A Gift from the Heart

Hart worked diligently, crafting supplies scattered around him as he glued yet another puffball to the sweater he had spread out on the floor. It was a black sweater to start, the bottom carefully hemmed with white puffed garland for snow. That was, at least, the easiest part to do. Now, he was working on a wreath. He had the wreath itself done, white tinsel garland carefully stitched into a circle on the sweater. From there, he was adding the puffballs as baubles and holly berries.

Perhaps it wasn’t perfect, but he was trying his best. Sure, he could go out and purchase a sweater for Judah, but that was like having Judah buy his own things. It wasn’t as though Hart had his own money to spend; he wasn’t working. Not like everyone else in the house. So, he opted to make the sweater instead of buying it. Though, he did have Judah buy all the supplies he needed… was that buying his own sweater? …Nah. It was different because Hart was decorating it himself!

Extra holly leaves were next. He cautiously sewed them onto the garland, favouring the pricked fingers over the hard bits of glue he was getting with the puffs. Besides, at least the leaves were more likely to stay on the sweater with stitching rather than glue.

Hart hummed softly to himself—it was one of the few holiday hymns he’d learned from his little pamphlet. Eventually, Hart sewed on the final piece for the sweater—a pretty golden bow just at the bottom of the wreath. Looking at the sweater, however, he decided it needed more. Snowflakes. Yeah. He could make snowflakes, and thanks to one of the many books he had, he learned that embroidery wasn’t terribly difficult to do.

A few hours later—and no Judah in sight—he finished. He held the sweater up to look at it and he wondered, would Judah wear it? Would he even like it? He paused. Of course he’d like it! It was from him, after all, and Judah couldn’t lie to him even when he tried. Hart was naïve about some things, but he certainly wasn’t stupid.

He gave the sweater another look before grabbing a hanger to hand it up. He would’ve folded it but didn’t want to risk it getting damaged. Now that he was finished, he had to track down Judah. That in itself may have seemed like an easy feat, but it wasn’t. The house was large, and there were more than a few rooms. He could’ve been in any of them and with anyone.

Speaking of… Hart realised that while Judah wanted to keep him all to himself, Judah still messed around with others… that was a thought for another day. For now, find Judah.

It took him a while, but he found Judah resting in his study after some directing. It was one of the first places he looked, but he assumed the man was doing something when he came by the first time.

“Judah,” Hart said, entering the room.

Judah opened his eyes and looked over at Hart from his settee. “Whatcha need, darlin’?”

Hart beamed and hurried over, sweater awkwardly tucked behind him so as not to give away the surprise. “I made you something.”

“That so?” Judah questioned. He turned and sat up straight, putting all his attention on Hart.

He tried to peek around Hart to see what he had, but Hart dodged his glances. “You have to promise to try it on.”

Judah raised an eyebrow. “Promise?”

Even if it was a question, Hart took it as an answer. He bounced eagerly as he revealed the sweater, holding it in front of him. “I made you a sweater!”

Hart could tell that Judah was attempting to steal his expression, but Hart wouldn’t be convinced that the man hated it. It took a moment, but Judah finally reached forward, took the sweater off the hanger, and pulled it on over his head. Still, Hart tried to read him; he couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Hart was sure it wasn’t anything bad.

“Do you like it?”

Judah looked down at the sweater momentarily and then returned to Hart. “You worked real hard on this, didn’ya?”

It wasn’t an answer, but Hart ignored that for now. “I’ve been working on it all day.”

The man nodded. “I’cn tell,” Judah replied. “You did well,” he added, “nicer than most o’ these things. Ain’t scratchy. Not too bright n’ loud.”

Hart was still hopeful that he’d get an answer to his question, but he didn’t want to press. Judah fell silent for a moment before slowly reaching out to take Hart’s hands. He pulled him close and then slipped his arms around his waist. “Thank you,” he said softly. Hart blushed as Judah pressed his face against his stomach. “I like it,” he finally said, though it was quiet. It seemed as though Judah was still struggling to be honest with himself. However, Hart could deal with that because Judah was somewhat honest.

“I’m glad,” Hart said, placing his hand atop Judah’s head. “You don’t have to wear it in front of anyone else if you don’t want to.”

Judah peered up at him. “Why should I take it off?”

Hart was taken aback, “Because you might get embarrassed?”

There was no hesitation, “Then I’ll deal with it,” Judah said.

It was impossible for Hart to hide his smile. He hugged Judah’s head against his middle, and when that wasn’t enough, he pulled away and climbed into his lap, hugging him again because Judah hadn’t pushed him away. He didn’t deny that he liked the sweater, and he wasn’t going to hide it from others. His heart was all a flutter, and he couldn’t be happier.

Between his closeness and his weight, however, some of the puffs started falling off Judah’s sweater. “Hart,” Judah said, playing with one of the lost puffs, “I think my sweater needs some repairs.”

Hart giggled, “I’ll sew them on this time.” It was his first time with a craft like this, after all.