Elvis groaned as he flopped down on the large bed in the hotel room his family was in for the week. They were vacationing to Peru over Christmas because Manuel had wanted to. Elvis normally would have been excited at the idea but he would much rather be at home with his lover, Xavier.
Regardless, he’d had fun today sightseeing with his parents and brother and now he was quite exhausted. He curled up on the bed, considering getting changed but soon deciding against it. He didn’t want to move.
“Hey bro, I was unpacking your shit for you and this was in there.” He heard Luca’s voice speak up as the man sat on the other bed in the room. The two of them were sharing while their parents slept together in the other room.
“What?” Elvis grunted, face buried in the pillow, not bothering to look.
“A letter or something.”
“I don’t care. I’ll look at it in the morning.”
“But it says it’s from your boy toy.” Luca teased and as he’d expected, Elvis shot up, snatching the letter from his hands.
Sure enough, the envelope read:
“To: My darling
From: Xavier.”
It was written in the man’s best cursive script. Elvis knew it was the kind that took him hours to tattoo. Xavier’s normal handwriting was clumsy, like a child’s.
Elvis grinned at this, gently opening the letter and beginning to read.
“Babe,
Hey, Merry Christmas! I’m missing you already I’m sure and you better be missing me too. I’m sure Peru is beautiful and all, but I’m going to be pretty damned lonely back here.
I don’t know when you’re going to read this, but I’m writing it on the 21st, the night before you’re leaving. I just gave you your present, my bottom virginity, (it better have been awesome for you cause I can’t feel my legs) and you fell asleep like right afterwards. And now I’m just sitting here, kind of staring at you. My bad if that’s weird, but I can’t help it. All I can think of is how lucky I am to have you and all the things I love about you. All those things were getting pretty overwhelming so I figured I’d write them down for you but it’s impossible to list them all. Just know that I’m going to miss you so very much.
Love, your Captain Hook.”
Elvis smiled at the letter. It wasn’t much, but he was glad to read it regardless.
Now, it was nearly two years later and Elvis was alone in his own bed. It was just about afternoon but he couldn’t seem to make himself get up early on days he didn’t have work anymore. But he was forced to wake when he heard a knock at the door.
He groaned, hoping that one of his parents would get it. His wish was granted but a moment later, he was woken anyway by his father opening his bedroom door.
“What is it dad?”
“A letter for you, hijito. The mail man said it got lost in the mail apparently but they just found it and delivered it late anyways.”
Elvis frowned but sat up, taking the letter his father handed him.
“Thanks, dad.” He smiled softly at the man who nodded and with a kiss to Elvis’s forehead, left the room.
Elvis furrowed his brow as he looked at the envelope, seeing the writing on the outside.
“To: My darling
From: Xavier.”
The date on it was from about a year ago, just before he and Xavier had broken up. What could it be?
He slowly opened it and began to read.
“Baby,
Remember that letter I wrote you a while ago over Christmas? I said it was impossible to list everything I loved about you. Well, it still is, but we’ve been fighting more often lately and I want to remind myself of all the good things about us so I figured I’d try to start.
So here it goes, fifty things I love about you, Elvis Aaron Presley.
1. The way your hair gets curlier when it’s humid outside
2. Your freckles and the way they shine in the sun
3. The way your eyes change color just slightly when the sunlight hits them right
4. Your laugh
5. The way you can’t go a few minutes without adding yeah to the end of a sentence
6. The way how when you smile at me, it looks like it hurts with how wide it is
7. Your fingertips and the way they brush across my skin
8. The way you put condoms on me, so slow and gentle
9. The way you look when I make love to you
10. The sounds you make when I make love to you
11. The way you look when you make love to me
12. The sounds you make when you make love to me
13. How gentle you were when I let you make love to me
14. The fact that I was your first time
15. The fact that you were mine
16. The adorable face you make when I kiss anywhere but your lips
17. Your love for your family
18. The way your face gets red when I compliment you
19. The dimples at the bottom of your back
20. Your butt (Come on, I couldn’t leave that out)
21. Your kisses
22. Your feet
23. Your red hair… everywhere
24. The way you hold me when I’m sick
25. The way you relax completely when I hold you
26. The way you put up with my disease
27. The way you make me laugh
28. How your hand fits perfectly in mine
29. The marks your nails leave on my back after we make love
30. How it feels to have you wrapped up in my arms
31. The way you bring out the best in me
32. The way your eyes soften when you see me
33. How you let me give you eskimo kisses even though they’re pretty lame
34. How peaceful you look when you’re sleeping
35. How cute you look when I tickle you
36. The way you say my name
37. The look in your eyes when you say I love you
38. How you never want to stop kissing me
39. The way you’ll make an amazing mother one day
40. The way you make me feel like I’ve never felt before
41. How you’re sexy no matter what you’re wearing
42. How I catch you staring at me sometimes when you think I’m not looking
43. How listening to your heartbeat puts me to sleep
44. The sound of your breathing at night
45. Your intelligence (you were smart enough to fall in love with me, after all)
46. How you make each and every one of my days worthwhile
47. How every moment spent with you is a precious one
48. The way you laugh at my jokes even if they’re not funny
49. How you give me a reason to wake in the morning
50. The way you will never ever give up on me
And that, my darling, is just the beginning. I’ll love you until the end of forever, Elvis, and don’t you ever forget it.
