Dear Santa

The bell finally rang announcing the start of the Thanksgiving holiday.  All around him Noel Cloche could hear his fellow students making plans to party that night.  They no longer bothered to ask if he wanted to join them.  He didn't mind one bit, either.

"So what spine tingling adventure do you have planned for your four day weekend?"  Noel turned to face his best friend Sara standing beside him.

Everyone in school thought that they were dating.  One was hardly ever seen without the other, except at parties.  Sara was a regular party animal, but not Noel.  He always had something else planned or something would come up at the last minute.

"You know me," Noel began with a smile.  "I am going to kick back and snuggle up with the cutest chick in town, and later I am going to take her to bed."

"Yeah, and what do you plan to do after you put your baby sister to sleep?" Sara retorted.

"I'll probably be reading or gaming," he replied.  "The parental units have a FUNCTION tonight, so I'll probably spend some extra time with Rachelle, so she doesn't feel so left out."

"You know if you paid half the attention to girls your own age that you do to that little girl, you would have the busiest social calendar of any guy in town."  Sara paused for a moment and then added, "There are plenty of people interested in you, you know."

"But Rachelle had another doctor's appointment today.  She'll be feeling badly anyway," Noel replied seriously.  "Besides, if I'm so popular, where are all my ardent admirers?"

"You can be so obtuse sometimes," the girl fumed and stormed away.

"What was that all about?"  Noel wondered aloud.

"Lover's quarrel, Noel?"  Noel turned to face the speaker, one of his usual tormentors, Harvey Foster.  "That's too bad.  I guess now Sara will be in the market for a real man."

"If you find one, let me know, Harvey" Noel retorted.

"I'm as real as it gets, geek," Harvey announced.  "The question is, are you looking for Sara, or for yourself?"

"You may be real, but you're not a man, so I wouldn't worry about too much if I were you."

Noel turned and walked out of the building amidst the jeers of the crowd who had overheard the exchange, so he didn't hear if Harvey had anything else to say or not.  He wanted to put some space between himself and the school, or more appropriately the people in it.  Harvey wasn't nice, but he wasn't the worst of the bullies at the school.

Noel got home and went straight to his sister's room as usual.  He saw her sitting on the floor playing with her dolls.   Her nanny, Aunt Lovey, was sitting in a rocking chair watching over her.  He was about to speak when the woman beat him to it, and announced his presence to the little girl.

"Baby Rae, look who's here," the woman said softly.  The four and a half year old whirled around, dropping her dolls to the floor as she rushed to her brother's arms.

"Noly's home!" she squealed happily.  "Did you miss me?  I missed you lots and lots.  I colored a picture today.  Did you color a picture at school?  Do you want to play dolls with me?"

"Slow down, princess," Noel laughed as he returned the tight hug.  "They don't let me color at school.  Well, they do in Art class, but I'm not taking that this year.  I would be happy to play dolls with you, but I have to put my books away first."

"You didn't tell me if you missed me," the little girl pouted.

"I didn't?" Noel asked in exaggerated shock.  "How silly of me; of course I missed my princess.  I could hardly do my work at school because I was so busy thinking about what you were doing and wondering if you missed me."  The youngster responded by burrowing into her big brother's embrace until she was practically smothering him.

"She had more shots today," Aunt Lovey answered the boy.  "She didn't cry at all, precious angel."

"My tummy felt really bad after the shots," Rachelle told her brother.  "I got sick for a while, but I made myself stop so I could play with you when you got home."  The little girl tried to hide the yawn that escaped her mouth.  The nanny walked up to them with a warm smile on her face.  She rubbed the little girl's back as she spoke to Noel.

"She did, too," the nanny confirmed.  "That baby thinks you done hung the sun, moon, and stars.  I tried to get her to lie down and rest, but she said she wanted to be awake when you got here," she told the teen.

"Well, she was when I got here, all right," Noel smiled sadly at the sleeping angel in his arms.  "I'll tuck her in, if you want to take a break, Aunt Lovey," he added.

"Thank you, sweetie," the older woman told him.

Noel joined her in the kitchen a few minutes later.  She stood up and held her arms out to him as he came in the room.  She held the boy as he cried for a few minutes, rubbing his back and soothing his pain the best she could.

"It's just not fair, Aunt Lovey," the boy complained finally.  "She's just a baby.  Why does she have to be so sick?  Why couldn't it be her bitch of a mother that's dying?"

