Sleigh Duty
SLEIGH DUTY
By
L.M. Brown
Copyright
Sleigh Duty
Copyright © 2019 by L.M. Brown
First E-book Publication: December 2019
Cover design by Studioenp
Editor: No Stone Unturned Editing
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The Licensed Art Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; any person depicted in the Licensed Art Material, is a model. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to prosecution. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission of the author.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Trademark Acknowledgements
Sleigh Duty
More Seasonal Stories
About the Author
Books by L.M. Brown
Trademark Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Trademark: Copyright Holder
Dumbo: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Sleigh Duty
As the office Christmas party started to wind down, Dashiel hovered near the buffet table, watching Stuart laugh with a couple of the guys from accounts. The dark-haired man stood taller than everyone else and was easy to pick out in the crowd. Dashiel had been trying to get Stuart alone to ask him out for the last month, but the man was so popular, it was proving an impossible task.
“If you’re waiting to catch him on his own, you’ll still be waiting in the new year.”
Dashiel smiled at Penny, the bubbly receptionist, who had been teasing him about his crush on Stuart for months. “I know, but I’m not going to ask him out in front of those idiots. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was the IT crowd, rather than the uptight pricks in accounts.”
Penny’s giggle ended with a hiccup. She’d clearly been at the punch bowl.
“He’s heading this way,” Penny murmured. “This is your chance. I’d wish you good luck, but we both know you don’t need it.”
Dashiel snorted and shook his head, but when he opened his mouth to reply, she had already gone.
“Was it something I said?” Stuart asked as he gestured to the retreating receptionist.
“No, she’s just doing the rounds.” Dashiel stepped aside to let Stuart grab a plate, not that there was much food left. “So, got any plans for Christmas?”
Stuart grinned. “I’ll be spending it with my family. What about you?”
Dashiel shrugged. “The same. I thought I might try to get a date for Christmas Eve, but I’m not sure whether the guy I’m interested in would be up for it.”
Stuart smirked at him. “Anyone I know?”
Dashiel rolled his eyes. He wasn’t so insecure that he didn’t recognise when he was being teased. “Like you don’t know I’m talking about you.”
Stuart laughed and leaned closer. “You realise I am going to make you actually ask, right?”
“Maybe I won’t then,” Dashiel replied.
“Even if I told you the answer would be yes?”
Dashiel laughed and nudged him with his elbow. “Git.”
“Yep.”
Dashiel waited to see if Stuart was going to let him off the hook, but it soon became clear he wasn’t. “So, would you like to go out for dinner with me on Christmas Eve?”
Stuart smiled. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Dashiel gave him a mock frown. “That didn’t sound like a yes.”
“It’s a yes,” Stuart assured him. “Do you have my number?”
“Yeah. I’ll give you a call tomorrow and we can sort out the details.”
“Sounds good.”
Dashiel spied someone waving from near the entrance. “I think you’re being beckoned.”
Stuart nodded. “I’d rather stay here with you, but I’d better not keep the boss waiting. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Dashiel watched Stuart walk away and decided that his Christmas was definitely looking up.
* * * *
Stuart arrived home to find cheesy Christmas songs playing on the radio and his baby brother fast asleep in the chair. “Has he behaved?” he whispered to Mrs Young, who had kindly offered to watch him so he could stay at work for the Christmas party.
“Good as gold,” she replied. “Did you have a nice time?”
“Yes, it was great to relax and chat with everyone.”
“I’m glad to hear it. You deserve to have a little fun. You work too hard.”
Stuart sat on the sofa and put his feet up on the table. “It’s good to be home though. It’s been a long week.”
“My husband has been saying the same thing. Speaking of which, I should get back to him.”
Stuart put his feet down and sat up. “Just a moment, I’ve got something under the tree for you.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
Stuart smiled and shook his head. “I wanted to. You’ve been great about picking Sammy up from school and watching him until I get back from work. I don’t know what I’d have done without you this year.”
“It’s going to be a tough Christmas for the two of you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, for Sammy especially. That’s why I want to make it as special for him as I can.”
Stuart gestured to the fancy trimmings, the stack of presents under the tree, and the stockings over the fireplace. He had gone all out to do everything he could to try to fill the gap left by the loss of their parents the previous winter.
“You’re doing a great job.” Mrs Young took the present from him and gave him a quick hug. “Merry Christmas.”
“You too.”
Stuart was reluctant to disturb Sammy, but when he went back into the living room his brother was awake. “Hey, Sammy, what have you been doing all day?”
“We’ve been watching movies and making cookies for Santa. But you forgot to get carrots for Rudolph.”
