Trevor
“Baby, who do you think is going to eat all of this?” he asks with amusement.
Skyler carefully holds the dish out of the way to accept the kiss, and then he smiles sheepishly as he sets it down in the only available space left on the counter.
“I know I may have gotten a little carried away, but there’s no harm in cooking too much, right?
Maybe we can bring whatever we don’t eat to a homeless shelter? ”
“Yeah, of course.” He spots a pot of carrots simmering on the stove, which he’s sure Skyler’s cooked with some kind of delicious honey glaze, so he reaches for the ladle, intending to snag some.
Skyler smacks his arm with the oven mitt he’s just removed from his hand. “Don’t you dare.”
“I only want a couple. You’ve made plenty.”
“Nope.”
Cocking his head at him, Trevor asks sweetly, “For another kiss?”
While he halfway expects Skyler to tell him that Trevor damn well better kiss him for free whenever Skyler wants it, Skyler grins playfully. “Fine. One carrot for one kiss. And you need to pay up first.”
With that demand, he puckers his lips, and Trevor happily fulfills his end of the deal. When Trevor pulls away, Skyler leans in for another quick kiss. Then he grabs the ladle before Trevor can, scooping up one lone carrot and holding it out for Trevor to take.
Trevor feels like he should argue that Skyler got two kisses, therefore he should get two carrots. But really, he’d give Skyler endless kisses for nothing.
After munching on the sweet vegetable, Trevor surveys the kitchen once more.
Stella is lying on her dog bed in the corner, but she’s alert, her nose twitching at all the food smells in the air.
She’s going to be thrilled when she realizes Skyler prepared a tiny, unseasoned portion of all the foods that are safe for dogs to eat, because he wanted her to have a Thanksgiving dinner too.
“Are you sure you don’t need any help in here?” Trevor asks his ridiculously thoughtful husband.
“I appreciate it, but I’m good,” Skyler assures him. “Everything is just about ready to go. Are Noah and Jasper here yet?”
“They’re both on their way. They should be here any minute.”
“Good,” Skyler says. “I hope everyone’s hungry now. I’m keeping a bunch of stuff warm in the chafing dishes, but as soon as this turkey comes out of the oven, I want to be ready to serve.”
“You at least need to let me help you bring the food into the dining room when it’s time,” Trevor tells him.
He and Theresa set the table with dishes and silverware earlier, but that’s the only help they’ve been allowed to give so far.
They’ve spent the rest of the morning watching the parade on TV with Skyler’s dad.
Agreeing to that offer, Skyler sends Trevor away so he can finish getting everything ready. Trevor figures he should get back to the living room before Jasper arrives anyway, because he doesn’t want him to feel awkward.
He invited Jasper just last week, when he learned Jasper doesn’t have family in the area and didn’t have any plans for the holiday.
In the time they’ve been working together, Trevor has begun to suspect that Jasper doesn’t really have anyone supporting him, which sucks.
So he really wants Jasper to understand that Trevor can be more to him than the guy who signed him a fairly large check to make an album.
Trevor spent those awful years after he and Skyler broke up without much of a support system, and now that he’s lucky enough to have such a wonderful group of family and friends in his life, he’ll gladly spread the warmth to other people who need it.
Plus, Skyler would’ve killed him if he found out Trevor let Jasper spend Thanksgiving alone. Skyler would probably try to feed the entirety of L.A. County if they showed up at his gate today.
Jasper arrives first. He promptly removes his leather jacket, and underneath, he’s wearing a long-sleeved black button-up that he looks quite uncomfortable in. Trevor’s guessing he wore it in some misguided attempt at being polite.
This poor guy. First, he tried to dress down for them, and now he’s trying to dress up. Trevor wishes he understood that he can just be himself.
Nobody is formal here. Skyler’s planning to change into a nicer outfit before dinner, but that’s only because Skyler will jump at any chance to plan an outfit. And Trevor’s just wearing jeans and a T-shirt.
Trevor introduces Jasper to Skyler’s parents, and Theresa immediately starts engaging Jasper in conversation.
It’s obvious, at least to Trevor, how much she’s trying to make him feel comfortable and welcome.
Clearly, Skyler takes after her in this way.
Although Ben is equally as kind; he’s just a slightly more reserved person, so making endless small talk isn’t his forte.
Noah shows up five minutes later, also in jeans and a T-shirt.
Since his parents are still traveling, it was obvious he’d come here for dinner.