"Joey Noel Cloche, you don't talk like that!" Lovey scolded.  "You shouldn't call your step-momma names even if they are true.  Don't you ever let me hear of you wishing bad on somebody again either.  You got a heart of pure gold, sweet boy, and I won't see it spoiled by the sins of your father and that floozy."

"Yes ma'am," the boy apologized.  "But don't call me Joey; you know I don't like to be called that anymore."  He thought for a moment and then admitted, "I guess I really shouldn't complain about her too much.  She did manage to do one good thing.  She had Rachelle."

"I ain't never heard of a brother that loved his little sister more than you," the older woman said proudly.  "You and that little angel in there don't deserve the troubles you got.  Children gots to have love in their lives so they learn how to love other people.  That baby girl is lucky to have you to teach her."

"She's lucky to have you, just like I was," the boy said as he hugged his old nanny again.

"Me, I'm just a lonely old widow woman who was mourning not getting to have babies of my own," she told him.  "I'm the lucky one to find me a lost little angel boy in the park one day and help him back to his momma."

"You were taking care of me even before it was your job," Noel smiled at the old woman.

"It's always our job to help the little ones in the world all we can," she instructed.  "You know that already, though.  Noel, you are your sainted momma made over again.  She was as good as solid gold and so are you."

It was just about that time that Noel's father walked into the room.  He didn't pay any attention at all to Lovey.  That was nothing new, though.  He rarely paid attention to anything at home, except his young wife.  This time he was looking for Noel.

"There you are son," he said with a frown.  "Have you had any luck finding a job for the Christmas holidays, yet?"

"I've had plenty of offers for the son of Harold Cloche," Noel replied coldly.  "I turned them all down, though."

"What in the world did you do that for?" his father snapped.  "I worked very hard at those people to get those offers."

"I want a job based on my skills," Noel retorted.

"I can't believe you turned down every single one of those jobs," his father fumed.  "You ungrateful little brat, I needed those business contacts.  You just cost me a lot of money, Noel."

"You don't even care what some of those people wanted me to do, do you?" Noel demanded.

"They wanted you to work for them," Dad snapped.  "That's all I need to know."  He turned then and left the room.

"Noel, what did you mean about what them men wanted you to do?" Lovey demanded.

"Nothing, Aunt Lovey, don't worry about it.  I just wanted to see if he cared," the boy answered.  "I guess I got my answer.  I'm going to my room now."

"Noel, I…"

"I know, Aunt Lovey," Noel told her as he walked away.

Noel hadn't been in his room twenty minutes when his private phone rang.  He had never wanted his own private phone, but his dad had insisted that he have one.  It was a payoff gift as Noel called them.  Noel got the phone in return for being nice to his stepmother.  This was the very first time it had rung that he could remember.  He gave the regular house number to anyone at school that wanted it.  It never seemed to ring for him either.

"Hello," he answered, expecting to hear the other party announce that they had dialed a wrong number.    

"Noel Cloche, I am calling to inform you that you have an appointment tomorrow at City Mall," the voice at the other end said.

"Who are you?  What are you talking about?"

"Be at Santa's Workshop tomorrow at ten a.m.," the voice answered without answering.

"But the mall is closed tomorrow," Noel pointed out.  "It's Thanksgiving Day."

"You haven't celebrated Thanksgiving since your mother's death two years ago, Noel," the voice told him.  "Your father will not think anything of it if you miss part of the day, and you will still be home in time for lunch with Rachelle."

"OK, then," Noel said and then realized what the person had said.  "Hey, how do you know all of that stuff?"

"I'm sorry, but this is the busiest time of the year for us.  I look forward to seeing you tomorrow," the voice said and hung up.

"That was freaky strange," Noel mused aloud as he stared at the phone in his hand.

The next morning he got up and headed for the mall.  He had to get Jenkins to drive him since the public transit system he normally used was closed for the holiday.  Jenkins wasn't too pleased about having to leave the house, but he was the family chauffeur and couldn't argue too much.  Noel did feel a little guilty for it, though.  He resolved to get the man something really nice for Christmas this year.

He got to the mall, which was indeed closed, but he was met at the entrance by a man in the most unusual jogging suit Noel had ever seen.  The pants were silver and the shirt was green.  The material seemed to shimmer as the man walked.  He was ushered in and escorted to the empty store that was being transformed into Santa's Workshop.  There were several other people working around them, all wearing the same silver and green jogging suits.

