Chapter One
Aries
“It’s a nice room,” Aries said. It was hard to keep his gaze off the decorated Christmas tree in the corner with a mountain of presents under it already.
He was a boy that had always loved Christmas and having Vin with him this year meant a lot, especially with the new dynamic they’d been exploring. Aries hoped that embracing his little side would indeed make this Christmas the best one of his admittedly short life. It was also important to him that Vin spend Christmas with Aries and his family, getting the full chaotic experience. Vin was super old, not that Aries would say that out loud, and often needed a reminder not to be grumpy. And no one should be grumpy at Christmas!
From singing carols, to decorating cookies, and nonstop Christmas music, Nix had their few days together packed full. Aries knew his brother well and Nix loved the holiday just as much as he did. They certainly wouldn’t be bored. From the number of gifts under the tree with his name on the tag, Aries was certain that his brother had gone overboard. Again. It was kind of Nix’s thing, after all.
“I’m going to strangle your brother,” Vin growled from the other side of the guest bedroom. He’d been glaring at the stack of presents for almost as long as Aries had been admiring them.
Aries giggled as he turned toward his Daddy. “Nix promised not to make a big deal about me being a little around Mama and Dad. This is just his way of spoiling me privately.” It was awesome really. Aries had been terrified that his family wouldthink he was weird when they learned he identified as a little, with Vin being his Daddy. Neither Gem or Nix had a big deal about it. Well, Nix had sort of made a big deal. He loved Aries being little, so maybe it was Nix that was weird.
For Aries, regressing to a little was huge. In the two months he’d been exploring his new kink, Aries had found a peace that he’d never known. When Aries got in his head about his new desires, Vin was always there to hold him tight and remind Aries that he was perfect just the way he was.
Vin sighed. “You know he bought you the loudest or messiest toys he could find.”
Crossing the room, Aries wrapped his arms around Vin’s waist as he peered up at his Daddy. Dang, his Daddy was so tall. This was why Aries liked to be carried. His neck could only handle so much looking up. “He loves me.”
Vin smiled softly at him, just like he always did. On the ice or anywhere else, Vin was stoic and hard except when he looked at Aries. Aries was proud that he was the only one to see Vin’s softer side. “I love you too.”
“Does that mean that I can keep the presents?” Aries asked.
“Of course it does,” Vin replied. He bent down and kissed Aries on the lips before lifting him up into his arms, which had been what Aries had wanted. “Evan left a note that we’ll have our own little Christmas party tonight so you can open your gifts with just the four of us.”
“Gem and Mama and Dad are still coming tomorrow though, right?” Aries couldn’t wait to have the whole family together. His first few months on his own while playing professionally inVegas had been hard. There was also something big that was on his mind, making him more nervous than usual.
“They’ll be here in the morning,” Vin assured him. He was so patient. Aries had asked that question at least a dozen times but Vin never lost patience with him.
“Okay.” He squeezed Vin’s neck before pointing to the bed.
Vin carried him over and sat him down gently.
Aries hopped onto his knees, giving the mattress a bounce test. “And where are Nix and Evan?”
“No jumping on the bed,” Vin said sternly. “And Evan had his own special present for Nix.”
“What is it?” Aries asked. And why couldn’t Aries see? Was it extra-special secret like the present Aries was hiding? Perhaps Evan and him had the same idea?
“You can ask Nix when they get back. It’s something special between the two of them,” Vin said. “They’ll be a few hours.”
With a sigh, Aries flopped to his back on the bed. Vin always knew everything. It wasn’t fair. Aries might just be a little guy, but he wanted to know things too.
“They won’t be long and it’s important for them,” Vin told him.
Fine. Aries wouldn’t even pout. Much. He wiggled. Oh, nice! A bed big enough to fit him and Vin with an incredibly soft mattress. Actually, the entire house was amazing. When Nix had first told Aries that he wanted the family to spend Christmas at Evan’s Colorado mountain cabin, Aries had been expecting something more rustic. Boy was he wrong.
Apparently, Vin had already been to Evan’s house before, not that the big meanie had told Aries. See! His Daddy knew everything! But he didn’t know the secret that Aries was keeping. He wanted to laugh but knew that his Daddy would get suspicious. A suspicious Vin was never a good thing. It usually meant the loss of apples that one of his teammates had snuck him. Instead, Aries would think about Evan’s pretty house.
Aries didn’t have a house. Just an apartment that he lived in all alone with Vin living across the hall. Not that Aries spent much time alone. No, he insisted Vin stay in his bed because it was softer. Daddy didn’t seem to mind. One day Aries might have a neat house like this. It didn’t make sense to buy anything when he was in his first season for the Paranormal American Hockey league. He had time. Probably. And saving money would be important. If he had bought a house, it wouldn’t have been somewhere this cold. The cold sucked!
Vin had given Aries a tour of Evan’s house since he already knew his way around. What Nix had called a cabin was a two-story, seven-bedroom, four-bathroom palace with a formal dining room, kitchen that would be a chef’s dream, and two, yes two, libraries.
There was even an ice rink in the backyard where they could play hockey!
Even the room that they’d been given wasn’t a normal room. Sure, it had a bed, dresser, and a door that led to one of the bathrooms, but there was also a sitting room with a couch, chairs, and a desk.
“This is Evan’s dragon’s sanctuary,” Vin said as he joined Aries on the bed, most likely catching Aries’s wide eyes as he peered around.
