Yuletide Gift
Dec. 23rd, 2022 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oprorsk_sodeFor Nexus Prompt 5. The simple things are what matter in the end.
Mikkel's life was getting better than it had ever been. Stable food, stable shelter, and he was slowly learning he was physically and mentally safe. There were so many people he felt thankful for and that was what had him at Torden's door. The older Dane took care of everyone, apparent in the two drunks sleeping safely on the apartment sofa.
The older Dane was eager to help the younger with his request. He wanted to learn how to make Danish chocolates and a vegetarian variety of their traditional pastries that usually contained more lard than most people would find necessary.
Mikkel was in the kitchen stirring the melting chocolate when Torden started to laugh. It was enough to have the dancer staring.
"So which one of your boyfriends is this for?" Torden hadn't heard about either of them being vegetarian but he hadn't asked either.
Mikkel blushed red across the cheeks. "It isn't for them."
Torden's laughter cut off from curiosity that was tangible in his body language while he pulled the Danishes out of the oven.
"Minoru." Mikkel clarified.
"Wait... are you.." Torden's open variety of love and affection allowed him to easily imagine Minoru dating both Ziggy and Mikkel. They had some things in common after all.
"NO!" Mikkel blurted it out then giggled when he remembered that Minoru had assumed the same about him in a way. "He.. well he helped me understand.. well.. Fredrik."
Torden followed the line of thought easily since both younger men were not very sexual, or at least not as sexual as the young Dane. "A Yule gift then?"
"I.. I guess. Maybe a thank you." Mikkel wasn't sure what he was doing. He simply wanted to do something nice for Minoru since he had helped a lot when it came to Mikkel navigating his own relationships.
"You should make him a card." Torden encouraged. "Your drawing is as good as your dancing."
The compliment brightened his cheeks again and he fumbled over starting a sentence. The uncertainty to the youngest of the Danes, in Torden's opinion, was attractive and sweet. On the outside he might look dirty but inside he was still innocent in ways the others hadn't been in years.
"I'll finish these. Why don't you go do some art?"
Mikkel nodded and handed over the cooking to Torden before heading into the other room. The art went smoothly but the writing, by the time Torden brought up the wrapped food treats Mikkel had a pile of crumpled paper all over the table. Hearing Torden set down the tray of treats on the table was enough to bring the young Dane to tears.
"Hey." Torden set the things down and went to the Dane. Mikkel instantly buried himself in Torden's chest. "What's wrong?"
Torden thought maybe it was more relationship stress. The poor Dane was so much younger and inexperienced that the environment, with all the maturity and debauchery, left him uneasy a lot of the time. However, the older Dane came to the answer on his own. Writing. One thing that few people knew, except maybe Rik, was Mikkel's education or rather lack of it. While they pushed Rik so hard to succeed it nearly broke him, Mikkel was forbidden from leaving the house, or unable to, and his schooling suffered. Torden wondered if he even completed school or not. Now was not the time to ask.
Mikkel was still shaking his head no against Torden's chest over the question. He didn't want to answer. He hated all the roadblocks he slammed into because of his childhood and worse, learning that it wasn't normal. He has thought that maybe this was how a lot of people grew up.
"I understand. It is hard to say thank you for something so important." Torden had nearly raised Mikkel after Rik fled. He knew how to pull him from these teary eyed breakdowns. "Do you want some help?"
Mikkel shook his head no. Torden bit back the sigh of frustration but he knew this was the norm. "I had to offer but I know you can take care of yourself."
Mikkel started to look up and then wiped away the tears. Those words helped and he pulled out another sheet of paper. The older Dane smiled at the frilly handwriting as Mikkel wrote out the greeting. It wasn't that Mikkel couldn't write, Torden thought he had some of the most beautiful handwriting but the process of going from Danish to English then writing in English was where the younger blonde tripped up. Most people saw his slow reading and wrote it off to his bratty attitude but it was much deeper.
The thank you went down in Danish and then Mikkel froze. Torden stroked his shoulder and hugged him a bit. "Maybe, tell him how his advice improved things and some traditional blessings?"
Mikkel nodded and Torden stayed silent for the most part. He knew Mikkel needed the room to do this himself but the teenage Dane craved support too. There was no bother over it taking more than an hour to write out a simple thank you and a holiday wish but Mikkel was proud of the outcome. Once the writing was done so were the tears. The sweets were placed in a traditional metal tin the Danes used for the holidays, tied with ribbons.
Torden stayed with Mikkel, allowing the younger Dane to sit on his lap while he made several small Yule goats to tie to the ribbons. The last piece was the card, hand decorated with the traditional image of Thor, his goats, and sleigh. Minoru might not understand any of the significance, Torden knew this, but a gift was a gift. With a little encouragement, Mikkel took the gift to Ziggy who would be seeing the twins long before the Danes. Mikkel still fretted that the gift wouldn't be enough or wasn't right but it was sent now and there was no way to recall it.
