Brennan

@brennan--beckett

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, mind flicking between the vampire idea and peanut butter + jelly. “Hmm,” he drawled, voice full of mock seriousness. “Classic vampires… or ultimate snack icons. That’s a tough one.” He looked up at her, eyes crinkling with a grin. “I mean, the peanut butter and jelly thing does sound ridiculous, but also kind of perfect. Especially if you insist on being the jelly, because you’re definitely the sweet one.” Then, unable to help himself, he leaned forward and gently tapped her nose with his fingertip. “Besides," he added with a playful smirk, "you’re already a snack."

As their kiss deepened and her hips moved beneath his, Brennan felt the rush of heat and desire surge through him—but he also felt the weight of something more important: care. Gently, he broke the kiss, just enough to lift himself slightly, propping his weight on his arms so he could look down at Zoe’s face. His voice was low, warm, and sincere. “Hey,” he said softly, brushing a bit of hair from her cheek with his thumb. “Are you okay?” His eyes searched hers, not for doubt, but for reassurance—for clarity that she was still with him, fully. “Do you still want this? Do you still want me?” He stayed close but didn’t press further, giving her the space to speak, to shift, to change her mind if she needed to. Because more than anything else, Brennan wanted this moment to be right—for both of them. If not, he was ready to go full steam ahead.

@brennan--beckett

ezra found it effortless to talk to brenna. he never felt ashamed to invite him over to his place, even though others might judge living in a communal setting. but ezra had grown to love the place. it felt like a little chosen family, even with all the people coming and going, sometimes making it hard to keep up. but brennan never seemed to judge ezra for his choices, and that made him really happy. "that's what i thought," ezra chuckled, playfully nudging brennan's side. "if zoey's gift is better, you can tell me. it might break my heart, but i'll want to see what beat mine so i can step up my gift-giving game for next year," he joked. "yeah, it's not too bad. my mom left a while ago, and he's been pretty happy ever since. i bet his new partner is amazing," ezra nodded. he was still mad at his mother for leaving as soon as he came out to the family about his transition. the only ones who had actually been there for him were his father and his sister. he didn't need a woman in his life who hated him for being true to himself. "oh, feel free to come over whenever you want. i'm sure everyone would love to meet you, and they'd probably want you to come every day if you bring baked treats," ezra chuckled. "you could even bring your partner if you want to. but you know our family, we're pretty chill with whoever decides to join us," he shrugged. "man, i just love the holidays," ezra concluded with a content smile.

brennan was glad to have found a friend in ezra and appreciated that he always looked out for him whenever he got the chance too. brennan didn't have too many friends but the ones he did have he held close to his heart. he didn't care about his friends wealth. how much money somebody had didn't bother him. brennan wasn't rich either. he wouldn't judge anybody for how much wealth they had around them. brennan worked as a personal assistant to some well known people around the city running around trying to check of the to-do lists that gave him to do on a day basis. "i'll let you know what she gets me. i think it's probably better than what i give her." brennan wasn't the best gift giver if he was being honest. it would take him a while to figure out what present to give to his friend and his girlfriend. he procrastinated a lot. "next time i'll take you shopping with me and you can pick your own present." brennan knew that was probably a more lazy thing to do but at least ezra would like whatever brennan got him then. he wouldn't second guess and stress over shopping. his mind always ran through the what if questions. what if someone spent more? what is someone didn't like his present? brennan would bring baked treats and come to meet ezra's family over the holiday season. it'd be nice to finally meet them all. "you'd let me bring zoe?" zoe was a social person and would get on well with ezra. brennan didn't have any doubt about it. she brought the best out of everybody else. "you probably already know each other almost as much as i know you both seen as i talk to the each of you about the other one."

"touché," ezra laughed. he wasn't wealthy and didn't have enough money to live in a place all by himself. he wouldn't exactly call the people in his shared living space his family, but sometimes it was nice to have others around to vent about random things with. in his case, those rants could happen at any time. the schedules of some people in the shared living room were simply messed up, and ezra would always find someone there watching something, and he would often join in. "it really would," he agreed, realizing that his friend was right. sometimes, having less can actually be more. "well, you know me, a generous soul," ezra teased. although he often got anxious about not knowing what to gift others, he admitted that he wasn't the best at making gifts. "thanks for not breaking my heart," he chuckled, knowing that his girlfriend would probably give him a better present. after all, she was his girl, and he couldn't compete with that. "probably the same as always, my sister, my dad, and maybe his girlfriend? i don't know her, but we'll see," ezra mused. "nothing fancy, it's always been just us three. well, at least during the good christmases. we can let that woman join us this year."

brennan worked as an assistant for people which meant he could see how people with wealth flaunted how much they made near enough every day of his life. a lot of the more famous people in the city he worked along side didn't make him feel good about his position in the world. a lot of them would order him about from one to the place wanting him to go and collect orders for them which kind of sucked. sometimes he didn't even get a break if somebody was being full on. "ah, of course. one of the most generous people that i've ever known." brennan wished he could gift people more but his wage couldn't stretch that far when he was saving for a future place. he wanted to get out of his parents place soon and live his life somewhere else. "maybe you can get to know her a little bit over the festive period?" brennan didn't know how close ezra was with his family but hoped they could enjoy each other company. "i might try and pop over at some point to wish you all a happy christmas and bring you some baked treats." he didn't want to get in the way so a quick hello would suffice.

