Raf was practically bouncing his way into the forest on Rhys’s property. Chopping their own Christmas tree, how cool was that? Not that he would be doing any chopping, thank you very much. He knew his strengths, and hard labor definitely wasn’t one of them. No, he’d pick a tree and then watch Daddy Brendan be all strong and masculine as he took the tree down. The thought alone made his heart do a silly dance. He felt like a bunny, all happy to hop and skip. Or were those hares?
“Do bunnies hop? Or are those hares?” he asked Rhys.
Rhys shot him an amused glance. “Both, I think?”
“I’d rather be a bunny,” Raf decided. “They have lots of sex,” he stage-whispered to Rhys, who burst out laughing.
“Don’t go spilling the beans now. I’m pretty sure your Daddy wouldn’t appreciate that.”
Raf glanced over his shoulder at Daddy, who was a few steps behind them, talking to Cornell. “He can’t punish me for what he can’t hear.”
Rhys lifted an eyebrow. “Unless I tell him.”
Raf stopped walking, putting his hands on his hips. “You wouldn’t.”
“You said it before yourself. Us Doms have to stick together.”
“Not against me, you don’t. I’ve been your friend, like, forever. You can’t gang up on me.”
Rhys’s face stayed serious, and doubt curled down Raf’s stomach. He wouldn’t really, would he? What he’d said wasn’t that bad, but if he couldn’t trust Rhys anymore, that meant… Rhys suddenly grabbed him by his waist, lifting him from the ground, and Raf squealed in surprise.
“I’m messing with you, silly. You know I would never betray your trust.”
With a smacking kiss on his lips, Raf was deposited back on the ground. Ugh, he should have known Rhys was playing him. Didn’t mean he had to let him get away with it. He pretended to tuck his pants back into his snow boots, then picked up a good handful of snow, winking at Daddy and Cornell. Rhys had kept walking, and Raf ran toward him, pulled back the collar of his jacket with one hand, then dumped the snow behind it.
He was already way out of reach when Rhys cried out in shock. Come on, he wasn’t dumb. What he hadn’t counted on were Rhys’s long legs, which quickly ate up the distance between them once Rhys started running, the desire for revenge clear on his face. Raf sprinted away, but he was no match for Rhys, who had a couple of inches on him and who’d always been the athletic type.
“Daddy! Save me!” Raf screamed, but Daddy merely grinned.
“You’re on your own there, baby boy. The man is entitled to his revenge.”
With a roar that made Raf freeze for a second, Rhys attacked him, and seconds later, they were both on the ground, rolling through the snow. A firm handful of snow pressed into his face, and Raf sputtered as the icy cold hit his skin, then his mouth.
“Motherfucker,” Raf spat out, pushing at the strong body that held him down, but to no avail.
“Raphael, language!”
Oy, Daddy sounded not amused. But if he allowed Rhys to get his revenge rather than protecting Raf, he couldn’t complain when Raf’s language got a little colorful, now could he? Raf would like to hear his reactions when half a gallon of snow was shoved into his face. Okay, it was probably a little less, but it had felt like half a gallon. At least. And the snow had been damn cold.
“Mercy,” he cried out when Rhys rolled them over again.
Rhys stopped moving, pushing himself up on his arms and looking at him funny. “Mercy?”
Raf wiped the snow off his face with his wet glove. Damn, he was gonna be freezing his ass off in a few minutes. Or rather, his hands. His gloves were soaked. “Yes, mercy. It’s what you say when you’ve had enough, right?”
“You mean like a safe word?”
Raf frowned. “No, asshole. My safe word is pineapple.”
Rhys’s eyes twinkled. “Of course it would be. Then what the hell does mercy mean?”
“If you’re roughhousing, like we are now, that’s what you say when you want the other to stop.”
“No, it’s not. You say uncle.”
Raf waved his hand. “Same thing.”
“I hate to interrupt what looks to be a moment between you two, but could you maybe let Raf up, Rhys? I’d hate to see him catch pneumonia by walking around in the freezing cold with his clothes all soaked.” Daddy’s voice was friendly, and yet it held that slight edge that made it crystal clear his words weren’t a suggestion. Raf wasn’t sure if Rhys picked up on that or if he merely wanted to humor Daddy Brendan, but he rolled off Raf, got up, then pulled Raf to his feet.