"Hi Noel," an older gentleman in a red sweat suit called out.  Like the others, his clothes seemed to have a metallic shine to them.  "Step on over here and let me get a good look at you, my boy." 

"Hello sir," Noel said as he shook the man's hand.  The man stared at Noel strangely for a second before responding.

"Well, aren't you the polite one?" he said finally.  "That's rare to find at your age in this modern era.  I knew you were a special young man when you wrote that…  I mean when I got your application, but I had no idea that…."

"What application?" Noel asked curiously.  "I never filled out an application to work here."

"Excuse me a moment, Noel," the old man interrupted.  He turned to the man in the silver and green outfit.  "Could you ask Nicky to come over here?" 

The man nodded and seemed to disappear.  Noel was stunned.  He suddenly found himself and Nicholas in an office with the door closed.  The strange thing was he didn't remember entering the room.

"I believe you will enjoy this job very much, Noel," the man was saying as the boy refocused his attention.  "I am a little surprised by this turn of events and as you can imagine, that is something that doesn't happen to me very often.  I want you to know however, that I am all right with it."  Just at that moment, the door opened and in walked a boy about the same age as Noel.  The teen was dressed in a red sweat shirt and green sweat pants of the same shiny material as everyone else's. "Noel, this is my grandson Nicky.  Nicky, this is Noel.  You two will make a fine couple… of elves," he added.

"Cool," Nicky said as he looked Noel up and down.  "Hi, please call me Nick," he said, holding his hand out to Noel, although he did take the time to send his grandfather the patented look from a young man to an older relative that said clearly this was not the time for cute pet names.  Noel shook his hand, but just as the old man had done, when they touched, Nick stared at their hands for a second as if he were confused.  He looked at Nicholas and asked, "Grandpa, could I talk to you?"

"Why don't you show Noel around the setup here, let him know what we'll be doing, that sort of thing.  I'll have an answer to that question of yours later," Nicholas replied.

"All right, Grandpa," Nick replied obviously reluctantly.  He suddenly seemed rather uncomfortable around Noel.  "Come on, Noel, let's take the grand tour.  This is obviously the office of course, but we'll spend most of our time out front with the kids."

A few minutes later and Nick seemed to have gotten over his discomfort.  The two teens were laughing about some of the tales Nick had to tell of his previous year helping his grandfather.  He told about the little ones that were so nervous about meeting Santa that when they got to him, they wet themselves; the bullies that didn't believe until Santa called them by name and told them about something they believed no one knew about.  They discussed the merits and demerits of the different versions of the classic Christmas movies.  Before they knew it, they had been talking for over two hours.

"Nicky, I need to talk to you, and Rachelle is waiting to have lunch with Noel," Nick's grandfather said as he walked up to the two of them.  Noel was sure he saw something else flash across the other teen's face this time, and it wasn't discomfort, it looked more like disappointment.

On his way home, Noel couldn't help remembering the letter he had written to Santa a week before.  He had been helping Rachelle write her letter, and she had insisted that he write one too.  Since he knew that no one would really see the letter, he had asked for someone he could love that would love him in return.  If Santa were real, then Nick would make an excellent candidate for that gift.

Yes, Noel knew he was gay.  He was the only person who did, however.  He was certainly not about to tell his father.  They had enough trouble getting along as it was.  This news would send his father through the roof for sure.

Noel rode home in silence thinking about how much fun he would have working with Nick.  The boy was gorgeous for one thing, but they seemed to have so much in common.  They both loved watching old Christmas movies and drinking eggnog.  Nick agreed that the creamy rich drink should be available all year long.  Thinking back to the purely physical aspects, Nick had the hottest butt Noel had ever seen in a pair of sweat pants, and the cutest twinkle in his perfectly blue eyes.

"Boy, I thought you went to a job interview," Lovey said when he arrived home just in time for lunch with his little sister.  "Your face looks like you been out on a date to me.  You grinning ear to ear and you ain't even heard me say nothing, have you?"

"I'm sorry, Lovey," Noel shook himself back to reality.  "I was just thinking how much fun this job is going to be."

"Well, I'm glad you're going to be happy about it," she smiled.  "Now you get on over to that table and sit yourself down with Baby Rae.  I'll bring your plate over."

"We're eating in here?" Noel asked.  "Who's Father got in the dining room?"

"They ain't nobody in there," Lovey answered.  "That woman your daddy married, she woke up this morning pitching herself a hissy fit to go to some island somewhere for the weekend, so they left here over an hour ago.  Left me with a meal big enough for an army, and only the three of us to eat it, they did."

