A Christmas Coincidence - 8. Chapter 8

As the sun began rising over the rooftops to paint the Christmas Eve morning sky with brilliantly cheery hues of pink, orange, and blue, Brett's eyes blinked a couple times, then opened. The yawning redhead slowly sat up, slung his legs over the edge of the mattress, slid his bare feet into his memory foam slippers, stood up, stretched, and shuffled into the bathroom. He walked back into the room and softly chuckled at the cuteness of his boyfriend, curled in the fetal position, cuddling the pillow his head just vacated, with only his lower half under the covers. He pulled on a plush forest green bathrobe over his silver and blue snowflake-covered boxer briefs with Frosty The Snowman and Happy Birthday printed on the front and a second Frosty with Merry Christmas written on the rear. Then he walked down to the kitchen, started brewing a pot of coffee, and returned to the bedroom, where he shed his clothing and jumped into the shower.

The scent of coffee wafted into the slightly opened bedroom door, bringing Julie and Trevor out of their undisturbed slumber. The first thing the couple saw were each other's eyes, shining with love for one another.

"Morning, my beautiful Goddess."

Julie chuckled and responded, "Some Goddess, I look more like Medusa with my hair all over the place. Although, I appreciate the compliment, my love."

Trevor licked his lips as he leaned over and kissed his soon-to-be bride. Playfulness filled his thoughts as he remembered the comment about his brother finding a private ticklish area on Vincent. Then, without Julie noticing, he lightly stroked and tickled the spot he'd found by accident six months prior. Just like he expected, the raven-haired woman's shrieks and squeals floated into the room as she struggled but couldn't get unpinned from the mattress.

"You're sooo getting tickled into oblivion, Morgan," Julie cried out.

After tickling another minute, the redhead grinned, released his mate, jumped off the bed, and ran for the bathroom with Julie hot on his ticklish heels.

Wearing a mint green long-sleeved shirt, red sweatpants decorated with green and silver snowmen and snowflakes, and thin red and white striped ankle socks with candy canes on the soles, Ben opened his bedroom door, hoping to find at least one of the adults still in bed, in great need of a ticklish wake-up call. After looking from left to right to ensure no ambush awaited him, the smiling teenager stepped into the hallway, quietly creeping along the wall, heading for his dad's room. He noticed the door was ajar, peeked inside, saw the empty bed, and thought, Well, maybe one or both of my uncles are still in bed.

Vincent was still asleep, looking so innocent and peaceful. He'd kicked the covers off himself, so the black boxer briefs with "Packages Delivered In The Rear" written in neon green block lettering on the ass were on display. His body lay face down on the mattress, still holding the pillow Brett slept on, with his left leg bent, his right leg extended, and its attached foot's sole upturned.

Ben slowly opened the door. His eyes widened and sparkled with youthful mischief the second he saw his vulnerable-looking uncle just waiting to be awakened with some tickles. Getting closer to the bed, he heard the shower and knew his other uncle wouldn't jump out and come to his boyfriend's aid. The teenager remained as silent as a lioness stalking her prey. He jumped on the bed, pulled the bent leg so that it was also extended, flopped down on the ankles, and pinned them to the mattress. In a sing-song voice, he said, "Time to get up, Uncle Vince," while lightly tickling the wrinkled soles.

The brunette's eyes popped open. He squirmed and squealed as his boyish giggling filled the room. Ten toes scrunched, and his legs pulled uselessly against his nephew's grip.

While drying off and getting dressed, Brett could hear his boyfriend's melodic giggles and laughs, and he chuckled. He opened the door, then walked into the bedroom, dressed in a sapphire blue long-sleeved polo shirt with a picture of Rudolph and Santa on the front, a pair of black jeans that accentuated his plump ass cheeks, and white with gray toe and heel patch ankle socks on his feet.

"Oh, so sorry, Uncle, you're just a bit too slow," Ben teased.

The giggling boy dodged the attempt at nabbing him. He jumped on his uncle's back, shoving his hands between the pits and chest, and tickled the center of the dampened hollows. Vincent's upper body bucked and wriggled as his legs kicked against the bed. Since he wasn't fully awake yet and didn't expect the attack, he couldn't stop the shrill, boisterous, screeching laughter.

"Good morning, boys."

"Good morning, Uncle Brett."

"Brett, aren't ya gonna help?"

The redhead giggled and asked, "Ben, ya want any help?"

"Nah, I'm good. We'll be down in a few minutes," Ben said.

"When I'm fully awake, the two of you better run and hide," Vincent said while giggling. "Love you, Babe."

The teen jumped off the bed, wrapped his arms around his red-haired uncle, then went back to playing with his dark-haired uncle.

"Love you guys, too."

Brett left the room, and before reaching the stairs, he ran into his brother with Julie's squirming body over his shoulder. He shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Ben's just as playful as you are, little brother. He's in the room, tickling Vincent awake."

"Is my brother still too asleep to block his ticklishness?"

Brett chuckled and answered, "Yep, when I came out of the bathroom, Vinnie's armpits were being tickled, and he was helpless with laughter."

Trevor and Julie laughed, and Julie squealed when her jeans-clad butt was smacked.

"Keep it up, Morgan," she threatened while giggling. "Brett, tell your brother to be nicer to me and to put me down because I can walk on my own two legs to the kitchen."

"Sure, sis. After I do this..." Brett smiled as he wrapped his arm around his future sister-in-law's ankles and lightly tickled her sock-clad soles and toes. "Coochie Coochie," he teased.

"Oh, you freakin' shit," Julie said just before giggling and squealing as she tried getting her feet from the tickling fingers.