"your price range? man, this tree is completely free," ezra laughed. he didn't have the money to buy a tree like the ones his friend mentioned, not that he wanted one. "imagine a huge tree in a place like this, i think the poor thing will end up looking horrible," he mused. "everyone has their little tree dressed up differently; imagine a combination of the styles," he shook his head. "i feel like the only ones that would look good are the ones from the two sisters that moved in here a while ago," ezra mused. "i mean, you're not, but i don't show everyone my tree," he laughed. he was pretty much his closest friend. "it really was, i just adopted him," he nodded. ezra couldn't help but wonder how the little sad tree had looked when the last tenant bought it; for sure not like this one. "that's really nice of you. i will give you a couple for you two once i get to go on present duty," he nodded. "have in mind my presents will be the best you'll get, mark my words," he teased.

brennan patted his hand against ezra's shoulder as his friend told him that the price range for the tree was free. "exactly, dude. free is a lot closer to my price range." brennan was use to going to houses which had expensive christmas trees in them. "honestly? a massive tree would look out of place here." a tree in ezra's house would look too big. a medium sized tree would o him just fine in the future. brennan knew he was going to have go and pick a tree out soon to decorate with zoe. maybe they could make it a date and she could come over to his and help decorate? zoe would be better than him at making things match. he wasn't great at decorating all on his own. "i like giving gifts better than i like receiving them." brennan would go shopping soon to make sure everybody he loved could get a gift or two to enjoy on christmas day."i don't doubt for any second that yours will be the greatest gift that i get this year." zoe's presents might compete but he wouldn't tell ezra that. "who are you spending christmas with this year anyway?"

ezra raised an eyebrow at his words. he wouldn't exactly call that tree full of character; if he was being honest, it was pretty sad. "you think so? look at the poor thing, it's just a few years away from being a cheap plastic stick," he chuckled, taking another bite of his pizza. "people i invite over? man, i mostly just invite you," he chuckled, thinking he might invite his father at some point to tease him about his tree. "to be honest, i don't know what happened to it. when i moved here, it was already in my room. apparently, the person before me couldn't deal with the constant foot traffic," he chuckled. he knew people didn't like the place, but some of the folks living there were actually nice, like the two new sisters who moved in a couple of months ago and soren. "but anyway, i found it and i thought, 'cool, i don't have to buy a tree.' i've been putting it up every single year since i moved, but this time it looks extra sad."

brennan was use to working with local celebrities who's trees were way too much. brennan was glad to see someone with a more cheap and home-made looking tree. "dude, i'm use to seeing christmas trees the size of people's staircases. it's nice to see somebody have a tree that's more my price range." ezra's tree wasn't the best tree. some people may call it a branch with lights hanging on it. brennan liked it though. the christmas tree had personality. "i'm the only one that you invite around here?" that surprised him to say the least. brennan needed to still go out and buy his tree and ask zoe to come and help him with it. zoe's colour scheme and choices would be much better than his own. he'd prefer zoe's creative ideas. "so this tree was previously was owned by the last tenant?" brennan thought that the tree was unique. he thought the other should keep it around as a tradition. "honestly? i think it works. i think it'll look better once you start putting presents underneath it. i'll get you one from me and zoe soon enough and start the process."

ezra looked around the communal living area, which was now halfway decorated for the holidays. he noticed a couple of garlands adorning the staircase, and the tree was only halfway up, its age evident from the missing parts. he grabbed a slice of pizza from the box and mused playfully, "thank god we took a second to relax. i remembered the tree... i don't know, it seemed less sad," laughing as he glanced at the people around him. "am i the only one who thinks we should get another one?" he pondered, turning to the person next to him to share his thoughts on the matter. /open to anyone girls (they can live in there with him or the can be friends or something, in that place everyone is welcome at this point)

brennan grabbed a slice of pizza from the takeout box and bit into it as he followed ezra around the house like a lost puppy - not really knowing anyone else in this place. "another tree? i don't know to be honest. i think the one you've already got has character to it." brennan didn't think the christmas tree looked the greatest in the entire world but it was different and unique with all it's missing parts and all. nobody else's was going to look the same as ezra's. the missing part's made it stand out. "besides, it's a conversation starter at the least. everyone you invite around here is going to be like what the fuck happened to your tree?"