There was plenty of music to choose from, but Jace, being a good friend that he was, found the five hour long mix of Christmas music that CJ had been tormenting him with for the last three weeks. Something with “Jingle Bells” in the background was starting to play when he heard CJ's footfalls on the stairs, tramping back down. He tried not to react when CJ gave him a fond look, obviously holding back some sort of comment over him being softhearted, but he ended up blurting, “What?”
CJ shrugged and placed the box on the rug in the middle of the room. “I thought the last thing you would want to listen to right now would be Nat King Cole.”
“Well, we can't decorate the tree to Kanye, can we?”
“We could,” CJ said, lifting a bottle from the large box. “Especially after a few of these.”
“What is that?” Jace asked, looking at the old bottle with suspicion. It wasn't like he didn't drink, or that he couldn't hold his own against CJ, but he didn't really want to meet CJ's family with a hangover. He was pretty sure one of them was a senator, so it wouldn't look good.
“This,” CJ said with a flourish, “is a bottle of Christmas Spirit. Guaranteed to put you in the mood for festive fun.”
“Guaranteed to land us in the ER with alcohol poisoning, more like. Just how alcoholic is it?”
CJ scowled at him dismissively, handing him the dusty bottle and walking away to bring glasses from the kitchen. “Don't be such a wuss. Besides, it's sipping liquor, not the kind that you guzzle at a frat party.”
“I wouldn't know,” Jace mumbled, looking down at the homemade label with interest. “Frat parties were always more your thing.”
“Uncle Levi brews it every year. I managed to snaffle a bottle and hide it away from the heavy drinkers down at the homeplace last year. It's good stuff, I promise.”
It was, too. Jace had half expected it to taste like drain cleaner, but it was actually smooth and sweet, and warmed him from the inside without any hint of a burn as it went down his throat. CJ looked pleased at his approving expression and second sip, then dived into the box of ornaments like Tom Daley was in there.
They got the stand set up without too much trouble, even if getting the tree into it and upright took a little longer. It was a good tree, large enough that it didn't take up too much room but not so skinny that it looked like something from the Charlie Brown special, even if it did insist on leaning to the right. After that, Jace's job consisted of reaching into the box, divesting each ornament of its tissue paper wrapping, and then holding it up to CJ for him to explain its origin and find the best spot for display on the branches. They had a tree back at the apartment, which they had decorated together, but there was something special about doing it here. Back home, the ornaments on the tree they had bought together so there wasn't much to talk about, less history and more memories. Here, with every bauble unwrapped and a star made from pasta and pipe cleaners, Jace felt as if he was learning something more about CJ, something deeper.
They were halfway through the box when CJ decided he needed a breather, folding himself down to sit next to Jace, their shoulders brushing when he came to lean back against the couch.
The combination of booze, the open fire, and gentle tunes in the air was making Jace soft-limbed and softheaded enough to say, “Thanks for inviting me this week. I kinda needed this.”
“Well, I sure as hell wasn't going to leave you alone in the apartment over Christmas.” CJ was quiet long enough that Jace knew what was coming. “Have you heard anything from your parents yet?”
Jace shook his head, not really wanting to answer. “Nope. I'm not sure I really want to either, to be honest. I'm glad it's over and done with. Does that make me a bad person?”
“No, but they might come around.”
Jace had to snort at CJ's optimism. The fight he'd had with his parents had been a long time coming, and all the rage and tension that had been building up for years, on both sides, had exploded in such a way that there was no coming back from it. “I'm not sure I want them to. If they were strangers, I sure as hell wouldn't forgive anyone for saying the things they said to me.”
“They're your parents, Jace.”
“They're racist, homophobic—”
CJ could obviously tell that Jace was going to spiral into a rant, and stopped him with a gentle hand on his forearm. “Okay, okay. I just hate the thought of you closing that door for good, y'know?”
Jace knew. But only in the context that he knew that CJ could never really understand where he was coming from. CJ's parents have been the very antithesis of his. They were supportive of all these choices and understood that some things about him weren't a choice at all.
“I think they did that themselves,” Jace admitted quietly. “You didn't hear them. CJ, it was bad this time, it was—” He didn't want to talk out it. Especially as he could take what they dished out all day long, or so he’d thought until they had started talking shit about CJ That had been the limit for him. He'd gone after them with everything he had trying to defend his friend. They said he'd gone too far, but all Jace could think at the time, and even on reflection, was that it had been far overdue. Maybe if he had said those things years ago, the fallout might not have been so catastrophic.
“I know you think I screwed up, but I'll be okay,” he said, patting CJ's hand before reaching over for the bottle of liquor to refill their glasses. “We've never exactly been close. And it's not like they really helped me out that much financially or practically. The scholarships paid for pretty much everythin,g and I'm sure I can get a couple of extra jobs when I graduate to tide me over until grad school.” Jace sighed and smiled as he poured the booze, trying not to show how terrified and sick he was at the thought. “Just gotta find a place to live, but I'm sure someone will have somewhere I can crash.”
Jace really should have known something was up given the length of time CJ paused before saying, “You don't have to do that. I figured I might stick around Houston a while longer so we won't have to give up the apartment yet. We could even extend the lease another year, if you wanted.”
Frowning, Jace turned to look at him. “What about New York?”
CJ was acting confused, but Jace had known him long enough to spot the shifty look underlying it. “I think I might have jumped the gun on that decision. I'm still debating whether or not I should've taken that internship. I figured it wouldn't do me any harm to take some time to think it over a while longer.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You have a job offer. For a job you really want. You said you can’t wait to get back to your family. Why on earth would you mess that up?”
CJ shrugged and took a gulp of his drink. “I can get another job. My parents are fine with it. Unless… unless you don't want me to stay.”
The way CJ's eyes went wide and puppylike made Jace want to laugh out loud. That and the fact that what CJ was proposing was like a dream come true. In fact, it was almost better than that. His heart swelled at the idea that he could have a little more time to keep CJ to himself, but also it would clear away most of the problems that were keeping him awake at night in one sweep. It was almost too good to be true.