Midway through the process of cooking, the two young men occupying themselves with making small talk in their kitchen heard a buzzing emitting from the door. It didn't take long for Jonah to push away from the counter that he was leaning on, sauntering out of the kitchen and towards the intercom beside the front door, answering to hear the familiar voice of Simon Price announcing their arrival.
"Sure, come upstairs, I'll leave our door unlocked," Jonah invited, unlocking the door allowing them up, offering his help when he heard Nina's voice somewhat distantly, followed by a very faint scraping.
"What's that noise?" Jonah asked them when the scraping didn't cease.
It was Simon's voice that responded, giving an extremely vague answer. "It's part of Connor's present. You'll see when we get upstairs." With that said, Jonah heard the door downstairs opening through the receiver, the couple's voices drifting into a distant echo. The receiver now back in its place on the wall, the dark-haired male unlocked their door, ready for when his lover's parents got there, and made a quick spin, crossing their living room again and jogging back through the archway into their kitchen. Meanwhile, throughout his conversation with the approaching guests, Connor had been listening whilst also proceeding with some of the last preparations before they left the rest of their food to cook slowly, his ears peeled as he tried to decipher the conversation to make meaning of the half that he heard, hoping to make an educated guess regarding who the first to arrive would be. Nothing that Jonah had said had given any indication to who they were expecting at the time.
"Who was that?" he had to ask when he watched his boyfriend entering the kitchen once again, hearing his heavy steps on the tiles that were laid out across the floor, glancing over his shoulder to give him a quick glance.
Jonah leant against the counter beside Connor, watching what he was doing, still amazed at how he could do so many things when it came to food. "Your parents," he answered as he assumed his place beside him, "they're coming upstairs now. Apparently part of your gift makes some really weird scratchy noises."
This earned him a strange look, Connor's brow furrowing in confusion, still having little to no comprehension as to what this 'part of his gift' could turn out to be. And for just a moment he pondered, before shaking his head, Jonah noticing that some of his locks had escaped the grip of the clip that Connor had put in earlier that morning.
Nothing else was said regarding the possibilities and outcomes of their parents coming to their apartment, but they'd have to wait and see- which is exactly what they did.
Jonah had perched himself on the edge on an unoccupied countertop, making the occasional remark regarding either the temperature or what he expected from the day ahead, and after talking for a few minutes, they heard the opening of their unlocked front door, the couple entering followed by a chilling gust as the outside air that had invaded the hallway found its way past their figures and into the apartment. Both young men left their places, heading straight into the living room where they were given a warm and familiar greeting.
"Hey, guys!" Simon exclaimed, clearly excited to see the two of them again. Immediately the father took Connor into his arms, his coat cold from the weather outside, sending a shiver down the curly-haired male's spine. They exchanged gentle hugs, Nina and Simon ensuring that they were both to greet Jonah as well as their son, treating him as though he were already family to them.
It was after their greetings and the plethora of quickly-exchanged words, Nina crossed the room, approaching the decorated tree and lacing down a few gift bags, followed by a small box that produced some gentle scratching noises.
"Yes, alright," she sighed, addressing the contents of the box. When Connor took a closer look, he identified a pet carrier, a small shadow moving inside it.
"Here's part of your gift, sweetie," the mother smiled, opening the carrier, out bounding a tiny, black and white cat, older but no less energetic, immediately leaping right towards Connor.
"Hey, buddy!" Connor called out to him, crouching to catch his cat in his arms, lifting him up like a baby as he used to. "Hey, Denny! I've missed you, oh my god!"
The cat wriggled in his arms, his loud purring sending slight vibrations through Connor's palms as he tickled under his chin with his fingertips, Dennis's paws outstretching to tap his chin, his pads as soft as Connor remembered from all the times his feline companion had done this previously
Nina outstretched her hand, giving the small pet a gentle stroke over his ears, smiling to herself at the reunion between animal and carer. "He didn't like being in the car," she informed him, "I think once every two minutes he let out a weird, little noise."
"Oh, but it's worth it to see me, isn't it, bud?" Connor laughed, bouncing Dennis I his arms, as always, treating him like a human baby.
Meanwhile, as this reunion took place, behind them, occupying a different space in the living room, the English teacher turned to his ex-student, placing a caring and familiar hand on his shoulder, getting his attention. With a half-tur, evolving into a pirouette, Jonah faced Simon with a friendly smile.
"How've your studies been?" he questioned in a tone very reminiscent of the seriousness he would covey when teaching one of his classes, making a deliberate pint to do so as he addressed the boy he'd met years ago through the very same profession.
