Page 26 of His for Hanukkah

Tate made a quiet humming sound, as though pleased, and the soft tap of the keyboard continued. Adam drifted off.

* * *

Adam woke up to gentle hands roaming his body in long strokes. He groaned and turned over.

“Hey, Little Star. Did you have a nice nap?”

He stretched and grumbled, noticing a slight ache in his hip. He had somehow ended up stretched out fully, half-under the dining room table. Only his head rested on the pillow and most of his body had been on the hard floor.

He found himself covered by a blanket and he petted it absently with his fingers. The texture was perfect. He loved soft things like this. It almost reminded him of his old sweatshirt.

He kept a handful of the blanket as he twisted and stretched in the other direction, groaning as he worked through the kinks.

“We’re going to need to invest in a sleeping mat so that you don’t hurt yourself.”

Adam nodded. That sounded nice. Maybe something soft like the blanket.

“How are you feeling?”

Tate was sitting on the floor, his legs crossed, so Adam nuzzled forward until his head was resting in his lap. He blinked up at Tate.

He wasn’t ready for talking, just cuddles.

“Are you awake enough for me to tell you our plans for the evening?”

Adam nodded lazily. Tate was giving him cuddles. He rubbed the blanket between his fingers, feeling the soft glide.

“Well, I got some onions.” Hmm… this sounded like a riddle. “And some salt.” Another pause. “Some eggs... Oil... There’s a grater. And some…”

Alright, so it wasn’t much of a riddle. “Potatoes! We’re going to make latkes!” Now he was awake.

“That’s right, baby. Are you excited?”

“Yes! I’ve never made latkes before.” Adam marveled at his own excitement for a minute, but then let it go. Around Tate, it was easy to just do what felt right.

“So, there isn’t an old family recipe?”

Adam sighed, the cuddly calm of the moment slipping away. It made him even more grateful, though, for Tate’s affectionate touch. “My parents always ordered them for our party. They’d come in big batches, so even though they were freshly made, they already tasted a little bit stale. Kate and Susie made fresh ones last year and those were really good.”

“This is about the third time you’ve mentioned spending Hanukkah with Kate and Susie. I think you do have some good Hanukkah memories.”

“Yeah, they invited me over for dinner last year, and it was really sweet. It didn’t quite feel like my holiday, but Susie was so excited about everything it was hard not to be excited too. There was a mess everywhere.”

“Should we do something with them this year?”

Adam nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Excellent. Then we will.” It was as simple as that. He didn’t need to call them and schedule it or even ask when it would happen. He said he wanted it and Tate would make it happen. Having a Daddy, even an eight-day Daddy, was marvelous.

“So, Little Star, shall we get up and make them?”

Adam shook off the last of his languorous sleepiness and popped up.

“Come on, Tate!” He reached out a hand and pulled him up.

He pulled a bit too hard, though, and they both had to stumble for their balance. He ended up catching Tate.

He wondered for a moment if showing his strength like that had been wrong. Would Tate feel weird because he wasn’t treating him like a Dom? Would his masculinity be threatened?