"I have an idea, Lovey.  Would the dinner keep a few more minutes?"

"I suppose so," the woman answered warily.  "What you got going on in that head of yours, boy?"

"I just thought I would invite my new boss and the crew to help us eat all the food you fixed," Noel replied.  "They've been at work at the mall setting up everything for tomorrow's opening all day.  They haven't had time to eat anything."

"Well, Noel, honey, I'm sure they got family," Lovey advised.  She saw the disappointment on her boy's face and added, "It can't hurt to ask, though.  You go ahead and call them.  I got enough here to feed twenty or thirty people at least, and we sure can't eat it all by ourselves."

"Noel, it was very thoughtful of you to invite us to your family celebration," Nicholas said as he walked into the house a few minutes later.  I hope you don't mind that I asked my wife Emily to join us.  I really wanted her to meet you, given the circumstances."  He saw a look of question on the boy's face and quickly added, "You being the new elf this year, she likes to meet all the helpers."

"It's no problem at all, sir," Noel answered.  "I wouldn't exactly call it a celebration, though.  My father and his wife left this morning for a short vacation, so it's just my sister and I and Aunt… I mean our friend, Lovey.  She's our housekeeper and Rachelle's nanny as well, but she's like family to the two of us."

"It's refreshing to hear a young person talk so warmly of an adult in their life," Emily said as she joined her husband and Noel in the foyer of the enormous house.  She was dressed in a very elegant looking deep green sweater and vibrant red pants.  Nick came in just behind his grandmother, followed by several of the people that Noel had seen working at the mall that morning.

Noel found himself staring at Nick several times through the meal.  More than once, someone had to call his name repeatedly to get his attention.  He passed it off as just being distracted by his nerves about the new job.  Everyone told him that it wouldn't be that difficult once he got started.   Soon enough the meal was over and Nicholas and Emily, Nick's grandparents were ready to go.  Nick seemed as reluctant to leave as Noel was for him to go.

"Noly," a little voice called from beside him.  "I'm tired again.  Can you guys take me to bed?"

"It's time for Nick to go, Princess," Noel told his little sister.

"He could stay long enough to tuck me in," Rachelle pleaded.  "Please?"

"We can certainly stay that long," Emily said with a smile.

Rachelle surprised everyone by giving the old woman a hug.  "You smell like cookies," the girl mumbled happily as she yawned.  She then turned and embraced Nicholas.  "You smell like candy canes," she added.  "Goodnight.  Come on Noly, come on Nicknick, time for bed."

"Nicknick?" Nick asked with a hint of both a grin and a blush.

"You don't mind, do you?" Noel asked the teen.  "I can tell her not to call you that."

"I like it," Nick smiled.  The little girl then reached up and took his hand.  The moment they touched, Nick's face grew very serious, almost pained.  In fact, the boy had to wipe a tear away.  "Grandpa?" he asked emotionally of the old man.

"Go ahead and tuck the little angel into bed," Nicholas told his grandson.  "We'll talk later."

"We'll wait for you down here, Nicky," Emily said.

"Nick is growing up, my dear," Nicholas announced.  "He can get back on his own today."

"I can?" Nick asked in shock.

"Yes, my boy, you can," the old man confirmed.  He turned to Lovey and thanked her for a truly wonderful meal and then he, his wife, and the small crew that were with them walked out the front door.

The two teen boys escorted their little charge up to her room and saw that she was properly tucked into her bed along with the several dozen stuffed animals and assorted dolls that she required in order to get to sleep.  They then each gave her a kiss on the forehead, Nick first and then Noel.

As Noel bent to put his lips to his sister's skin, he couldn't help but realize that his lips would be touching the same place that Nick's had just brushed.  He felt his face get hot at the thought.  When he got down near to his sister's face, she whispered something to him that he just barely caught.

"He smells like eggnog, and now you smell like pumpkin pie," the little girl giggled sleepily and then drifted away.

"Well, I guess I'd better be going now," Nick said as they left her room.

"You could come to my room for a bit," Noel said suddenly.  He blushed once more when he realized how forceful that had sounded, and to his mind, how desperate.  "If you want to, that is," he added.

"I would like that," Nick responded.  "I think I would really like to get to know you better."