Stuart had been a little surprised to discover that his nine-year-old brother still believed in Santa. He was sure he had been younger than that when he’d discovered the truth. He had no intention, however, of making this difficult Christmas any worse by shattering his brother’s dreams. The carrots had been a simple omission since neither he nor Sammy liked them.
“We’ll go get some in the morning,” Stuart assured him. “I promise everything is going to be perfect by the time Santa gets here.”
“Great!” Sammy gave a huge yawn. “What time are Granny and Grandpa coming over?”
“Not until after lunch on Christmas Eve, they’ll be coming over in the afternoon with presents, and in the evening they’re going to sit with you while I go out to dinner with a friend.”
“You asked him?” Sammy bounced on his seat, all evidence of tiredness gone.
“No, he asked me,” Stuart replied. By lucky c
hance, he had already asked his grandparents if they would mind babysitting Sammy while he went on a date on Christmas Eve. They had been delighted to spend more time with their youngest grandson.
Stuart was equally excited about spending time with Dashiel. The brown-haired, brown-eyed man had a quiet presence, one that made Stuart think of home, whenever he was near.
“Is he going to be your special friend?” Sammy asked.
Stuart chuckled. His special friend had been how their parents had explained his various boyfriends to Sammy. At first they had tried to explain his sexuality by comparing his relationships to their own and their grandparents, but each time Stuart broke up with a boyfriend, Sammy worried that their parents might separate too. His mother came up with the term special friend, and Stuart used it as well. Now Sammy was getting older, he should probably try explaining the whole boyfriend thing again, but it was just another example of Stuart doing his best to stop the passage of time for his baby brother.
“Is he?” Sammy prompted, and Stuart realised his mind had wandered again.
“Maybe. We’ll have to see.”
“But you hope so, right?”
Stuart smiled. “Yeah, I hope so.” He really did. There was something different about Dashiel, and he couldn’t wait to get to know him better.
* * * *
Dashiel glared at the green, red and gold envelope on the mantelpiece, heartily wishing it would vanish as magically as it had appeared a few moments before.
“Fuck!”
Swearing at it didn’t make any difference. He wondered whether ignoring it might work, but he suspected not. He had been summoned and not reading the letter wouldn’t change that fact.
He snatched the envelope and tore it open. Even if he hadn’t seen it appear from out of thin air, the chime of bells as he opened it would have been the next clue as to what it was.
The first time he had seen one of these letters, he had been seven years old. His mother had been the recipient and she’d been delighted. She had told him how much of an honour it was to be called to sleigh duty on Christmas Eve. Out of all the reindeer shifters in the world, just eight were chosen each year to pull Santa’s sleigh. The shifters were picked at random, and the summonses sent out to the lucky few.
His mother had been called six times during her life, his father summoned nine times. Dashiel had never been called, until now.
Sure enough, the letter was the summons to sleigh duty, with a reminder that it was not optional, and he would be transported by magic to the North Pole twelve hours before the sleigh was due to depart.
There would be harness fitting, and a brief period of training and learning how to fly, since generally reindeer shifters remained on the ground. It was only those summoned on Christmas Eve that could take to the air. If it wasn’t for the wretched timing, Dashiel would have been looking forward to that part.
He would have to cancel his date, and he had no idea what he was going to tell Stuart. He doubted the truth would go down that well, even if he did have that option. Unfortunately, while it wasn’t forbidden to tell humans about being a shifter, the whole Santa business was a different matter. Even other shifter species didn’t know about that.
There was no point in putting it off, he would just have to reschedule and hope that Stuart was free some time between Christmas and New Year’s Day for dinner.
He reached for his mobile, only to find his hand passing straight through it. That was when he remembered the time zones. It might still be the twenty-third of December in England, but in other parts of the world, it was already Christmas Eve. He hoped they had phones at the North Pole.
* * * *
Stuart heard the phone ring from the kitchen. “Can you get that, Sammy?”
He wondered who it was. Dashiel had phoned earlier to confirm the arrangements for their date.
Sammy wandered in with the phone. “It’s for you.”
Stuart grabbed a towel to wipe his hands. “Thanks, pal.” He put the phone to his ear and was greeted by a lot of static. “Hello?”
“Hey, Stuart, can you hear me? The line is shocking.”
“Yes, I can hear you, but only just. What’s up?”
“Um… who was that who answered the phone?”
Stuart got the distinct impression Dashiel was stalling. “That’s my brother, Sammy. He lives here with me.”
“He does?” Dashiel sounded surprised.
“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll tell you all about him when we go to dinner.”
“Er, about that…”
“What is it?”