“I can’t believe we’ve been friends this long, and we’ve never had this crucial discussion,” he said.
Raf rolled his eyes at him. “Dude, I hate to break it to you, but it’s not exactly crucial to me. And the reason we never brought it up is probably that you never made a habit of pinning me down in the cold snow and rubbing my face in it. Literally.”
“I wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t dumped that snow into my collar.”
They stood across from each other as they both broke out in laughter. “This has to be the craziest argument we’ve ever had,” Raf said.
“We sound like we’re ten-year-olds again.”
Rhys pulled a hat from his pocket, then took off Raf’s wet one and put the new one on. “But your Daddy is right. I don’t want you to get sick. “
And when he brushed all the snow off Raf’s jacket and pants, Raf forgave him easily. How could he not when his best friend in the world took care of him like that?
They walked deep into the woods, and Rhys pointed out several trees, but Raf shook his head every single time.
“What are you looking for, baby boy?” Daddy asked.
“I don’t know, but I’ll know it when I see it.”
Rhys pointed toward a tall, perfectly shaped fir. “That one looks perfect for us, sweetheart. What do you think?” he asked Cornell.
Cornell nodded enthusiastically. “It is perfect. And now that it’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we can actually put it up.”
Daddy turned toward Raf. “You hear that? Finally, a man who knows the rules.”
“Pff,” Raf harrumphed. “You and your rules. It’s a dumb rule if you ask me.”
Daddy’s eyes narrowed. “I did not just hear you call me dumb, did I?”
Oops.
“No, Daddy. I said the rule was dumb, not you. Big difference.” He looked at Rhys for help because the guy owed him after the way he’d dumped snow all over him. “Right?”
“I have to agree with Raf that I think the rule is outdated.” Rhys came to his rescue. “Though there’s no excuse for calling his Daddy dumb.”
Of course, Rhys had to ruin it again.
“Thanks for that,” Raf said to Rhys, who winked at him. Asshole.
“I’m sure I can come up with an appropriate punishment when we get home.” Daddy’s tone promised Raf would be paying. Ugh, why did his mouth always get him into trouble? Then again, it had also gotten him out of trouble plenty of times. He’d discovered that blow jobs and rimming were Daddy’s weaknesses. He’d forgotten many a punishment when Raf had distracted him with his mouth.
“And don’t think for a moment you can talk your way out of this one. Or use your mouth otherwise.”
Damn. Daddy was too smart.
“Yes, Daddy.”
While Rhys took down the tree he and Cornell had picked, Raf wandered around a bit, studying all the firs around him. They smelled so good, and they looked so pretty with the thin layer of snow. But none of them spoke to him until he saw the tree. Standing between two taller ones that were dwarfing it, it caught Raf’s attention anyway. He walked toward it, the snow crunching under his boots, twigs snapping, but he didn’t stop before he stood a few feet from the fir.
The tree was full and thick, barely taller than Raf but shaped in a perfect cone. “Daddy! I’ve found our tree.”
He kept staring at it, sounds behind him indicating Daddy was coming his way. Once he felt his presence beside him, he pointed. “Look. It’s perfect.”
Daddy pulled him close. “Isn’t it a bit small? I love the shape and how full it is, but I would’ve picked a taller one.”
Raf leaned his head against Daddy’s shoulder. “My dad always wanted the biggest and tallest tree. He’d call the garden center in September or something, asking them to put the biggest one on reserve for him. It was a prestige thing, like having a big tree said something about his masculinity or that he had a big dick. It always had to be perfect. I want an imperfect tree. I want a tree that’s like me.”
Daddy hugged him a little tighter. “You mean small and very gay?” he said, but his tone was warm and light.
Raf nodded, melting against Daddy. “Yes. That sounds very Christmassy, don’t you think, Daddy?”
He had absolutely been right. Watching Daddy Brendan chop down a tree was super hot. In fact, he would have to use his mouth on him once they got home, and maybe some other body parts as well, punishment be damned. When someone was that strong and furry and took care of him so well, it had to be rewarded.
And when he did present Daddy with his reward, a small and very gay Christmas tree was right next to them, shining and glimmering with a thousand lights and all the ornaments Raf had picked out. Its light danced on Raf’s skin as he rode himself to an explosive orgasm on Daddy’s fat cock, right there on the rug.
It was perfect.