"So would I," Noel agreed.  "I mean, get to know you better," he corrected.  He led the way to his room and was instantly embarrassed that he wasn't a better housekeeper.  Right in the middle of the floor in plain sight were the boxer briefs he had worn the day before.  "I guess I could have cleaned up a bit before inviting you," Noel blushed hotly.

"Don't worry about it," Nick told him.  "Grandma is always on my case about my room," he added with a laugh.  He walked into the room as Noel started snatching things and throwing them into hampers and the closet.  "Cool game system," Nick announced as he plopped down on the floor and grabbed a controller.  "What games do you have?"

For the next several hours, Noel and Nick sat on the floor and played video games and talked about the random things that popped into their heads.  They had no idea how much time had passed, so when Lovey knocked on the door to ask if Nick wanted to have dinner with them, both boys were shocked to find that they had spent so much time together without even realizing it.  They each blushed and stammered when she spoke to them.

"I would love to stay, but I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa are wondering what happened to me," Nick said nervously.

"Your grandpa done called and said it was up to you if you wanted to stay, that's why I came to ask," Lovey replied.  "You boys get washed up and come on down to the kitchen.  Baby Rae and me are waiting on you."

"I'm sorry I was talking so much," Noel told Nick bashfully.  "I didn't mean for you to get stuck here with me all day."

"I didn't get here until a little after noon, so I haven't been here all day," Nick smiled.  "Besides, I can't think of a better way to spend the day than being with you."

"Really?" Noel asked.  "I liked being close to you too."  He realized how that might sound so he quickly changed the subject.  "The bathroom's right over here.  Let's get cleaned up for dinner."

"I just need to wash my hands," Nick told him.  "You can go ahead."

"We can go together," Noel blurted.  "I mean, that's all I'm doing, too."

"Okay," Nick smiled.  They walked into the bathroom and started washing their hands at the two sinks.  "Why two sinks?" Nick asked as they both reached for the towel at the same time.  Their hands brushed and it was a moment before Noel could answer.

"This used to be my parent's room," Noel explained.  "When my mom died, Dad moved into the guest room and married Rachelle's mom.  She didn't want to use this room."

"Oh, I'm sorry about your mom," Nick told him seriously.  Neither boy seemed to realize that their hands were still touching.  In fact they were still holding hands when they got to the kitchen.

"You're right, Aunt Lovey, they are special friends," Rachelle called out as they walked into the room.  "They're holding hands."  The two boys immediately dropped their hands to their sides and practically jumped apart.  Their faces were flaming red as they sat at the kitchen table across from each other.

Dinner went by quickly and rather quietly compared to the lunch where there had been so much conversation from so many people.  The boys didn't say a lot, nor did they eat but a little.  They seemed to spend a lot time looking at one another, though.  When Lovey stood up and started putting the food away, it was if both boys suddenly realized there was a plate in front of them.  They quickly started shoveling food into their mouths.

"Ain't no sense in acting like you're starving now," Lovey teased them.  "Why don't you two take Baby Rae back up to her room and get her tucked in again.  I'll reheat these plates for you when you come back down."

"I'm not sleepy Aunt Lovey," Rachelle protested followed by an enormous yawn.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Noel asked her, but she shook her head and pointed at Nick.  "Do you…."

"Of course I don't mind," Nick cut him off.  "I would carry this sweet little angel to the end of the earth and beyond if I could.  If it would help her, I would do anything in my power."

"So would I," Noel agreed, surprised at the depth of emotion in Nick's voice.  "Let's go Princess," he told Rachelle, who simply held her hands out to Nick.

As they were climbing the stairs, Rachelle looked her brother in the eye over Nick's shoulder and whispered rather loudly the way four year olds do.  "He's nice, I think we should keep him."

"Me too, Princess," Noel replied under his breath, hoping Nick didn't hear.  They got the little girl to her room and got her tucked snugly into bed with all her requisite toys, and then each boy bent down to kiss her goodnight and get a hug from the sleepy little angel.  Nick's hug lasted a little longer and Noel could tell that his little sister was saying something to the boy as Noel looked for a story to read to her.  The boys watched as her little eyelids drooped and closed as she listened to her big brother's soothing voice.  Once she was asleep, they quietly tiptoed out of the room.

"So you think I'm a keeper too, do you?" Nick asked as they got to the top of the stairs.

"Umm… well, I…. umm" Noel stammered.

