Page 4 of A Beginner's Guide to Christmas Miracles
Plus, they were in the middle of the street. But the human was just so enchanting.
The man laughed merrily then, backing up and patting Nach’s chest with a warm smile. “I’m Beckett, Beck for short, and you’ll do,” he said, starting to walk again and pulling Nach along with him.
Nach was powerless to resist, so he let himself be dragged along, despite his confusion in the sudden change in the human’s demeanor.
“You know, the last time we had a guest at the center one of the kids flirted with them, and they ended up being really nasty about it. I mean, they’reteenagers—some of them would flirt with a lamppost, for goodness sake. Anyway, when I noticed you staring at my nail polish, I figured it was better to check and see if you were lgbtq+ friendly before you got a chance to be offended by some harmless teen. Plus, I gotta say, you totally have the sexy Santa vibe, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you get teens on both sides of the aisle flirting with you, never mind the moms and dads of the little ones. But don’t you worry, I’ll protect your virtue.” Beck turned around and winked at that, pulling Nach to a stop in front of a building that positively radiated the holiday spirit.
Huge candy canes lined the entrance, and someone had hung fresh pine garland everywhere. White twinkling lights brightened the entire facade, and holiday art decorated the large glass window fronts—he saw images from Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and Yule.
Nach let out a breath. “It’s lovely,” he murmured. He sensed such joy inside. This was a place of such goodness, and Nach couldn't wait to get inside.
“Yes, we really did a good job this year,” Beck replied, and Nach looked over to see the human admiring the building as well.
“You did this?” Nach wondered, amazed all over again by the joy and love this human radiated. He reallywasan elf, spreading Christmas spirit everywhere. “It’s simply amazing.”
“I certainly didn’t do it alone. We all worked on it together. The kids and adult volunteers all had such fun decorating. Everyone added a little something that was meaningful to them,” Beck replied.
Nach stared at him, and he was sure there was adoration in his gaze, because when Beck looked over, he blushed brightly before he grabbed Nach and pulled him through the doors.
It was chaos inside. Three or four more adults were dressed as elves, and they, along with a dozen other adults, bustled around as they were making final touches on what looked like a winter wonderland. A whole Christmas scene, complete with a huge bench coated in red velvet and a night sky background, ran along the far wall. Decorations, fake snow, tinsel, garland, and twinkling lights covered the entire room.
It was beautiful.
A photographer was setting up a camera, and someone was using rope to create a makeshift line organizer.
“So I’m sure you know the drill,” Beck commented, pulling Nach along past the chaos and toward a hallway that looked like it was filled with offices. “Kids and sometimes whole families will take pictures with you, and we’ll try to keep things moving. I just want to thank you again for volunteering to help—I’m sure you could’ve made a ton of cash today at a mall, especially since you look so authentic,” Beck finished, stopping at one of the doors at the end of the hall.
Ah, now Nach was getting the idea. It appeared that whoever was supposed to play Santa for this group hadn’t shown up. Well, he couldn’t let all these people down, could he? And it certainly wouldn’t do any harm to bring people a bit of joy. No miracles were even necessary. Nach reassured himself that surely this fell under his job description—he would just be spreading a bit of joy, that was all.
“It’s my pleasure. Christmas is my favorite time of year,” Nach stated.
Beck opened the door, which held a desk and chair, but also a rack with some hanging Santa suits. “We’ve had quite a few donations over the years, so I’m sure one will fit.” Beck started out the door, but before he shut it, he turned around and said, “And I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but you really do have one of the sexiest voices I’ve ever heard.” Then the beautiful elf winked and was gone, the door shut firmly behind him.
If he had stayed a moment longer, Nach would’ve been happy to tell him that it didn’t make him uncomfortable in the least, and that Beck was probably the cutest elf he’d ever met. Nach found himself uncomfortably turned on by the entire exchange. He had no problem with a bit of carnal fun, but he was here for a job, after all.
Nach pushed thoughts of the sexy elf out of his head and wandered over to the rack, but none of the suits looked really inspiring. They weren’t quite the right color, or the fur was faded, or the material looked cheap.
Nach twitched his nose (a habit he’d had for years when he used his angelic powers, and yes, he knew it had somehow made it into the folklore), and he was miraculously dressed in a burgundy suit. Well, maybe notmiraculously, because he wasn’t going to do any miracles. Really, he was just dressing himself. That couldn’t count as a miracle, could it?
The suit was a cross between the current Santa suit that had become fashionable and the beautiful cloak he’d worn so very long ago when this all had started.
He thought it quite lovely.
He was admiring it in the mirror when he heard a gasp behind him.
“Holy shit! That outfit is amazing! And the color! It’s going to pop in the pictures, and so much better than just bright red. Where did you find that? I didn’t know the center had something like that! My god, the families are gonna go positively nuts over you!” Beck gushed, rushing over. He reached out and was caressing the fur along Nach’s chest, and Nach felt his face get warm. He might’ve leaned into the caress just a bit, as well.
Beck looked up, and Nach looked into those evergreen eyes again, getting lost in their depths. This human really did embody the Christmas spirit—Nach could see family and love and joy and carefree laughter. He leaned in just a bit further, and he probably would have kissed Beck if someone hadn’t chosen that moment to rush into the room.
“They’re lining up! Let’s go, Beck!” some tall guy cried.
Beck turned and shot him a dirty look. “Worst timingever, Alan,” Beck grumped, but he grabbed Nach’s hand and pulled him toward the door.
“Hey! I’m Alan. You are?” the man asked as he ushered them both out and toward the winter scene.
“Nach,” he replied, and he wasn’t surprised when Alan snorted.
“Of course you’re Nick,” he laughed, winking.