"I knew that was going to be your first question, teach," Jonah pointed fun at him; a likely and expected occurrence for this particular exchange. "It seems fine at the moment, I've caught up and gotten ahead, I'm just trying to stay there."
It was as Jonah spoke, these words heard by everybody in the room, that he suddenly felt a tense gaze almost burning into the back of his head, As he had expected, whirling around to face the others in the room, he saw that the serious, red hot gaze was from his boyfriend, undoubtedly recalling moments he'd had to push Jonah away from work so as to not overdo it and risk his own health. At the very least, over the majority of their Christmas break, he had re-established a regular and healthy sleeping pattern, even including a basic plan of most of his mornings under certain circumstances. He'd be in bed at the same time every night and if he were to wake up before Connor, he wouldn't go straight to their office, but would wait for his lover to wake up whilst reading either his notes or a certain section of a textbook. This system seemed to be working well and benefitting them both, but when the dark-haired male saw the look that he was receiving, he felt the need to nod and reassure him that, even though he wanted to stay ahead, he wouldn't return to bad habits.
Jonah turned back to Simon and continued, "It took a while to get it all organised though. I was entirely sleep-deprived at one point."
Connor looked away upon hearing what he said, having seen his nod and the gentle smile that had helped to convey his silent words to him, crouching down to the floor, bending his knees and watching happily as Dennis bounded from his arms and began strutting around the living room, disappearing behind sofas and their television, batting at the baubles hanging from the lower 'branches' of their Christmas tree, getting used to the new living room before he began hopping around with his regular energy. He'd missed this furry bundle of joy immensely, but had reasoned that he'd be better living in the house he was practically raised in. Unlike Connor, Dennis wasn't ready to leave the nest yet. He worried that they didn't have enough space and that moving would make him sad or frightened, so he settled on their eventual decision to leave Dennis with his parents and to let them bring him over for visits every once in a while. Due to the stress of moving, working and education, this had been the first time they had brought over the tiny animal, and Connor wouldn't have chosen a better day to see his tiny friend again.
Between Simon and Nina's arrival and the time anybody else got to the boy's shared apartment, there was a waiting time of thirty minutes, in which Nina offered help in the kitchen, Dennis following Connor as he continued to arrange the table and meal, rubbing against his ankles and letting out a gentle purring. Jonah and Simon were very content sitting together in the living room, both with a diet cola in hand, as they joked in a way that teacher and student wouldn't be expected to; far more so than they had expected to as well. Had Jonah had the opportunity to inform the younger him of up to two years prior that the teacher that would escort him to class would eventually become a man he could easily confide in like an old friend, then he'd be entirely clueless as to how his younger self would react. Remembering how dull he had found Simon on the first day they had met, compared to the one he could joke with now.
"And on his last day last month, Mr Hatton got tipsy in the workroom, staggered down the hall, and then nearly fell down the stairs." Simon sniggered towards the end of the story, recalling the event that had brought a lot of joy to many staff members at Oaken Ridge English department.
Jonah let out a chuckle at the image his retelling created. "Seriously? He's retiring! Mr Hatton is bordering on crazy old man anyway and he got drunk in the teacher's workroom?"
"Which is probably why the entire department are both relieved and devastated that he's going. No need to worry about his antics anymore, but we won't have his endless weirdness around every day."
It was right as Jonah opened his mouth to agree to the previous statement that he heard the intercom buzzing again, taking a second to register the sound before acting upon it. He placed his glass down on the coffee table with a gentle thud, excusing himself with the words 'hang on', before he stood up, approached the door and answered the affixed phone on the wall.
"Hi!" he was met by the excited and very familiar voice of his mother, answering immediately after she heard the ringing sound stop as an indication that her son had answered.
Her enthusiasm brought aa smile to Jonah's face immediately, laughing down into the phone. "Hey, mum!"
It was then that he heard a few more familiar voices addressing him. He recognised the low grumble that he usually heard from his uncle Richard, muttering something about the weather outside, soon followed by the sweeter and much more pleasant voice of his aunt Lindsey, speaking much louder to talk to the boy in the apartment.
"Jonah, sweetheart, we're all here!" Her announcement was full to the brim with eagerness, resembling her step-sister's tone perfectly.
"Come on up, the door's unlocked for you," he invited them, letting his family in and waiting for them to arrive upstairs.
Upon turning around, Jonah was met with the sight of Connor leaning against the archway that lead into their kitchen, his eyes on him as he'd been listening to what he had said, making the correct assumption that this meant Jonah's family were on their way upstairs.
