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"What should I do?" Pierre looked at Charles in disbelief. Together they sat on his sofa, drinking hot chocolate while it was snowing outside. "You should play my boyfriend." Charles looked at him pleadingly. "And that's just because Tim broke up with you?" Pierre looked at him confused.
A little embarrassed, Charles nodded and bowed his head. And the way he sat there, Pierre felt a little sorry for him. So he took his hand and that made Charles look at him again. "Tell me calmly why I should pretend to be your boyfriend? I like your family and I'm happy to come with you, but why as your boyfriend?"
“I told my family about him and they invited him to celebrate Christmas with them. But now he broke up with me." "Why don't you just tell your family that?" “Because it always is like that. My relationships always end so quickly. I just want to show that I'm not incapable of relationships. I want to show them that I'm not unlovable."
Charles only whispered the last sentence, but Pierre could still understand him. “Oh Charlie, you're not unlovable. And your family knows that too. I would help you, but your family will know I'm not your boyfriend if you've already told them about him." “No, they don't know. I never said his name. Would you really help me?"
Charles looked at him with wide eyes and squeezed his hand. And this way Pierre couldn't say no. What Charles didn't know was that Pierre had been in love with him for a long time. It also meant that he couldn't see him sad. "Yes, because it is you." With a big grin, Charles threw his arms around his neck and hugged him. He could only hope that he wouldn't regret it.
And so they stood together on Christmas Day at the door of the house of Charles’ family. "Charles." Pascale, Charles' mother, opened the door and then looked back and forth between him and Pierre in confusion. “Pierre, I didn't even know you were coming. Where's your boyfriend Charles?" After hugging the two, she let them into the house.
"Mom, Pierre is my boyfriend." They both looked at her nervously. "I knew it." With a big grin she hugged them both. "How did you know?" Charles looked at his mother in confusion. "I knew you guys were more than just friends, I was just waiting for you guys to finally admit it." Pierre's heart stopped. He was hoping to hide how he feels about Charles. But a look at his best friend told him that maybe the feelings weren't just one-sided, as he looked at him with red cheeks and a little shy.
"I need to send Pascale a picture of you two." Shocked, Pierre looked at Charles' mother, who now had her phone in her hand. "Stand in front of the Christmas tree, both of you." Both followed her into the festively decorated living room and then stood in front of the glowing Christmas tree. "You don't have to be shy, you can show your love for each other."
Pierre scooted a little closer and then wrapped his arm around Charles' waist while Charles wrapped his arm around Pierre's waist. Pierre's heart beat faster as the two smiled for Pascale and he hoped Charles couldn't feel it standing so close to him.
Hesitantly, he turned his head and looked at him. At that very moment, Charles turned his head and they both looked at each other. Charles has never looked so good as he does in the warm glow of the fairy lights. He was wearing the white cardigan that Pierre had given him and he was now growing his beard. The two were so close and all he had to do was lean forward and he would kiss him.
But before he could do anything, the doorbell rang and the two jumped apart. Neither of them dared to look at the other while they could hear Arthur loudly telling Lorenzo that he's curious to see how Charles' new boyfriend is. The two entered the living room and when Arthur saw Pierre, he stopped in shock. "I was right." Lorenzo grinned at his little brother, who was just annoyed and gave him 10 euros.
"What?" Charles looked back and forth between his brothers. "We made a bet when you guys get together." With a wide open mouth he looked at the two and made both of them laugh. And Pierre couldn't help but laugh, too. Charles looked at him pouting. "I'm sorry, Cheri." With a grin, he kissed Charles gently on the cheek and the pout faded, giving way to a shy smile and flushed cheeks.
"Oh you guys are such a lovely couple." Pascale smiled at the two, and now Pierre could feel himself blushing. “Your mother was happy too, Pierre. Now sit down at the table, dinner is ready."
During the meal, Pierre was able to relax a bit and forget a bit why he was there. After the meal they cleared the table together. They kept walking through the door until Arthur stopped them with a grin. "What is it, Arthur?" Charles looked at his little brother. Arthur didn't say anything, just looked up.
A mistletoe hung over Charles and Pierre's heads and they both knew what that meant. It was the one chance to kiss Charles he would otherwise never get again. With one hand on Charles's waist, he turned him towards him and placed his other hand gently on his cheek. They both looked deep into each other's eyes and suddenly Pierre saw so much in Charles's eyes that he had never seen before. He saw affection, understanding and so much love.
He leaned forward and carefully and a bit hesitant he placed his lips on Charles's. It felt like heaven. When Charles returned the kiss, it only got better. But then he realized what was happening and reluctantly he broke the kiss. "Wow, that was like one of those movies mom loves to watch."
With red cheeks, Pierre looked at Lorenzo, who was looking at the two, as well as Pascale and Arthur. When Pascale sent everyone back to the living room, Pierre was grateful to her. They all sat down together on the sofa. Almost automatically, he put his arm around Charles' shoulders, who with a smile slid closer and snuggled into him.
Both talked about their studies, Lorenzo about his job and Arthur how things were going at school. Then they started talking about the past and the evening couldn't have been nicer. During the evening his gaze met Pascale's, who looked at him lovingly and then went to Charles. Only then did he realize that Charles had fallen asleep.
He kissed his forehead gently and then sat down so that Charles could sleep comfortably. Slowly he felt himself getting tired. Only in the middle of the night, when everything in the living room was dark except for the christmas tree, which continued to envelop the room in a warm light, did he wake up again.
Charles was still snuggled up to him and asleep, and someone, probably Pascale, had put a blanket over the two of them. He stretched slowly, trying not to wake Charles. However, that was unsuccessful and the younger of the two woke up. He looked around, a bit confused, and Pierre had to stop himself from saying aww out loud because Charles looked so cute at that moment.
"Hey, sleepyhead." Pierre looked at him with a smile and got one back from Charles. "Hey." Charles looked at him and then snuggled back into him. Neither said anything, both enjoyed each other's closeness. "Pierre?" Pierre turned his head and looked at Charles. He waited for him to say something, but nothing came.
Instead, Charles leaned in and kissed him. Pierre was a bit taken by surprise, but then returned the kiss. And so they sat there, kissing again and again. It wasn't frantic or passionate, it was gentle and loving. The butterflies in Pierre's stomach danced wildly.
“You are the reason none of my relationships lasted long. Nobody could keep up with you." Pierre laughed softly and kissed him with a lot of feeling. "Charlie, you have no idea how long I've been in love with you." Charles looked at him in surprise. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" "I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship. But let's talk about that another time."
The two kissed again and again and eventually they fell asleep again. Pascale found the two hugging on the sofa the next day and couldn't help but send a picture of the two to Pierre's mother. The two have been inseparable since that Christmas and have spent many more Christmases with Charles' family since then.