“I’m going to have to cancel. Something’s come up.”
Disappointment hit him like a punch to the gut. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. It’s just… it’s complicated. I was hoping we could reschedule for some time after Boxing Day.”
“I’ll have to check with my grandparents if they can come over and watch Sammy. Can I get back to you?”
“Yeah, sure, that’s—”
Suddenly a voice in the background at the other end of the line interrupted whatever Dashiel was going to say. “Hey, Dashiel, get off the phone and get through here. You need to be naked, like now.”
The line went quiet, as though Dashiel had hit the secrecy button. He came back on a moment later. “Sorry about that. I’ve got to go.”
“So I heard,” Stuart replied. “Don’t let me keep you.”
He ended the call before Dashiel could reply.
“What’s the matter?” Sammy asked. “Is that the friend you’re seeing tomorrow?”
“Not anymore,” Stuart replied. “He’s busy.”
He gave Sammy a bright smile and hoped it didn’t seem fake. “Which means I get to stay with you and Granny and Grandpa all evening instead. Isn’t that great?”
Sammy nodded and took the phone back to the living room, leaving Stuart to his cooking.
“Damn it,” Stuart muttered as he swiped at his eyes, telling himself it was the onions making his eyes run. “It was only a fucking date. Pull yourself together. Sammy needs you to make his Christmas special.”
* * * *
“Seriously?” Dashiel snapped at Fred, the reindeer shifter who had loaned him his mobile, and who should really have been called Prancer. He had never known anyone so excited about the idea of spending Christmas Eve hauling a sleigh around the world. “Do you have any idea how that must have sounded from the other end of the line?”
“What?” Fred asked. “You need to shift to have your harness fitted.”
“Yeah, but shouting that I need to get naked like that. If he heard you, he probably thinks we’re having sex right now.”
“I’m not gay,” Fred replied.
“But I am, and I was supposed to go out to dinner with him. I just cancelled and then you’re shouting about getting naked. He probably thinks we’re fucking.”
“Bloody hell, don’t be so dramatic. Call him back and explain.”
“I can’t. It took me this long to get a damn signal as it is. The reception here is shit.”
“What do you expect?” Hetty asked. “You’re at the North Pole, in the middle of a snow storm.”
Dashiel sighed. “So I’d noticed. This has just really screwed up my plans for the holidays. I wish there was a way to get it deferred or something. I can’t believe there isn’t.”
“You can get it deferred if it’s a genuine emergency,” Yuri commented from where he was hanging up his jacket in his assigned stall. “My wife had to defer her duty last year.”
“She did?” Dashiel wandered over to the stall, eager to hear what constituted an emergency. “How was she able to do that?”
“My contractions had started,” the diminutive female in the neighbouring stall announced. “Apart from the whole not being able to shift into my reindeer form while I was in labour, even if I had been shifted when they started, I don’t think Santa would have wanted me giving birth somewhere in the sky over Tokyo. So, it was deferre
d and I’m pulling the sleigh this year instead. By pure luck, Yuri got summoned this year as well. It’ll be the first time we’ve been on duty together.”
Yuri grinned. “And Mrs Claus gets babysitting duty for the night. She’s got four of them to take care of this year.”
“Surely there are other emergencies besides giving birth?” Dashiel asked.
“Of course there are, but you aren’t in a coma or anything, are you? You’re just pissed off because you had to break a date. That’s not an emergency, so suck it up and get undressed so you can shift and be fitted for your harness.”
Dashiel could see he wasn’t going to get any sympathy from the other shifters. He supposed they were right. It didn’t make it any less of an annoyance, though.
With no other option, he headed to his own stall, undressed, and shifted into his reindeer form.
“Dashiel, you’re up next,” the elf in charge of fittings called. “Get your hooves moving, you’re holding everyone up.”
Dashiel wondered who had first depicted Santa’s elves as cheerful little toy makers. He had yet to see one smile. They seemed even more miserable than he was right now. Of course, he hadn’t met many, and it was the most stressful time of year for them. Not to mention they hadn’t seen daylight in three months. That would make him grumpy too. Still, there was no need for them to prod him in the rear quite so hard to get him moving.
The next few hours were spent being trained in how to respond to the reins. Dashiel didn’t mind learning how to pull the sleigh, he just wished they could leave off the bells until they were in the air. The constant jingling was driving him up the wall.
Then came the flying lessons. Yuri must have seen Dumbo recently, because he was giving them a loud rendition of the song about elephants flying, but substituting reindeer instead. Apparently teasing the first timers like Dashiel was the highlight of his night. There were three shifters who had never been summoned before, Dashiel being the youngest of the trio.