Reply here
Mikkel's life was getting better than it had ever been. Stable food, stable shelter, and he was slowly learning he was physically and mentally safe. There were so many people he felt thankful for and that was what had him at Torden's door. The older Dane took care of everyone, apparent in the two drunks sleeping safely on the apartment sofa.
The older Dane was eager to help the younger with his request. He wanted to learn how to make Danish chocolates and a vegetarian variety of their traditional pastries that usually contained more lard than most people would find necessary.
Mikkel was in the kitchen stirring the melting chocolate when Torden started to laugh. It was enough to have the dancer staring.
"So which one of your boyfriends is this for?" Torden hadn't heard about either of them being vegetarian but he hadn't asked either.
Mikkel blushed red across the cheeks. "It isn't for them."
Torden's laughter cut off from curiosity that was tangible in his body language while he pulled the Danishes out of the oven.
"Minoru." Mikkel clarified.
"Wait... are you.." Torden's open variety of love and affection allowed him to easily imagine Minoru dating both Ziggy and Mikkel. They had some things in common after all.
"NO!" Mikkel blurted it out then giggled when he remembered that Minoru had assumed the same about him in a way. "He.. well he helped me understand.. well.. Fredrik."
Torden followed the line of thought easily since both younger men were not very sexual, or at least not as sexual as the young Dane. "A Yule gift then?"
"I.. I guess. Maybe a thank you." Mikkel wasn't sure what he was doing. He simply wanted to do something nice for Minoru since he had helped a lot when it came to Mikkel navigating his own relationships.
"You should make him a card." Torden encouraged. "Your drawing is as good as your dancing."
The compliment brightened his cheeks again and he fumbled over starting a sentence. The uncertainty to the youngest of the Danes, in Torden's opinion, was attractive and sweet. On the outside he might look dirty but inside he was still innocent in ways the others hadn't been in years.
"I'll finish these. Why don't you go do some art?"
Mikkel nodded and handed over the cooking to Torden before heading into the other room. The art went smoothly but the writing, by the time Torden brought up the wrapped food treats Mikkel had a pile of crumpled paper all over the table. Hearing Torden set down the tray of treats on the table was enough to bring the young Dane to tears.
"Hey." Torden set the things down and went to the Dane. Mikkel instantly buried himself in Torden's chest. "What's wrong?"
Torden thought maybe it was more relationship stress. The poor Dane was so much younger and inexperienced that the environment, with all the maturity and debauchery, left him uneasy a lot of the time. However, the older Dane came to the answer on his own. Writing. One thing that few people knew, except maybe Rik, was Mikkel's education or rather lack of it. While they pushed Rik so hard to succeed it nearly broke him, Mikkel was forbidden from leaving the house, or unable to, and his schooling suffered. Torden wondered if he even completed school or not. Now was not the time to ask.
Mikkel was still shaking his head no against Torden's chest over the question. He didn't want to answer. He hated all the roadblocks he slammed into because of his childhood and worse, learning that it wasn't normal. He has thought that maybe this was how a lot of people grew up.
"I understand. It is hard to say thank you for something so important." Torden had nearly raised Mikkel after Rik fled. He knew how to pull him from these teary eyed breakdowns. "Do you want some help?"
Mikkel shook his head no. Torden bit back the sigh of frustration but he knew this was the norm. "I had to offer but I know you can take care of yourself."
Mikkel started to look up and then wiped away the tears. Those words helped and he pulled out another sheet of paper. The older Dane smiled at the frilly handwriting as Mikkel wrote out the greeting. It wasn't that Mikkel couldn't write, Torden thought he had some of the most beautiful handwriting but the process of going from Danish to English then writing in English was where the younger blonde tripped up. Most people saw his slow reading and wrote it off to his bratty attitude but it was much deeper.
The thank you went down in Danish and then Mikkel froze. Torden stroked his shoulder and hugged him a bit. "Maybe, tell him how his advice improved things and some traditional blessings?"
Mikkel nodded and Torden stayed silent for the most part. He knew Mikkel needed the room to do this himself but the teenage Dane craved support too. There was no bother over it taking more than an hour to write out a simple thank you and a holiday wish but Mikkel was proud of the outcome. Once the writing was done so were the tears. The sweets were placed in a traditional metal tin the Danes used for the holidays, tied with ribbons.
Torden stayed with Mikkel, allowing the younger Dane to sit on his lap while he made several small Yule goats to tie to the ribbons. The last piece was the card, hand decorated with the traditional image of Thor, his goats, and sleigh. Minoru might not understand any of the significance, Torden knew this, but a gift was a gift. With a little encouragement, Mikkel took the gift to Ziggy who would be seeing the twins long before the Danes. Mikkel still fretted that the gift wouldn't be enough or wasn't right but it was sent now and there was no way to recall it.
Reply here
