“Hey, anyone remember that first Christmas together?” Kevin smiled, setting his mug down upon the coffee table that was near him. “That first year we started out?”

Howie laughed. “Who could forget? That was one crazy holiday. Shows galore; so many we almost completely forgot about Christmas.”

“Yeah, until Frack started hinting at what he wanted from Santa,” Brian piped up, taking a sip of his hot cocoa afterwards.

A.J. chuckled. “I swear the Kid had a list a mile long.”

“Hey, you weren’t any better yourself,” Kevin reminded him.

A.J. shrugged. “I’m an only child, what did you expect?”

“That was a great Christmas,” Howie said. “We sure had a lot of fun on our one day off. Snowball fights, and Christmas carols, and hot cocoa.”

“That was the worst Christmas ever!” Nick declared suddenly joining in on the conversation.

“How come, Frack?” Brian wanted to know, setting his now empty mug down next to Kevin’s that was still on the wooden coffee table.

“Because Bonehead here,” Nick began, jabbing a finger in A.J.’s direction. “Ruined the whole Santa Claus thing for me!”

“Well, I couldn’t believe you were twelve and still swearing he was real!” A.J. exclaimed, taking a marshmallow from his mug and popping it into his mouth.

“If it weren’t for you, I’d still believe in Santa! You took half the fun out of it for me! And then when I talked to my siblings, I had to keep my mouth shut, because I didn’t want them to be as upset as I was over the whole Santa thing.”

“And to this day, you still whine about that fact,” Kevin smirked. “Seems A.J. tortured you quite nicely.”

“Oh, shaddup,” Nick grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting somewhat, his hot cocoa now forgotten.

Brian eyed the other four men with him, who were currently sitting in his living room near the Christmas tree drinking hot chocolate. After a moment’s silence, he suddenly began to sing, in order to change the subject.

“We wish you a Whale Christmas, we which you a Whale Christmas. We wish you a Whale Christmas, and a happy Squid Year. Good tidings we bring to you and your Squid. Good tidings for a Whale Christmas, and a happy Squid Year!”

The other four guys looked at him strangely, wondering just where that song had come from - And if he’d had just one too many cups of cocoa with marshmallows.

“What?” Brian grinned, squishing a marshmallow between his fingers. “Did you guys never make up a parody to a Christmas song for school?”

The others shook their heads, still looking at him as though he was crazy.

“Are you sure you haven’t been into the egg nog yet?” A.J. queried, eyeing his friend suspiciously.

Brian shrugged. “Nope, no nog for me. Hehe. And I say we hand out gifts now.”

“Yes, let’s before Frick giggles again,” Nick said, shaking his head. It’d been a while since he’d heard the older man actually giggle.

“And why are we doing this a few days early again?” Kevin asked, as he picked up the gifts he’d brought with him.

“Because we wanted to be alone for this,” A.J. reminded him. “Remember old man? We agreed we’d hang out by ourselves for the gift unveiling, so we sent the wives and kiddies and girlfriends out for the night.”

“I’m not old, and you’re catching up baldy,” Kevin remarked.

“Hey! No bald jokes!” Brian exclaimed. “Some of us are still in denial here!”

Kevin rolled his eyes at his cousin, then handed A.J. a present. “Here Bone.”

A.J. smirked. “Aha! I get the first gift this year!”

Nick scowled. “Not fair. I wanted the first one.”

“Nicky, you always get the first one,” Howie replied.

“Exactly! So why mess with tradition?” Nick countered.

“Because I decided it was time to do so,” Kevin answered, as A.J. began to tear the gift open.

A.J. finished unwrapping the gift and laughed heartily. “A Christmas thong! I’m so displaying this in my car! This is so frigin awesome Kev! Thanks!”

“Only Aje would be excited about a thong,” Brian laughed.

“Hey! Not just any thong! A Christmas thong!” A.J. exclaimed, taking it and sticking it on his head.

“I think someone else dipped into the egg nog as well,” Howie commented, shaking his head. Only his best friend would stick a thong on his head – a Christmas one at that.

“Well, seems his head has become his ass,” Nick stated dryly. “That’s always nice to know. It explains why he tells people to kiss his ass all the time – his lips are down there.”

A.J. snorted and smacked Nick upside the head. “Shove it, Carter.”

Nick yelped and rubbed the back of his head. “Kevin, A.J. hit me!” He whined.

“Aje, no hitting Nick,” Kevin stated, and seeing Nick smirk he continued, “Unless I say it’s okay.”

“Hey!” Nick whined again.

Everyone laughed at the youngest one’s expense, as he was just too easy to pick on sometimes.

“Hey, remember that – that thing I got from a fan the one year,” Howie asked.

“What thing?” Kevin questioned.

“You know, that thing,” Howie replied.

“D., you gotta be a lil’ more specific than that,” A.J. chuckled. “We’ve gotten a shitload of things from fans over the years.”

“It was bright and cheery, and had my face on it,” Howie reminded them. “And writing of some sort on the back.”

“Oh! The shirt!” Brian exclaimed. “Yeah, I remember that! It was homemade too, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Howie nodded. “The girl had painted the picture on the front and the writing on the back. That was a pretty amazing gift. It had to have taken her a long time to make it. I think I actually still got it in my closet somewhere.”

“Cool!” Nick smiled. “I wish a fan would make me something like that. All I ever get is condoms lately.”

A.J. clapped Nick on the back. “As you should, Carter. What, with the way you go through girls,”

Nick scowled. “Not always my fault, Boner. And you’re one to talk, I mean, you’re nickname is boner for crying aloud!”

“Yeah, but still!” A.J. argued.

“Children!” Kevin cut in. “Enough!”

And so the gift exchange continued on, despite A.J. ragging on Nick about always getting condoms with phone numbers on them from fans, and the fact he’s yet to find a decent girlfriend. With, of course, Kevin trying to keep order, and Howie trying to keep peace; and Brian just sitting there smiling at his crazy dysfunctional, but loving Backstreet family.