hello
I incorporated Extra Fluff™ because I have to do a science project and it's fucking killing me
anyways. this is during the holiday season bc it's coming and I'm hella excited
Michael's POV
I walked next to Jeremy, holding his hand in the winter cold. He squeezed my hand, excited and nervous, bouncing up and down.
"Hey, Jer, are you okay?"
"Yeah, just excited."
He smiled at me, his cheeks dusted a rosy pink from the biting winds. We entered the orphanage and headed to the front desk.
I kind lady in a bright Christmas sweater smiled at us.
"Are you guys some of the volunteers for the Christmas party?"
We nodded and she looked back at her laptop.
"What are your names?"
"I'm Michael, and this is my boyfriend Jeremy."
She scrolled through her files once more.
"Jeremy Heere and Michael Mell?"
"Yup, that's us."
"Okay. Just head down the hallway and enter the room farthest to the left."
We nodded and Jeremy led me down the hall. It was his idea to volunteer, and I knew that this was something close to his heart, since his mom left him at a young age. At least he still had his dad, who cared for him, but he knew there were children out there who didn't have anyone. Jeremy had always been a considerate person, giving spare change to homeless people on the streets, always doing what he could.
We opened the door, and multiple heads turned towards us.
A little boy, around the age of three waddled up to up and wrapped his arms around Jeremy's legs.
"Awe you hewe fow the Chwistmas pawty?"
Jeremy knelt down to the boys level.
"Yes. What's your name?"
"Phiwip. What's youw name?"
"My name's Jeremy."
"And who's he?"
"He's Michael."
Phillip turned to me and smiled. I ruffled his hair, and we entered the room.
A short lady with a tight bun at the back of her head noticed us.
"Hi! Thank you for volunteering. It's so nice seeing young people being active in their community. Anyways, there are many areas for the kids to hang out in. Over there we have the food, make sure the kids only have one cookie, we also have the games over there, and the presents, which no one can open until the end."
Phillip tugged on Jeremy's shirt.
"Wiw you come with me to the cookie decowating pwace?"
"Sure."
They walked off and I was left alone. I headed over to the ball pit, unsure of what to do.
I saw a little girl crying alone. I immediately rushed to her side.
"Hey, sweetheart, what's wrong?"
I wiped away a tear with my thumb.
She pointed at a girl her age.
"V-Violet pushed m-me and d-didn't say s-sorry."
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
The little girl nodded and took my hand as we approached Violet.
"Hey. Did you push her?"
"Yes, I did push Diana."
"Why?"
"She stole my toy."
I sighed. I guess it was nothing too big, just a typical little kid fight.
"Violet, apologize to Diana. Pushing is a very mean thing to do."
Violet frowned and looked at Diana, who still had a few tears streaming down her face. She pulled the other girl into a hug and patted her head.
"I'm sorry Diana. Please don't cry. It makes me sad."
"O-Okay, Violet."
How cute. Such a pure friendship.
"Now, do you guys want to play a game?"
"Yeah!"
Diana pulled Violet to a table that had board games.
"Wanna play Connect-Four?"
"Sure!"
I smiled and looked in a different direction. I saw Jeremy kneeling by Phillip and another little girl named Theodosia, who I had talked to earlier. Jeremy was laughing as the two morphed their Play-Doh into different animals. Jeremy was too beautiful for this world.
Suddenly, I felt a little finger jab into my cheek.
I turned to see Diana staring at me curiously.
"Why are you staring at Jeremy?"
Violet smirked at me, a glint of mischief in her eye.
"Do you have a crush on him?"
I laughed. I guess I did.
"Yes."
They both giggled and ran over to Jeremy, yelling, "Michael likes Jeremy! Michael likes Jeremy!"
Jeremy blushed and raised his eyebrows at me.
I jogged after them.
"Hey, Jer. I guess my secret's out now."
He laughed.
"Well, I like you too, so it's okay."
Diana bounced up and down.
"Did you hear that Michael?"
Veronica stepped up beside her.
"He likes you."
I snaked my arm around Jeremy's waist and nodded.
"Well, I'm glad he does, because we're dating."
"Oh. That makes sense why you came here together."
They ran off to another place, presumably to eat cookies.
I noticed Phillip and Theodosia were gone.
"Hey, where did the other two go?"
Jeremy scanned the room.
"Look, they're with Violet and Diana."
I nodded and stood up.
"We should probably start helping out at other stations."
I walked off with Jeremy, but he suddenly stopped.
Jeremy's POV
I glanced over to the side, and saw a little boy crying in the corner. I carefully approached him.
"What's wrong?"
He continued to sob.
"I don't like Christmas."
"Why, sweetie?"
"B-b-because it was when daddy left."
I hugged him, gently patting his back.
"I'm so sorry."
"Mommy died the next Christmas. I was left here because there was no one else for me to stay with."
I hugged him even tighter.
"You are not alone. I lost my mom, too. She went away, like your dad. I haven't heard from her for many years. I was lucky enough to have my dad. Soon, you'll have a family. I know you will. You will be found."
He smiled.
"Thanks, mister. What's your name?"
"I'm Jeremy."
"I'm Evan."
I smiled, my eyes still clouded up a bit from hearing Evan's story.
"It's almost gift opening time, so let's go to the tree."
His eyes lit up when I mentioned trees.
"Yay!"
He skipped over to the others, and I noticed Michael standing nearby me.
"Michael, there you are!"
"I didn't want to bother you, it looked like you were having a serious talk."
I sniffed.
"Yeah. Let's go."
Michael's POV
*quite a few unwrapped gifts later*
I walked out to the parking lot with Jeremy.
Everything was peaceful and quiet until I heard a soft sob coming from Jeremy.
I turned to see him crying.
"Jeremy? Are you okay?"
He looked me dead in the eye, still crying.
"M-M-Michael, promise me that one day we'll adopt kids like Evan. When we have a family, we'll give them a safe home."
I clasped his hands between mine, my forehead pressing against his.
"We will. We will make sure they grow up in a safe, loving environment."
"Promise me that we'll come back to help more of these kids."
"Of course. We'll be there for them. We'll volunteer as often as we can."
Jeremy wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my hoodie.
"I love you Michael."
"I love you too, Jer. I know you'll be a great dad some day."
"You too. We'll be the best parents ever."
"I'll take care of dad jokes, despite your great 'I'm Jeremy' response to Christine."
"I'll take care of making super extra lunches with sweet notes."
We both giggled and headed towards my PT Cruiser, thinking of how we would parent our future child.
We promised we would do it well.