"That was my mum. Everyone in my family is downstairs now," the taller of the two tenants confirmed to his lover, who responded with only a smile; a sweet and exited smile. Connor was honestly enthusiastic about the thought of hosting Jonah's family, having met Hazel and Dominik many times by now, but not quite having the chance to meet the rest of his family, excluding his grandparents- Dom's parents, at least. That was a thought that made him slightly nervous, but if it turned out that they were also on their way upstairs, he would welcome them and prove them dead wrong when it comes to any miscommunications or incorrect assumptions that they may have about his and their grandson's relationship. Either way, he planned to make everybody happy and satisfied with their day.
It was a much shorter interval of time before the door was opened up again, Hazel and Dominik leading the rest o the family inside. With them was of course Richard and Lindsey as Jonah had heart through the intercom, his grandparents on his mother's side, along with his grandmother Agnes, waltzing through the door arm-in-arm with his grandfather Lewis, who was already peering around the place with a look of distain.
The dark-haired young man would have gladly announced that he was happy until he saw them had it not been for the way his mother glanced back at the elderly couple in question having seen his reaction.
"They're still family, Jonah," she spoke to him in a hushed voice, trying to keep Lewis from hearing what she said.
Jonah didn't seem to care much for keeping their conversation private, his voice much louder than the woman who had tried to keep it secret.
"No, it's fine that he's here," he spoke, looking directly at Lewis, who immediately looked back at the young man speaking, "I'm happy to see everyone as long as nothing is said like last time. Okay?"
This put an end to the air of awkwardness, Lindsey stepping towards the boy with a huge beam spanning her entire face, having always been a very sweet and friendly woman, welcomed into the family immediately, she was always one of the first to offer Jonah a strong bear-hug; a tradition that didn't cease this year.
"Hey, Lindsey," he greeted, choked out of breath by her grip that managed to surprise him every year, "How've you been?"
The moment Lindsey stepped away from Jonah, she spoke in her loud tone once again. "Oh! So excited to see you! That's how I've been! And, of course I've been excited to meet your fella'."
"There are other, better and much less embarrassing ways of phrasing that," Jonah mumbled as he turned slightly to the side, seeing that Connor was already, once again, emerging from the kitchen, followed by Nina, who joined her husband on the sofa, watching as the dark-haired male wrapped his arm around Connor's shoulders and brought him into his family's view.
"This is Connor," Jonah announced to everybody that hadn't yet met him, a smile of pride on his face; pride that found its way into his tone of voice. Obviously he was glad to finally be introducing his significant other to the rest of his extended family, regardless of the looks that grandfather Lewis was giving the two of them. As the boy had expected, Lindsey and Richard seemed very eager to meet their nephew's boyfriend, Lindsey commenting on Connor's appearance, referring to him as a very handsome young man. Hazel gave him a hug, Dominik shook his hand, both mentioning how they found it somewhat strange to come home and not find both boys on the sofa or in Jonah's room together. Hazel's parents, Mack and Ellie, seemed a little less enthusiastic, but acknowledged this, saying that it'd been a long trip and they'd feel much better after they had sat down for a little while, at which point, Connor showed them to the armchairs to sit them down.
"Jonah has himself a very kind young man," Mack spoke in a gravelly voice, produced right from the back of his throat
Seeing as he had shown them to these seats, he had the chance to introduce them to his parents as they sat on the couch, inviting everybody else to come over and find themselves a comfortable seat, from the chairs at the table to the spare seats on the sofa.
Jonah was feeling quite confident having seen this by the time Lewis and Agnes made their way over to speak to Connor, seeing that they approached him with something that seemed to resemble caution. Agnes was the first to speak, simply introducing herself, stating that she found him to be 'nice', but said no more.
Lewis was a man of very good posture for a man of his age, his back as still and straight as a board, his build appearing quite frail, but he still stood tall. He had a long and thin nose, slightly crooked at the bridge, curving roughly into untidy brows that sat low on his eyes, his appearance immediately striking Connor as similar to that of an eagle, but that was a thought he daren't express to anybody. Lewis's eyes lowered to Connor's feet before returning to his face, his emotionless face followed by this strange and uncomfortable motion unsettling the curly-haired boy, but he took a breath and thought that if he was to make a good impression, he could aid in changing the tension in Jonah and Lewis's relationship.
"Good afternoon. Thank you for coming even though it was so far," he smiled and held out his hand, offering him a handshake, "I'm Connor. It's nice to finally meet you."
The entirety of Jonah's family were silent, just watching this happening, Simon and Nina watching in confusion as to why everybody else was so tense, the only sound coming from Dennis batting at one of the low-hanging baubles.
Lewis held his own hand out, not taking Connor's for a few seconds. His grip was light at first, Connor following his lead and giving a very gentle hand shake. It was when Lewis began to use a little more force that the old man let a gradual and almost unnoticeable smile appear on his face.