"It's okay, I think you're a keeper too," Nick said with a grin.  "You ,your sister, and Mrs. Lovey, too.  Now I'm starved let's go actually eat this time."  Nick grabbed Noel's hand and pulled the speechless boy toward the kitchen. Noel did manage to stop Nick just before they got into the room.

"She told you what I said, didn't she?" he asked nervously.

"Oh no, I heard you on the stairs," Nick answered with a smile.  "You want to know what she was telling me while she was hugging me, don't you?" he teased.  "I'm not telling."

"Oh come on, she's my sister," Noel whined.  He immediately regretted doing it as soon as he realized he had.

"Oh all right," Nick acquiesced.  "She told me that she heard a girl say one time that you have a very cute butt.  She wanted to know if I thought your butt was cute."

"OH MY GOD!" Noel gasped as he blushed all the way down to his feet.  "Please tell me that you're making that up."

"I swear it's word for word," Nick vowed as he held up his right hand.  He then turned to walk into the kitchen.  "Mrs. Lovey, may I please have some more of your wonderful cooking?"

"You sure can, darling," the woman replied with a laugh.  "You gots to do me one thing, though."

"My hands are clean, honest," the boy said as he made a show of inspecting his fingernails.

"I wouldn't count on that, but that ain't what I want you to do," Lovey smiled.  "You gots to start calling me Aunt Lovey.  That Mrs. business is for strangers, and I don't think you gonna be one of them around here very long."

"I sure hope not," Nick was saying as Noel finally walked into the room.  He winked at Noel as he sat down in front of the freshly reheated plate of food.  "This food is just too good to stay away from for long."

"You silver tongued little rascal, you," Lovey giggled.  "Go on and fill that mouth up with some turkey and gravy instead of them fibs you're telling."

"I'm not lying," the boy said seriously.  "Grandma is great at baking cookies and pies, but her regular cooking is nothing close to this good.  Just don't tell her I said that," he added quickly with a little hint of a blush.

"I won't say a word," Lovey assured him.  "I noticed your grandpa took a liking to my turkey as well.  Now I know why."

"Oh yeah, last year's turkey was so dry we had to go to… out to eat."  The blush was more pronounced this time.

"We used to do that until Aunt Lovey came to live with us," Noel said with a smile for his beloved old nanny.

"That's a fact," Lovey laughed.  "Your momma was as sweet as the day was long, but she couldn't cook to save her life, or yours either.  You was just skin and bones when I met you.  Look at you now.  You done filled out nice."

"I'll say he has," Nick mumbled.  Noel whirled around to look at the boy, but Nick was staring at his plate.  "Anybody would with food this good."

"Nick, do you like me?" Noel finally blurted out.  He couldn't stand this tension anymore.

"Well, of course I like you," Nick answered.  "You're a nice guy.  You take such great care of your little sister…."

"No, I mean do you like me like me?" Noel insisted.  "Do you like me the way I like you?"  He couldn't believe he was saying this in front of Aunt Lovey, but he had to know.

"I don't know; how do you like me?" Nick returned.  He suddenly seemed nervous.  His eyes were searching Noel's face closely.

"Would you two kiss and get it over with already," Aunt Lovey snapped impatiently.  "I won't heat them plates up again."

"Aunt Lovey!" Noel gasped.  He could feel himself blushing from head to toe again.

"You didn't eat supper the first time because you was too busy making goo-goo eyes at each other," Aunt Lovey told them.  "Now you sitting here playing cat and mouse trying to see who's going to say it first.  Well, I done said it for you.  You both like each other.  Now kiss or hold hands, whatever it takes to get some of this food in you.  Just don't go having sex right here on the kitchen table in front of me."

"Aunt Lovey!!!" This time both boys cried out and turned red, well redder.

"I give up," the woman responded.  "You two go talk, or better yet just kiss like I told you to, somewhere's private, and I'll clean this here kitchen up and go to bed."  She stood up and turned to the sink and began rinsing dishes and putting them into the dishwasher.

"Maybe I should go," Nick said nervously.

"Yes, you should," Noel answered.  Nick and Lovey both turned to stare at the boy.  "You should go back up to my room where we can talk about this without risk of dying of embarrassment."

"I ain't trying to embarrass you, boy," Lovey contradicted.  "It's just somebody had to say something because you two sure didn't seem like you was going to."

"I'm glad you did," Nick told her.  "You're right.  I wouldn't have said anything.  I was afraid that Noel would get mad at me for being gay."

"I can't get mad at you for being gay," Noel said quietly.  "I am too."