"Jules, such language is unbecoming of a mother, especially when her impressionable teenage son is in earshot," Vincent said, chuckling. "Glad to see everyone's up and that someone else besides me is being tickled." The brunette entered the hallway dressed in a gray knit long-sleeved shirt, blue sweats, and light green socks decorated with wrapped presents on his feet.

"Mom, Dad, Uncle Brett, I need a new toy," Ben said. "My Tickle Me Uncle Vince doll is broken. He's not ticklish anymore."

"That's cause you weren't tickling his feet when he broke," Julie said. She started kicking her legs when her brother got closer. "Vin, I'm warning you, don't you..." Her words were cut off by the boisterous laughter and squeals echoing off the walls the second Vincent began tickling her feet.

"I'd help you, Mom, but I'm kinda stuck," Ben said, giggling. He rocked back and forth on his uncle's shoulder.

"Love you, Jules."

Julie giggled and said, "Love you, too, Vin. That's okay, Ben. I know you'd help me if you could. You and I are sooo getting your dad and uncles back when they least expect it."

After breakfast, Julie and Vincent went upstairs to shower and get dressed for the day. Ben went to his room to call Scarlett while the Morgan brothers sat together on the love seat, watching the fire blaze in the fireplace. Trevor sighed and snuggled against Brett, who chuckled as he put his arms around him.

"What's on your mind, baby brother?"

Trevor looked up and grinned.

"What makes you sure there's something I'm thinking about?"

Brett smirked as he tickled his brother's armpit. Trevor squeaked and wiggled in the loving embrace as he buried his face in the warm chest, muffling his boyish giggling.

"'Cause, bro, I've known you for twenty-seven years. You can't hide things from me, at least, not very often."

"That's true," Trevor said. He giggled and kissed his brother's cheek. "You never let me get away with anything, always protected me, and for the most part, you kept me out of the trouble I was about to get into."

Brett returned the kiss and smiled as he said, "I'm your big bro. It was my job to protect and love you, and I wanted to since I also kinda' liked you a lot." He squirmed and giggled when Trevor's fingers tickled his ribs.

"I saw Lorraine and Phillip Jr. last week."

Brett's eyebrows arched as he gazed down into his brother's quivering, sparkly light blue eyes. "When and where did you see them? They didn't try to hurt you or Ben, did they?"

Trevor shivered when he felt the temperature on the love seat drop a couple degrees because of his brother's darkening emotions.

"Calm down, my protective Grizzly bear of a brother. Nothing happened, and Ben wasn't with me when I saw them."

Brett took a deep breath and calmed himself. He couldn't help it. Anytime he ever thought his brother might be or might have been hurt physically, mentally, or emotionally, he only knew one response, and that was to cause pain first and ask questions later. His mind wandered into the past, to the last time he lived in their parent's house. He was sixteen, just after Christmas, and Lorraine and Phillip Morgan Jr. told him to leave their house, so he called Trudy and Phillip Morgan Sr. to come and get him. While gathering his things, he heard screams and the sound of dishes crashing and ran downstairs to see what the commotion was. Brett remembered seeing his brother getting his ass kicked by their father. He also never forgot how the overwhelming desire to protect his kid brother at all costs gave him the fire and determination to physically attack the older man and save Trevor from further harm. During the custody hearing, it was revealed that he'd been told to leave because he wouldn't work while in school. He also refused to give his parents the money he'd saved from working the past two summers. He thought the reason they tossed him to the curb was because he'd been outed at school by someone he thought was his best friend. Money was also the reason Trevor got beat up that night. The thirteen-year-old wouldn't give his parents the pin number to his bank account.

"I was in the deli across the street from my office," Trevor said.

The younger redhead sniffled, and his brother dried his tears with his index finger.

"Brett, they looked awful. They're only forty-eight, but I swear, they looked like people in their late sixties or early seventies who haven't taken care of themselves. Lorraine's skin was so discolored and pasty white that I wouldn't be surprised if she's got emphysema. Phillip Junior was just a shell of his former self. Thin as a rail, all wrinkly, and his eyes, bro, they freaked me out 'cause they were sunken in and were so dull and glazed over. The years of drug and alcohol abuse have taken its toll on them."

Brett literally had nothing to say. He just shook his head, which Trevor acknowledged by pulling him into as much of a comforting embrace as he could give.

When he finally spoke, Brett asked, "Did they say anything to you?"

"Nothing, except to ask for a few dollars for a sandwich. They gave no indication that they even knew who I was, and honestly, until Phillip spoke, I didn't recognize them. For the first time since meeting Ben, I was so freakin' thankful that he wasn't with me. After seeing them, I'm more determined than ever to keep my son as far from those people as humanly possible."

Nothing else was said while the brothers sat, holding each other as their mutual love flowed between them, comforting their hearts and souls and strengthening their bond.

I'm really amazed at the way this chapter came together. 
 
For those of you who haven't read my final comment on the previous chapter, the emotional ending of this chapter was inspired by @Summerabbacat's curiosity about why Brett's and Trevor's parents did not accept them. I was quite content to leave them unnamed background characters with a few mentions here and there, but alas, that wasn't meant to be. Oh well, at least this story's now officially earned it's tearjerker status. 
 
@Greg, the underwear was created just for your enjoyment. Oh, and because there's a teen in the household, I guess the uncles and dad should be wearing some kind of clothing. 
 
Thanks for reading, reacting, and commenting. I appreciate and love it. 
 
Can't wait to see what @chris191070 @Greg @Summerabbacat @Paladin and any others has to say about this chapter. 
 
Love y'all