All the Little Things

Chapter Six: Jamie

Thanksgiving Day has started off with an exhausted bang. Jamie had woken up at half past four in the morning to start his cooking. He had been named responsible for the Turkey, since his always turned out the best. And he was making his homemade rolls, along with a pumpkin pie.

Suffice to say, Jamie was exhausted, but somehow still energized, by the time he made it to Luca's.

The door was unlocked when he got there, and he allowed himself in. The house is already teeming with activity. Maris is in the kitchen with his dad, both of them chatting and laughing as they cooked, music playing throughout the house. Veronica was in the living room playing with a wide-awake Noelle, while his Papa is nowhere to be seen.

"Let me get those from you," a familiar voice says to Jamie.

Turning, he notices Luca coming down the stairs, his sister following behind him. She already has a glass of wine in her hand, and Jamie thinks that is a brilliant idea, despite it only being eleven in the morning.

"I got it," Jamie says, but Luca doesn't even allow him to protest, just taking the dishes from him anyway. "Fine, fine, don't listen to me."

Luca rolls his eyes at Jamie's antics, before walking into the kitchen. Cally looks over at him, an eyebrow raised as her eyes rove over her body. "You look good, Jamie." Her smile turns sly. "Now if my brother would just not get his panties in a twist-"

"No," Jamie says, letting out an exasperated sigh, but he can't stop the smile on his face. "Cally, I'm gay."

She just gives him a cheeky grin. "So am I, hun, but that doesn't mean we couldn't have fun for a night."

Luca walks back into the room then, and Jamie is quick to walk over to him, subtly trying to move his friend in front of him. "Luca, control your sister."

He lets out a bark of laughter. "Like that's possible."

Papa comes walking in from outside then, arms full of freshly split wood. "Luca, good to see you, son." His eyes shift over to his daughter, squinting marginally. "Are you still trying to convince him to date you, Calliope?"

Her eyes are widely innocent. "Yes, dating, of course." She takes a sip of wine to hide her smile.

His papa just squints, obviously trying to catch her meaning, but the Noelle is crying, and all of our attention is drawn to the small baby. Papa takes the wood into the living room, cooing down at the baby before sitting down to start a fire.

Veronica is attempting to quiet Noelle down, but the little girl is going strong. Luca steps forward, but Jamie steps around him, moving over to the playmat in a few seconds.

Leaning down, Jamie carefully picks up the baby, kissing her cheeks before cuddling into his chest. She relaxes instantly, and it makes warmth grow in his chest. This little girl is one who makes the love he feels a physical ache. In that sense, she is much like her father.

"Oh, my peanut," Jamie coos, pressing another kiss to her dark hair. "Did you miss me? I missed you."

"She has," Luca says, eyes never straying as he looks over his best friend. Jamie meets his gaze, the warmth so strong and unnerving that he has to turn away so that he doesn't blush.

Blush!

Jamie doesn't blush. If anything, he is the one who makes people blush. But that look in his friend's eyes is fanning the coals inside him that he has been desperately trying to put out. But no matter how many dates he does on, they refuse to die down.

It has been making it difficult to be around Luca. And even though it causes his heart to physically ache, he hasn't allowed himself to truly visit with his friend. Sure, he has brought around meals, but he always manages to slip away before the conversation can move past simple pleasantries.