Importance of Loved Ones

Judah was pacing in his office. Back and forth, back and forth, wracking his brain for some kind of idea of what to do. Cherubuns had ways of doing things, and from the book Hart had brought home, Judah felt like he wasn’t doing enough. He could buy all the gifts he wanted for people—his employees—and Hart. Were his employees his friends? He wasn’t sure he’d call them that.

Was Hart his friend, or was he something else? He paused his pacing and stood there, staring at nothing as he thought about it. Hart came to him with nothing and Judah had given him everything. A place to stay, clothes, food, jewellery—the man spoiled him. He spent more carats on Hart than he did most everyone and everything else. Could you call that simply a friend?

He wasn’t sure how long he was standing there when his feet started moving on their own. The book said something about spending time with their closest loved ones and expressing their gratitude for them. Judah spent time with them. He showed them his gratitude, but was that what he was doing with Hart?

Frankly, he wasn’t sure what he was doing; all he knew was that his feet were taking him somewhere. That somewhere turned out to be a rather nice bakery with various cakes and tarts in the display window.

“Hello!” A chipper voice came from the back. “I’ll be with you in a moment!”

Judah mumbled a quiet “Take yer time” and began perusing. He knew Hart loved sweets, so he was going to get some for him. He wasn’t paying attention to how much time he was wandering around the bakery, and he jumped a bit when the voice spoke again, much closer.

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” A tan-skinned man spoke. His hair was all over the place.

Judah looked around for a quick moment longer. “A tart, I think,” he said, “or maybe a cake?” He wasn’t sure.

“May I suggest a cheesecake tart? Best of both worlds. Creamy, rich, buttery crisp crust. Is that something that sounds good?”

Judah simply nodded. “I think so, yeah.”

The man beamed. “Wonderful! Fruit preference? Apples, peaches? Berries of some kind?”

Judah closed his eyes and tried to remember Hart’s favourite fruit, and the more he thought about it, the more he realised that he didn’t really know Hart—and it bothered him. “Can ya do all of ‘em?”

“All of the fruit?” There was a brief pause. “Easy! It’ll take me about an hour to make it, though. Is that okay?”

“’Course,” Judah replied. “I’ll come back in an hour.”

“When you come back, if no one’s up front, just yell for Honey.”

Judah nodded and made his way down the sidewalk. He stopped a block down. It took less than a second for him to whirl around and hurry back to the house. “Hart!” He called when he went inside and up the stairs. He could feel eyes on him, but no one said a word.

Hart peeked out from one of the rooms, and a smile grew on his face immediately. “Yes, Judah?”

“Are you dressed?” He asked as he reached him.

“Yeah,” Hart replied. He looked down at his clothes as if to confirm.

Judah swallowed. Hart was wearing one of the many outfits he’d purchased for him. An oversized sweater and some tights that stopped just above his knees. “Would you like to go shoppin’ with me?”

Hart perked up. “What are we buying?”

“Anythin’ you like,” Judah replied.

“Anything?” Hart seemed confused but smiled nonetheless. “Let’s go!”

Judah nodded and ignored the eyes on him again as he led Hart down the stairs and outside. It wasn’t but a few blocks down when Judah awkwardly took Hart’s hand in his, cursing the feeling in his chest when Hart beamed back at him and playfully bumped into him. Emphasise the importance of loved ones. That’s what the book said, but he wasn’t sure how to do that when the only thing he was good at was buying things.

“Judah,” Hart said after a moment, “is something wrong?”

“No,” Judah replied, probably too quickly, “nothin’s wrong. I just…” he frowned at his own faults. “I realised that I dunno what you like.”

Hart seemed shocked at his words. “But you get me things I like already.”

Judah stopped and looked down at him. “I do?”

Hart nodded. “I love the sweaters and all the books. The other clothes you get me are nice too. You got them for me, not knowing I liked them?”

“I thought…” Judah paused. “I thought you looked nice in ‘em.” Nice wasn’t the word he wanted to use, but he didn’t dare say cute.

Hart narrowed his eyes and puffed his cheeks. “You’re not that observant, are you?”

Judah sighed and looked away awkwardly. He wasn’t feeling very prideful at the moment. He should’ve been proud that he was getting Hart the things he liked instinctively, but he was struggling. “Suppose not,” he admitted, “I cain’t seem to think right when yer around.”

Hart covered his mouth with his hand in surprise. “Do you like me?”

Judah’s eyes grew wide, and he wasted no time dragging Hart off into some random alley.

“Judah,” Hart said, “I read it in a book, you know. When someone gets really shy and awkward around someone else, that usually means they like them. That’s what you do. I’ve noticed. You keep buying me things, too.”

“I ain’t shy,” Judah said, trying to keep his dignity.

“You like me,” Hart replied a matter of factly. Before Judah could respond, Hart continued, “I like you too,” he said. “I like it when you buy me things and when you spend time with me. Also, when we—” Judah covered Hart’s mouth with his hand.

“Now, we ain’t gotta go mentionin’ that out loud,” he said. He could feel his cheeks reddening. He wasn’t about to admit to anything, but he wasn’t going to deny it either.

Hart smiled up at him. “Are you still going to take me shopping?”

Bless Hart for reading him so well. “Yeah,” he said, “let’s go shoppin’.”

They left the alley and made their way to various shops. Clothes first, then the bookshop. Judah was enjoying his time with Hart, and Hart seemed to be having a wonderful time—their hands were never parted for long. Was Judah going to mention this to anyone? No. Not likely. Hart may, but that’s the risk he was willing to take.

It was more than an hour before the two made their way back around and to the bakery. Hart looked at Judah curiously when they went inside.

“Honey?” Judah called when they reached the counter.

“Coming!”

Hart was looking at the various sweets when the pâtissier, Honey, made his way out holding a box.

“It’s all done,” Honey beamed.

Judah nodded and didn’t hesitate to pay. Hart, on the other hand, stared at the box curiously. It wasn’t until they were nearly home that he spoke again.

“Judah,” he said, “I hope this doesn’t upset you, but… I’m not a big fan of sweets.”

“You don’ like sweets?” Judah questioned, looking down at the sweet he’d just paid for. Now that he thought about it, each time he brought Hart sweets, he only ate a few bites before stopping. “Well,” he said with a quiet chuckle, “at least I know someone who will enjoy it.”

“You’re not upset, are you?” Hart asked when they were on their way home, box in hand.

Judah shook his head. “It’s like you said,” he looked over at Hart, “I ain’t very observant when it comes to you.”

Hart smiled softly. “So,” he said, “is this about the bookmarked page in the guide to celebrate Cherubmas?”

Judah sucked in a hiss. “Yeah,” he admitted, “somethin’ about Emphasising the importance of loved ones and showing appreciation for friends and partners.”

“Partners?” Hart eyed him. “Is that what I am?”

Judah flinched. “Partner, lover… beloved… friend, even, whatever the title is. Yer important to me.” He said it out loud, and he wasn’t embarrassed about it. Quite the opposite, actually. He was rather pleased to let Hart know. Perhaps then he would understand that Judah didn’t want him with anyone else. “So,” Judah said, “do ya think I did all right with this whole… togetherness thing?”

Hart hummed softly. “I think you could use some more practice. Good thing I’m here, or it’ll never get done.”

“Good thing,” Judah agreed with a soft sigh. He really was weak to Hart.