"You're polite," he observed, watching as the smile that had almost faltered reappearing on Connor's lips, nodding slowly, anticipating some form of foul comment to escape the man's dried lips at some point, "and very skinny."
He wasn't sure if this was meant as an offensive comment or not, but either way, that was where Lewis decided he'd had enough of this 'conversation', letting go of Connor's hand and turning to begin making his way to the sofa. Upon seeing that nothing too out-of-line had been said, noise returned to the living room, Jonah taking large and fast strides towards his lover and pulling him into the kitchen.
"Was that uncomfortable for you?" the dark-haired male asked immediately.
Connor shook his head, his much less forced sile appearing, accompanied by a soft laugh. "Not entirely. I don't know if he meant to be rude with the last bit, but whatever he meant, it wasn't that bad."
"God, I expected so much worse."
The taller male turned with a sigh, leaning against the counter as the relief truly sunk in, a wave sweeping over him. His back hunched over, his head down over the counter and his breathing coming out heavy through his nose, the more tanned of the two welcomed the embrace he felt from his side, Connor having wrapped his arms around his neck.
"Then let's prove that we're better," he chirped, just before the intercom went off one more time. "That's probably the rest of my family."
The afternoon was relaxed, though one unsettling factor was that nobody heard a word from Lewis, even when the remainder of Connor's family attempted to introduce themselves. The man seldom spoke for the entire afternoon; that was until the large roast meal was served, everyone sitting around a table that they hadn't expected to be able to accommodate so many people all at once, but everybody managed to sit comfortably and cosy around it. Dennis was letting out gentle purring sounds as he lay beneath the table, rubbing his head against Connor's ankles, lying beside the boy he seemed to have missed immensely.
It surprised everybody when it was Dominik that brought up the topic of Connor and Jonah's relationship.
"Nice to see that my son's inherited his mother's charm in place of my own," he stated when their guests were talking about how the two resembled the rest of their families, "he's not too friendly with the outside world, but I dread to think about if he wasn't the happy, young man that he is now."
Simon, from opposite Dom on the table looked between the boy and his father, coming to a conclusion. "You two do resemble one another, honestly," he pointed out.
"In looks, maybe," the other father nodded in agreement, "we have similar features, but if Jonah was to be as socially inept as I am, he wouldn't have been nearly as happy, you see. I found out about Connor later than most other people, we're all aware of this, but it answered a very prominent question; what changed to make him so happy and motivated recently? I noticed immediately."
This time, it was Connor's voice that spoke up during Dominik's short speech, "You really think so? Jonah always seemed really happy and perky to me."
"That's because you made him that way. Believe me, I know I can't have seemed like the best or most supporting father, I know how reserved I can seem, but I want to make it clear to the both of you now, I'm very sure that this relationship has done Jonah some extreme good- I've really noticed a change. I've glad that you two have come this far."
By now, everybody around him was shocked to silence. Dominik's family knew of his condition and how it usually affected how he expressed things- he rarely could. When he did, he risked his moods being explosive after so much pressure has been kept on them by a fragile mental state for too long that they now combust all at once. Hearing such words from his mouth with such sincerity in his eyes, even Hazel lay a hand over his in shocked pride, glad that her husband is so open on this day in particular.
It was hitting Jonah pretty hard too. Sometimes while he was growing up, he found that he felt as though he didn't even have a das, Dominik being so distant, choosing to remain at home whenever he and his mother spent the day together out of the house, he h didn't see him much during his childhood. In his teen years, it was obvious that he was making more of an effort to be around, despite how he still struggled to convey how he felt to his son, and so Jonah had never heard such words coming from his father before.
"Dad," he began, hearing his voice breaking, his gaze lowering to the table and seeing that the chicken slices on his plate were morphing and blurring into a mess with his vegetables, the faces of those he could still see become oddly-shaped blobs along with it. The sting in his eyes and the way of which his vision was faltering were clear indicators that he'd gotten too overjoyed and emotional at those words, the tickle that then arose on his cheeks confirming to him that he'd begun to cry, shedding tears of gratitude as a response to hearing this for the first time.
Beside him, Connor reached up to his cheek, wiping them away carefully with his thumb. A few touched 'awe's came from those sitting around the table, Dominik reaching over, past Hazel who now had her palm on Jonah's back, placing his coarse hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks, dad," Jonah finally choked out, taking a sip of the cola in front of him to help him calm down, eventually after spilling a few tears being able to regain his composure a lot.