Love,
Xavier.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Apollo yawned as he felt the bed moving beside him. He knew that meant he should probably wake up now but he didn’t feel like it quite yet.
“Apollo… darling? Time to get up.”
“Like ten more minutes.” Apollo muttered, burying his face further into the pillow.
“But baby…”
Apollo sighed but as the smell of freshly cooked food hit his nose he sat himself up, blinking his eyes open. They were still blurred with sleep as he rubbed his fists over them, yawning. He smiled when he was able to see clearly, setting eyes on Carter kneeling beside him, tray of food in hand.
“Happy birthday, precious.” Carter whispered, leaning in to kiss the boy deeply.
“Aw, daddy.” Apollo smiled as he pulled back, glancing down at the tray Carter held. “You’re so sweet.” The food was cooked professionally, he could tell, it was nothing Carter could have done by himself. Even the placing of the food was gorgeous.
Caviar on toast, an omelet cooked to perfection, a bowl of fresh fruit, and a glass of what Apollo could tell was Carter’s finest wine.
“Well it’s your birthday.” Carter smiled simply as Apollo took the tray and began to eat, groaning as the flavors assaulted his tongue.
“It’s really great.” Apollo nodded, devouring his plate as Carter simply watched with a smile. “And don’t worry, you’ll get your present later.” The boy gave Carter a sly smile, tongue trailing across his lower lip.
“Don’t worry about that.” Carter shook his head. “This is your day. I still have presents for you in the other room.”
“Presents?” Apollo blinked. Of course he was used to men buying his affection but he hadn’t gotten a real birthday gift in a very long time. His heart skipped a beat at the thought.
“It’s not much, I’m sorry. I only spent what I had in my wallet at the time.”
Apollo’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head because he knew that at any given time, Carter had at least a hundred thousand on him.
“Carter… you…”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” The man’s voice was gentle as he gripped Apollo’s hand. Apollo nudged the nearly empty tray aside along with the covers, revealing his lithe body as he stood, following Carter into the living room. His jaw dropped as he set eyes on the room full of packages. They were all elegantly wrapped which was expected. Carter did nothing less than perfect.
“Oh… Carter…” Apollo felt blood rush to his cheeks. This… it was all for him? The room was practically filled with boxes, all with gifts inside for him. Carter had done this all… just for him. It was an odd feeling. Odd, but pleasant.
“Sit down.” Carter gestured to one of the only empty spots in the room on the sofa and Apollo did as told, too shocked to speak for once as Carter set package after package in his lap.
He opened them one by one, each of them equally astounding. A lot of them were clothes, being Apollo always looked gorgeous in whatever Carter picked out for him. There was also jewelry, of course, and the most astounding gift by far was the tiniest package that held only a set of keys. But he soon realized the keys were to the brand new motorcycle parked in the garage.
Finally, there was only one small package left.
Apollo unwrapped it, tossing the paper aside and gasping as he opened it to reveal a diamond necklace, a heart shaped charm attached with his name engraved into it. It was easily the best gift he’d ever gotten.
“Do you like it?” Carter asked, sounding almost nervous as Apollo looked up to meet his gaze.
“I-I… yeah, daddy, I love it.” All Apollo could do was nod, pulling Carter down for a sweet kiss. He almost could have cried in this moment because Carter had given him the best birthday he’d had in… well, forever.
He loved Carter for more than his money, of course, but the way Carter showed he cared was by buying them unnecessary luxuries and Apollo knew this. And by those standards, Carter must care about him a hell of a lot. And that was the true present.