"You two go on up to that room and finish your talking," Lovey told them.  "I'll be in my room later if you want to talk to me, Noel."

The boys did go back up to Noel's room.  They were hardly in the door before they both started apologizing to one another.  When they realized what they were doing, they both started giggling.  Noel finally spoke again.

"I'm sorry about Aunt Lovey," he began.  "She's always been fond of teasing of me, but I've never seen her like this before."

"Like I said in the kitchen," Nick told him.  "If she hadn't said something, I never would have gotten the courage to do it myself."

"Me either," Noel confessed.

"Oh but you already said that I was a keeper," Nick reminded him.  "That's what got me really started thinking about you."

"You didn't start thinking until then?" Noel asked.  "I was thinking about how cute you were all the way home from the mall this morning."

"Oh I was thinking about that all right," Nick giggled and blushed.  "By the way, she was right."

"Who was right?"

"That girl that said you have a cute butt," Nick said, and then ducked his head as he blushed even more.

"It can't be as cute as yours," Noel told him.

"I'm going to be in big trouble tomorrow," Nick said suddenly.

"I thought your grandpa said it was okay if you stayed for supper," Noel reminded him.

"Oh not for that," Nick dismissed.  "I mean our costumes are very short shirts and tights."

"They are?" Noel gulped.  "I thought we would wear jogging suits like you have on now."

"Not in front of the crowds," Nick corrected.  "We have to keep up the traditional image of Santa and his elves."

"I guess that makes sense," Noel mused.

"Yeah, but if I'm standing there looking at you in tights all day, that shirt will not be long enough for me," Nick told him.

"What do you….  Oh!" Noel said and blushed from head to toe for the third time that day.

"You are so freaking gorgeous that everyone will know what I think of you," Nick continued.

"I do that to you?" Noel squeaked.

"You have no idea what you do to me, Christmas Bell," Nick told him.  "You didn't think I would know that's what your name means?" he asked when he saw the surprised look on Noel's face.

"Not many people around here speak that much French," Noel explained.

"Well, pardon the pun, but you definitely ring my bell."

"Oh that was bad," Noel groaned.

"Wow!  Look at the time," Nick suddenly blurted when he saw the clock on Noel's bedside table.  "I've got to get going.  I'm not sure exactly how long it might take me to figure out how to get home."

"I can ask Jenkins to drive you," Noel suggested.

"Thanks, but Grandpa said I could do it on my own now," Nick answered.  "I want to see if he's right.  When I do get home, he and I have to have a long talk."

"Are you going to tell him about us?" Noel asked.

"We are an us?" Nick returned.

"I thought… I mean I hoped….  Well that is, if you want us to be."

"I've never wanted anything more in my whole life," Nick sighed.  "I just have to talk to him.  There's a lot that you don't know about me yet.  I have a few questions about myself right now.  That's why I have to talk to Grandpa."

"Okay," Noel said quietly and nervously.

"It's nothing to worry about," Nick said as he walked up to Noel.  He pulled Noel into a hug and his hands roamed down to Noel's butt.  He squeezed gently with both hands as their lips met.  "Wow, it even feels cute," he whispered.

"So does yours," Noel answered as he returned the gesture.  Their lips met again for a longer exploration this time.

"I really wish I didn't have to go," Nick whined as he reluctantly pulled away.  "I have to talk to Grandpa, though.  He has to know about this."

"You don't think he will get mad, do you?"

"Actually, I have a sneaky suspicion that like Aunt Lovey, he already knew about us," Nick mused.  "That's one of the things I want to ask him about."

"Well, I'll walk you to the door at least," Noel sighed sadly.  He felt so good he didn't want this moment to ever end.  They held hands all the way to the front door.  "Are you sure you don't want me to ask Jenkins?"

"No, let him sleep it off," Nick answered.  "I don't think he should drive after he's had this much to drink."

"Well then I could call a cab," Noel offered.

"I'll be fine," Nick assured him.  "I think Grandpa was right.  I think I can do this on my own now."  He leaned and gave Noel one final kiss for the night. 

It was by far the most passionate they had shared yet.  Noel stood there with his eyes closed sighing contentedly for a moment after it ended.  When he did open his eyes, Nick was gone.  Noel turned to go back inside, but as he did a realization hit him.

"How did he know that Jenkins drank too much today?" he wondered aloud.  Then he looked at the snow covered sidewalk in front of the house.  "How did he leave without making footprints?"