He greets Skyler’s parents warmly, then frowns when he spots Jasper.
Trevor wishes he’d get over whatever his issue is with him.
The guy has been nothing but nice and respectful to Noah, and Noah still hasn’t dropped his thinly veiled layer of hostility.
At least he quickly turns his frown into a forced smile, giving Jasper a simple nod and a muttered, “Hi.”
“Hey,” Jasper replies, sounding more sincere. “Good to see you again outside of the studio.”
Whether or not Jasper truly means that, Trevor isn’t sure, but he’s absolutely certain that Noah’s clipped response of, “Yeah, you too,” is an utter lie.
Thankfully, before any more strained pleasantries are attempted, Skyler flounces into the room wearing fitted tan slacks and a short-sleeved white button-up that’s covered in tiny turkeys.
Trevor has to hold back a laugh, because that isn’t what he expected when Skyler said he was going to wear something nice.
But honestly, it probably should’ve been.
Where did Skyler even find a shirt like that?
He’s got the first few buttons undone, and he’s not wearing an undershirt, showing off peeks of some of his tattoos. Trevor wonders if it’s weird to find a man wearing turkeys so attractive.
“Dinner’s ready!” Skyler announces exuberantly. “Come on!”
Everyone gets up and follows as he leads them into the dining room. As their guests take seats, Trevor and Skyler head back to the kitchen to start bringing out the food. It takes more than a few trips, but Skyler won’t let anyone else help.
Once their feast is spread out on the massive dining room table, Skyler’s dad carves the turkey, then everyone starts loading up their plates. Trevor hopes the tension between Noah and Jasper will be less awkward now that people are busy stuffing their faces. Or at least less obvious.
Jasper notices the other empty plate at the table and asks if anyone else is joining them.
“It’s for Hal,” Skyler explains. “Mike took the day off, because his sister is hosting dinner at her house. So he’s over there.
Hal didn’t mind staying here, and I invited him to eat with us, but he said he’d be happy to just grab some food and take it back to his apartment to watch the game.
I already texted him to come get it whenever he wants. ”
“Well, you’ve certainly made enough, sweetie,” Theresa says. “This all looks delicious.”
Beaming with pride, Skyler thanks her. Then he jumps up from his seat. “Oh! We should all share something we’re thankful for!”
This proclamation is met with some groans and eye rolls, but Skyler just grins at everyone, completely undeterred in his mission to fulfill holiday traditions.
“I’ll go first,” he says, and he only has to pause a second to think of his answer. “I’m grateful to have a career that lets me share my passion with the world, and to have so many awesome fans who have continued to support me after I came out.”
Trevor smiles, because it’s impossible not to smile at Skyler when he’s being so sweetly sincere. But then Skyler catches his eye and grins cheekily before adding, “And I’m grateful that my husband is so hot.”
Okay, so much for the sweet sincerity.
“How touching,” Ben deadpans as Skyler sits back down, still looking pleased with himself.
Then, when there are a few beats of silence in which it seems like nobody else is going to comply with Skyler’s request, his dad sighs and stands.
“I’m grateful that my two wonderful, intelligent, caring children are both successful, happy, and healthy. ”
Skyler smiles at that, but Trevor knows he’d be happier if Layla could’ve flown in for the holiday too. Unfortunately, she couldn’t get the time off from the hospital, since the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays tend to bring in more emergencies than normal.
After Ben retakes his seat, Skyler’s mom stands up with a dinner roll in her hand. “I’m grateful for having a son who’s a better cook than me, so that I didn’t have to spend all day in the kitchen preparing this meal.”
Everyone laughs, and she winks at Skyler before sitting down.
Jasper glances between Trevor and Noah, as if waiting to see if either of them will go next. But Trevor is still trying to figure out what he wants to say. There are so many things he’s grateful for, and he knows he could simply pick any one of them, but he wants to take Skyler’s request seriously.
Clearing his throat and looking awkward, Jasper stands.
“Uh. First, I want to say thank you to Trevor and Skyler for inviting me here. And I’m grateful to Trevor for taking a chance and signing me, and I’m even more grateful to be working with a label that actually cares about their artists beyond how much money they can make off them. ”
Noah grunts, and Trevor kicks him under the table. Jasper quickly sits back down as Noah stands. Looking first at Skyler, then at Trevor, Noah says, “I’m grateful for second chances and the friendships I’ve rebuilt. And for how well the record label is doing.”