I’ve been waiting all this year,

just to have you finally near,

Everyone’s happy, the streets are snowy,

but my thoughts don’t feel so holy.

I might buy some mistletoe,

just so I could be your hoe.

To say the truth, I want so much more,

something you can’t buy in any store.

The lights are shining bright, but all I see is you.

Looking in your eyes, I’m searching for the truth.

Will you be my heartbreak or a Christmas delight?

One thing I know for sure, it’s more than just the night.

I never believed in miracles, not until I met you.

That silent night it was just us two.

I saw you completely, and you saw me bare,

But now it’s too cold, so my heart is what I share.

The lights are shining bright, but all I see is you.

Looking in your eyes, I’m searching for the truth.

Will you be my heartbreak or a Christmas delight?

One thing I know for sure, it’s more than just the night.

Forgetting you was impossible,

these last days all felt possible.

So tell me, do we still have a chance?

The lights are shining bright, but all I see is you.

Looking in your eyes, I’m searching for the truth.

Will you be my heartbreak, or is it finally our chance?

For me, it was always love at first glance.

As Teo’s feelings had progressed over the passing days, so had his song. What began as a memory of a single night of passion had evolved into a wish for a shared future, and once Rick finally heard the entire song, they reached this conversation.

And although his songwriting skills weren't perfect—resulting in something a bit too cheesy with perhaps the most predictable rhymes a love song could have—he was much better prepared when it came to the arguments for why Rick should give him a chance.

“Most of the time, I’m just an hour away from you, and I know it’s thinking too far ahead, but after I finish school, I could work in Brassford.”

Rick was speechless. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it too, but unlike the younger man, he didn’t dare say it out loud.

“You could come over any weekend. Study for your exams at my place,” he finally said, revealing his own vision. In it, he also imagined the brothers spending more time together, though he didn't say that part aloud. They surely realized it themselves even without him.

“You could help me study for practical exams.”

He moved closer to Rick on the bed, propping himself on his elbows and tracing a path down the older man’s chest with his finger, starting from the collarbone and moving lower.

“I’m pretty sure nurses don’t take anatomy exams.”

“But we have practical patient care exams,” Teo countered instantly. “Washing a patient with a sponge in bed.”

As far as Rick was concerned, he had already mastered that exam, given how thoroughly Teo had attended to him during their bath together.

“So, is it a deal?”

The older man steered the conversation back to the important point.

“You and me? Exclusively?” Teo asked, stating his ideal scenario.

Rick knew a better term for what Teo was hinting at. “Boyfriends.”

“I like that.”

Their shared future was decided. Now all that remained was resolving the relationship between the brothers. And so, for the second day in a row, they sat together on Teo’s bed for an honest conversation. Over the last two days of the year, they had talked more than they had in the past two years combined.

“I don't mind.”

Teo knew that his brother wouldn't immediately run to their mother to confront her. Orion had always been the golden child, and the mere fact that he was even considering taking Teo’s side instead of hers was progress Teo had never dared to hope for.

“Are you sure?”

Orion looked guilty.

Teo nodded. “It’s New Year’s Eve. We can celebrate today and talk tomorrow.” He quickly corrected himself: “You can talk. I don’t want any part of it.”

A conversation between Teo and his mother was already three years overdue. If she wanted to talk to him, she should have done it when he returned. Although she was kind to him now and acted like a caring, loving mother, in Teo’s mind, it didn't erase how she had hurt him five years ago.

In Atlas's case, it was different. He had no say in the decision to kick Teo out of the house, and although he actively worked to bring him back, the dark-haired man could never see him as his true father. He had a father, even if he was currently in prison and didn't want to be in contact.

Orion, on the other hand, still envisioned a complete family. Reconciliation with Teo was only the first step. He wanted Teo to have a better relationship with their mother and a stronger connection with Orion’s father. Though in recent days, he’d noticed that Teo spent more time with his stepfather than with his own mother. Whenever Atlas asked for help, Teo automatically went and helped. Orion believed that one day he might also accept invitations for shared activities, like watching movies or playing cards together.

“I just wanted you to know that I haven't given up. I was just waiting for the right moment and was afraid today wasn't it,” Orion nodded. “But I won’t wait long, I promise.” He didn’t want to argue with his mother on the last day he was there and then leave Teo to deal with the consequences. That was the last thing he wanted to achieve.

“You’re expecting a much bigger reaction than you’ll get,” Teo warned.

Unlike his older brother, he was convinced nothing would change. Either their mother would tell Orion her own version of events to make herself look less at fault, or she would act apologetic in front of him but never apologize to Teo. He didn't have much hope in her.

“Well...” Orion began. He’d had time to think it over during the last few hours since their talk. He had been a supportive son all those years while his mother went through breakups, first with his own father and then with Teo’s. He had always stood by her, supporting her at an age when his peers were still allowed to be children. He had never complained about it until now, but last night had convinced him it was time to stop being on her side for once—to be a brother first, and a son second.

“If she doesn't apologize to you and accept you, I’m prepared to show her that it won’t just damage her relationship with you.”

“You mean that?”

Teo certainly hadn't expected something like that.

Orion nodded. “You’re my younger brother. I’m supposed to protect you.” It was time to take his role seriously. “If that means limiting contact with her so I can have a better relationship with you, I’ll do it.”

Suddenly, Teo felt like a ten-year-old boy again, eagerly waiting by the door every weekend for his brother to return from college. For years, Orion had been his greatest role model, and all he had ever wanted was to grow up to be like him.

“Thank you.”

Though emotions churned inside him, he expressed them simply. He wasn’t ready for hugs yet, and bigger words would come later—once he truly saw that Orion had tried.

“It’s long overdue.”

The older brother didn’t need Teo’s gratitude—not when he hadn’t even acted yet. But hearing it reminded him that, although Teo was now an adult, there was still a ten-year gap between them. This time, that gap didn’t mean they had nothing in common—it meant Teo still looked up to him in some ways, and it was Orion’s job to be a good role model and support for him.

“Are you planning to tell them about Rick?”

Orion had one more question he needed answered before talking to their mother.

“Not yet,” Teo shook his head.

There was a reason he didn’t talk about relationships with their parents, and he didn’t want his bad history with their mother to affect Rick—not when she had provided him with support and made him feel at home in Hollybrook so far.

“Okay.”

Teo raised an eyebrow in surprise, expecting questions or reproach, but got neither.

“He’s my boyfriend now,” he revealed, and according to Orion’s expression, he was the first to give him the news.

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. We talked.”

“That’s great.”

Orion gave him a smile and, to his credit, looked genuinely happy for how things had turned out between his brother and his best friend.

Perhaps the new year was truly bringing change— and this time it was meant to be not just big, but good. Something Teo hadn't been used to for years. However, the return of the older man into his life had managed to change more in eleven days than he ever expected, and he wouldn’t have changed a thing. This holiday season, he had finally found out what Christmas is for.