Page 75 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

As Bobby pulled back, he said, “I want a picture of you three.”

“Over my dead body.”

Bobby laughed again and turned up the driveway. He only had a half hour to get ready for his shift. The bastard.

“Trick-treat, Tommy!” Max said, waving his antennae at him.

For a kid who’d never had a real Halloween, Max was pretty geared up. “Yeah, yeah. Trick-or-treat, kiddo.” Tommy unlatched the break and started to move the stroller down the street. “The things I do for you people.”

His wings flapped with every step.

Everything He Needs

Author’s note: This was written as a holiday gift to readers. The first part was originally posted on my blog. Christmas Day was posted on Facebook.

Timing: The O’Shea family’s first Christmas at Judy’s.

Content Warnings: Overly sentimental and heavy on the sap because that’s just how I roll during the holidays.

“Tom,” Bobby wasn’t annoyed, exactly, but Tommy could tell he was getting tired of the debate. Tommy was too, for that matter, but no matter what he said, Bobby wouldn’t back down. “It’s been almost a year, and you still act like everything good in your life is temporary. I’m trying like hell to be patient, but you’ve gotta give me a break here.”

Tommy let out an exasperated huff. The store was crowded, his coat was hot, and the scarf around his neck seemed to be getting tighter. “Fine,” he muttered. He tossed the phone cases for Colleen and Mike into his cart and watched them slide down to the bottom through a pile of toys and other shit no one needed.

Bobby snorted a laugh. “I’m not asking you to give up a kidney.” As they moved on from the electronics department, Bobby laughed again. “Actually, I think it’d be easier to talk you into donating an organ to one of the kids.”

He shot Bobby a narrow glance. “Yeah, well, their lives don’t depend on getting new phone cases or dollhouses and whatever the hell else you’ve snuck into your cart.” Not that the dollhouse for Zoe was a secret from Tommy, but he wagered Bobby would’ve done it on the sly if he thought he could get away with it.

“The dollhouse is from Santa. It doesn’t count.”

Tommy rolled his eyes. “And the matching trikes I keep tripping over in the bedroom?”

“Those too.” Bobby had become very interested in a display of glass ornaments, but it seemed more likely he was avoiding Tommy. After a beat, Bobby said, “They’re too hard to wrap. It makes more sense for them to be left out on Christmas Eve.”

At least the bastard had the decency to sound a little guilty about it.

“Right.” There was no point in arguing. It was their first Christmas as a family. Judy had used the excuse early on, and it had stuck. This one had to be special. This one had to be one the kids would always remember. By next year, Colleen might be in her own apartment, and Mike wasn’t far behind her.

Their lives had turned around on a dime, and maybe Bobby was right. Maybe it was time for Tommy to start accepting it.

He didn’t laugh when Bobby tucked an art set for Carrie into his cart, but he didn’t resist either. He did put his foot down when Bobby tried to make him pick out an “our first Christmas” ornament. Bobby had been leaning toward one in the shape of a little house with snow on the roof, edged in tiny little Christmas lights. It had the year written in gold over the door.

“We could probably find one online with two guys under the mistletoe or something…” Bobby was seriously debating this. “But I think this one is better, ya know? What with the kids and all…” When Tommy arched a brow, Bobby said, “What? Too sentimental for you?” His voice carried a tease, but there was a hint of embarrassment tangled up in it too.

“I was thinking cheesy, but we can go with sentimental.”

Bobby put the ornament back on the fake tree and laughed. “Fine, asshole. No cheese for Christmas. This year.”

“I just don’t know why you wanna waste money on something like that.”

Pushing his cart ahead a few more feet, Bobby turned to look at Tommy. “It’s not a waste. It’s a… a reminder, years later.”

Tommy nearly changed his mind, but when he looked at the two shopping carts, both overflowing, he decided they’d done enough damage for a lifetime, let alone one holiday. And that stupid little ornament was over twenty bucks, for fuck’s sake.

“If I can’t remember you in a few years without an overpriced light-up ornament, we’ve got bigger problems.”

With another laugh, Bobby said, “You’re such a romantic.”

“Never been accused of that one.”

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