost detached\ntelling of his turbulent life as a young adult. There was another\nlong, awkward pause as the Vatras took in the story he presented. Suddenly,\nLyra stood up and walked around Jeanne's old oak table. She hugged\nSoren tightly, holding the embrace for the perfect amount of time.\n\"Well, you'll always be welcome with us, Soren.\" She let go of\nSoren and walked back to her seat. To\nhis shame, Soren felt tears leaking past his eyes. \"...Thank you.\nThank you, Lyra.\"There\nwas third, long, awkward silence. \"The kringle's really tasty,\nsweetie,\" said Eli, somewhat cautiously. He kissed Soren's cheek,\naccidentally leaving crumbs. He brushed them off with a short laugh. \"I\nmade this with Jeanne for years. It just tastes like Christmas to me.\nI'm glad you all like it.\" \"I\ndon't think we'll ever get sick of your cooking,\" said Elly. \"You\nreally know how to spice up the holidays.\" There were murmurs of\nagreement amongst the other Vatras. \"Thank\nyou,\" said Soren, a smile returning to his face. \"I'm glad you're\nall here.\" "}