The party had ended on Christmas Eve and as expected, it was a pretty big success. Despayre worked hard and fast, helping Teresa do a quick clean up so he could rush to bed. After all, the sooner he got to bed, the sooner he'd fall asleep and the sooner he'd wake up, the sooner he'd get to all the loot!
Of course, nothing had been placed under the tree save for the gifts from each other and the SCW staff. Despayre knew the real loot would be there in the morning, courtesy of the old fat elf, himself. Once certain that the little guy had fallen sound asleep, Synn employed Gabriel and Shane to aid him in moving all of the hidden gifts from the basement, the one place Despayre refused to set foot in -- which also made it the perfect hiding spot.
Now the base of the Christmas tree was piled with wrapped packages of all shapes and sizes. No, Synn most certainly did not celebrate the spirit of the holiday, but that alone did not stop him from using it as a further excuse to heap gifts upon those closest to him, especially Despayre himself.
Gabriel also noted carrying in an armload that a few even had Angel's name on them, from Santa. He looked at Synn with a quirked brow and Synn shrugged.
"What?" Synn said. "Would you want to be around him if the bear didn't get anything?"
Gabriel paused, then shook his head. No, definitely not.
That mission accomplished, Synn invited (aka insisted) that all those still present, Gabriel, Shane, Fantasia and Rage, remain for the night so they would be there for the morning after. More so done for Despayre's benefit as he'd be heart broken if they didn't spend Christmas together, Teresa included.
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Morning came, as did their morning wake up call in the form of Despayre's hollering woop of glee as he charged downstairs and caught sight of the mountain of wrapped bounty beneath the towering green fir.
"HE CAME! HE CAME! C'MON EVERYBODY! IT'S CHRISTMAS MORNING! C'MON!"
Despayre continued to shout and beckon until one by one, the still sleepy members of their little group made their way downstairs, still in their sleeping gear. (In Shane and Fantasia's case, their hastily found garments as nobody expected those two wore anything once in a bed together.)
Teresa was the first to answer the call and she headed into the kitchen to start the coffee and put the cinnamon rolls into the oven. By now Despayre was a jumping bundle of nerves, hovering around her much to the older woman's amusement. As "lady of the house" she gave him a most vexing rule; no presents until they ate something. (Seriously, what kid wanted to hear that?) So the group found themselves congregated into the large kitchen and everyone sat around the table, making small talk while the anxious young man bounced around the table in anticipation.
Finally, coffee drank, and the last remnants of the icing laden rolls devoured, Synn turned to Despayre and gave him a slight nod and ZOOM! He didn't need being told twice and he rushed at top speed for the front room, and thus for the presents.
Teresa stood up and started to clean up when Gabriel took her by the arm and shook his head in the negative.
"Uh uh." He said in a definitive tone. "We take care of that later. You're coming too."
Amused and touched, Teresa allowed Gabriel to escort her to the front room where Despayre had already reduced the wrapping of his first of many packages to shreds while Fantasia took it upon herself to pass the rest around to those the labels assigned them to.
*********************
The morning passed with idle chatter and music playing over the entertainment center's surround sound. The remnants of all the wrapping paper had been bundled up and thrown and all that remained were the hastily opened boxes and the gifts themselves. Everyone was seated around the front room, examining the gifts, drinking coffee, eating more donuts and rolls, and just generally experiencing a very pleasant morning.
Teresa had family over in Europe, and Synn had even offered to have her flown home as he did every year. However this year she declined and opted to stay so she could take care of this off beat group she now found herself in the midst of. She agreed for Synn to fly her out for the start of the New Year instead.
"Hey Despy, look what I just found." Fantasia said as she walked from around the Christmas tree's furthest side, holding a brightly wrapped package in her hands. The box was of a modest size but the eyes were drawn to the shiny red and gold wrapping paper with the green ribbon draped snugly around all corners.
"Ooo!" Despayre cooed at the sight, his eyes lighting up. "Who's that one for?"
Fantasia shifted the box and offered it over to him, saying, "It has your name on it sweety."
"Who's it from?" Gabriel asked as he took a seat on a chair beside Despayre who was planted on the floor.
"Didn't say." Synn answered in Fantasia's place. "Christian Underwood gave it to me backstage and said it was delivered to his office through my name."
Despayre started tearing the paper off like Taz through a tree and Gabriel sat back with a coffee in hand, saying, "Must be a fan."
"Must be." Shane agreed as Despayre pulled out a beautiful white sweater with the image of a teddy bear stitched perfectly onto the chest.
"Wow!" Despayre exclaimed.
"Nice." Gabriel mused. "Is there a card?"
Despayre looked back into the box and said, "There is!" and he dug it out and quickly opened it. He pulled out the card itself from the envelope and started to look it over while the conversation started again.
"Joshua?" Teresa said, drawing the others' attentions. "Are you alright?"
They turned their attentions from her to Despayre who was just staring at the inside of the card. He seemed -- frozen. Most people when they sit still still move to some degree. Despayre was absolutely still.
"Despy?" Gabriel inquired, leaning down. "What is it?"
Despayre gave off a slight whimper, almost a whine, as Gabriel took the card in his fingers and slid it from his grasp. He looked at the inside, and he immediately looked up to Synn.
"Merry Christmas baby." Gabriel repeated from the writing. "Love ... Mom."
All eyes shifted immediately to Despayre who had closed his eyes and pulled Angel, and the sweater, close to his chest.
Synn shook his head and murmured beneath his breath, "Son of a bitch...."