Growing Season (MxM) Complete

Epilogue: 5 Years Later

December 25th

"Daddy, Phillip, wake up!" Franny's insistent voice called through the closed door. "Daisy says we can't open anything until you're awake."

Groaning and rolling over, Phillip gave Gareth's asscheek a quick squeeze while kissing his husband on the cheek, avoiding morning breath. "At least they waited until after 7 am this year," Phillip said, sitting up and stretching, effectively pulling the comforter off Gareth who was still trying to sleep. "Come on, Gare, it's Christmas. You know you aren't getting any more sleep."

"Okay, fine. I'm getting," Gareth groaned, rolling off the other side of the bed, his hair sticking up haphazardly and an imprint of his hand on his cheek. Gareth's back cracked a bit as he reached up and pulled down both a cardigan for himself and sweatshirt for Phillip to put on over the t-shirts and pyjama pants they'd slept in. Both had a late night last night, up until 1 am wrapping gifts for under the tree.

When their door was opened, Franny was pacing back and forth in the hall, her wavy curls contained to a ponytail that Daisy obviously had a hand in. "Took you long enough! Look, we have coffee and everything," she said, dragging the men to the living room where two mugs of steaming coffee were waiting at the table. "All you have to do is sit and watch, I'll hand out the presents!"

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Franny," Gareth snickered as he sat down. Honestly, at eleven years of age, he'd kind of hoped she'd calm down a bit and be interested in sleeping later. Maybe in a few more years.

Daisy gave a big yawn from where she was curled up under a blanket on the settee, sipping on a cafe au lait, the closest thing to coffee her fathers would let her have. "I tried to give the two of you as much time as possible, but once it was past seven, I didn't have a chance of holding her back."

"Thanks, Day, it was nice of you to try. It doesn't matter, we'd have to be up soon anyway. Guests coming over and all," Gareth took a seat on the sofa and Phillip sat right next to him in front of their beverages.

"Presents won't open themselves! Come on!" Gabe called from his spot on the floor in front of the tree. His voice cracked a bit and his face went red in embarrassment. It was a bit of a common occurrence for the twelve year old, but still mortifying. Fortunately both his sisters had already been heavily warned about teasing him.

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An hour later, there was a pile of gift wrap in the recycling bin, neatly stacked new things on the coffee table, some presents for others still under the tree, and five Lewis-Camerons making plans in the kitchen while eating french toast and bacon.

"Okay, so we're going to have a buffet set up in here, with turkey, salads, and sides. Gabe, you and Fran are on baby duty, and Daisy, you're going to make sure the food doesn't burn," Gareth rhymed off, so that Phillip knew what to expect. He was so much more social than he'd been in the past, but he still did a great deal better when there was a schedule and plan. Not that Phillip couldn't deal with change, but it was always easier to keep his stress levels lower, and today was bound to be stressful. "Phillip and I will make sure everyone has drinks and make conversation."

Phillip nodded and tamped down his slight feeling of discomfort. He could do this, he knew all these people and liked most of them. "What's the timeline?"

"The grandparents are arriving first, right around one o'clock to help get ready, then everyone else will be here by two. Food will be out and people can eat as they see fit," Gareth responded. His parents didn't have far to drive, since they'd purchased a senior's condo in town a few years ago and moved to be closer to their grandchildren. "Oh, and they're bringing Marjorie with them."