Polaroids {Philkas|Jamler Oneshots || Slow Updates}

• Homesick || Philkas • {Christmas Special|Part I}

{a/n: yes, I know - I'm late and I'm sorry but I couldn't get it done earlier. Still, I hope you had wonderful holidays to spend with your family and friends - stay awesome, stay savage, just as you are. since this is part I, there's gonna be a (New Year's) part II by next week (hope so), if you're up for it. and lastly: THANK YOU SO MUCH for 3.5+K reads and all the votes and comments, that's just amazing! consider this as my (very) late Christmas present for you; I really hope you'll like it, enjoy! ~Luca | word count: 4421 words}

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» at Christmas, something in you gets lonely for – I don't know what exactly, but it's something you don't mind so much not having at other times. «
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Despite the bright sun teasingly peeping through his window blinds that eventually woke him up tickling his nose and causing him to sneeze quietly in the process, something didn't feel right about waking up on this morning; and Philip didn't knew why or much less what it was, rolling onto his back with a small grunt, shielding his eyes from the seemingly blinding sun until they'd have adjusted to the lightness.

Because for once, he actually felt something that was close to almost overall content – he had a home, he had foster parents who took really good care of him although they kind of had a bumpy start, his mum was in rehab and doing really good as well judging by the occasional visits he got that allowed him to see her; it was Christmas Eve morning, he got to sleep in (which, having a sheriff as a foster mum, wasn't a norm, even on weekends); listening to his calm breathing he could smell the faint scent of freshly made pancakes coming from the kitchen downstairs when breathing in, which waved all the way upstairs to and into his room through his all but closed door and made his mouth water for they were his favourite breakfast – or lunch?

Philip curtly furrowed at the thought not knowing what time it was, so he sluggishly propped up on his elbows to check the time on the clock standing on the nightstand next to him – 10:23 a.m. – before slumping back down on his bed. Nope, that definitely was breakfast time. Anyways, what could it possibly be more his heart was longing for it didn't have yet? He even had boyfriend he loved and whom he perfectly knew loved him just as much if that could've been possible, even though he was too scared to stand up to it for the time being, but that was completely fine, really. In fact, nobody knew better than Philip what it was like to be afraid of coming out, which was exactly why he wouldn't dare to push him to it. So what else could it be? Philip sighed devotedly turning onto his side.

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As soon as he went downstairs after another seven minutes cuddled up in his warm and cosy bed, he was welcomed by the peaceful sight of Helen standing by the stove, flipping another pancake upside down while she was hugged from behind by Gabe who had his head placed over her right shoulder observing the process and most likely mumbling sweet things into his wife's ear since she couldn't stop smiling. And it made him smile. Gabe must've sensed his presence, since he abruptly stopped in his doing, turning away from his surprised wife and facing him standing as he still stood by the door, not wanting to disrupt the atmosphere.

"Philip!" he called joyfully as he approached and pulled him into a hug, followed by Helen whose hug was a bit more hesitant than her husband's, so he pulled her in for reassurance, enjoying the proximity they shared. Aside from Gabe with whom Philip had been rather close with right from the start, he still was cautious with Helen since he got to know what she had experienced before, so hugging each other already was a huge progress for both of them considering that they had been restrained towards each other, which made him appreciate the gesture even more. Not mentioning the fact that she, like Gabe, had started to call him her son – which didn't happen too often and still felt sort of awkward but slowly, they were getting there.