Dominik was sure to add something else to further pull at both boys' hearts. "I'd be very happy and proud if one day I were to be welcoming Connor into our family."
Simon put down the glass he was drinking from, a light cough coming from the back of his throat, hitting his chest to help his drink go down.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," he smiled, seeing the delighted look on Nina's face, followed by the way she lightly shook their son's shoulders, hearing her speaking to him in a high and very enthusiastic tone.
"Yes, have you two spoken about that at all yet?"
Throughout this entire conversation, Jonah's grandfather Lewis was simply watching everybody that spoke, his face void of expression as he simply observed.
"Not explicitly, but, uh," Jonah held out his hand to show them all the promise ring on his finger, Connor following his lead. After confirming to everyone that they were 'promised' and not yet engaged, they finally heard the gruff and relatively unwelcomed voice of the old man sitting in silence up until then.
"Still dreaming?" he sighed, going back to eating as he did so, clearly not impressed by the scene.
Immediately Dominik made an attempt to silence his father, showing him a displeased expression, seriousness in his eyes as he spoke, simply saying "not now."
"If not now, then when?" Lewis retorted, "When will we help the confused boy?"
Instead of getting angry this time around, Jonah just scoffed, getting the attention of the elderly man quite suddenly, seeing his confused gaze locked on the two at the head of the table. "I'm not even upset, Lewis," he began, looking his grandfather dead in the face, "because clearly I'm not confused, okay? I've spent the last two years of my life being confused about many things; what the main functions of the entorhinal cortex are, how to figure out the area of a compound shape involving pi, and how to construct an analytical paragraph about why things went to shit in literature to name a few. Nowhere on that list has been this relationship. The one thing that has been consistent and clear to me, with everything else that I've had to worry about, is that I love Connor. Don't try and argue with me on this." Although his words almost sounded harsh, Jonah's tone was as soft as it was when he spoke casually, calmly, and even sweetly.
Connor was staring up at his face, his ow an image of pride at hearing him say such things about him, feeling as though today especially he'd been placed upon a high pedestal, getting kid words from both Dominik and Jonah, now hearing his lover defending their relationship.
"I said this before, young man; you'll learn."
Nobody remembered what Lewis had just told him, as immediately following, as if his body was having a horrific reaction to the venom spat from the elder man, Connor leaned forward, pushing his chair backwards as he slammed a hand down onto the table, the other covering his mouth to stop the saliva he was sputtering from spreading. Connor's entire family, Jonah, Hazel, and Dominik all stopped, their focus on the one who had now hunched over, pushing his seat out further so that he was now coughing into his lap beneath the table. Even Dennis jumped up from below the chair, hopping lifting his front paws off the ground, placing them on the edge of his owner's seat and letting out a loud mewing.
"Connor, sit up," Jonah tried to encourage, a hand on Connor's shoulder, the other on his chest, "let's go to the bathroom."
He heard his lover's choking die down, Connor still feeling the searing pain in the back of his throat, his heart pounding and a weird tightness in his chest, however, he still sat up and managed a deep breath, turning to Jonah with a tired-looking smile. "I'm okay, I don't need to," he reassured him in a calm but hoarse voice, "I think it was just a random one."
Nobody seemed to like the idea of just letting it go, but when the boy took a drink and began to act just as he would had it never happened, it was hard to dwell as his usual smile returned. Jonah paid close attention to the napkin Connor used to wipe the spit from his hand, seeing no traces of blood an feeling his own racing heart calming as a result of not having it ripped to shreds by the harsh reality hitting them again.
The meal continued, and although his coughing had put everybody that knew of Connor's condition slightly on edge, they were able to finish their food, exchange gifts that they hadn't done already, and eventually, by the time it had gotten dark, everybody had left the apartment quite satisfied with how they had spent their Christmas. Lewis said nothing else on the matter of his disagreements with Jonah's relationship, and Connor spoke to Simon for a little bit before he left to make sure he knew all of the details about when his first treatment session, finding out exactly what was going to happen in three days' time.
Finally, Connor and Jonah were alone again.
"Success?" Jonah asked with a smile as he migrated to the sofa, slouching into the cushions with a feeling of satisfaction after the day he'd had.
Connor sat himself down gently beside him, curling up as small as he could, pulling his knees right up to his chest and leaning to the side, against Jonah's shoulder. "Definitely."
"Crap tv before bed?" the darker-haired male suggested, wrapping an arm around Connor's shoulders.
"Or before something else." Connor's tone harboured a seductive purr as he spoke, smirking along with it, "I have another 'present' for you."
"Let's skip tv." Jonah chuckled, sitting up from the sofa immediately, taking hold of his lover's hand and guiding him to their bedroom.