"This is creepy. I'm never bringing Melissa here again if you're going to spy on us," Jeff whispered as he stopped next to his mom in the hallway. They were lucky the movie was loud enough to keep Jared and Jensen from hearing him. His dad threw him a glare, but didn't move.

"We're not spying. We just came to say goodnight and didn't want to interrupt. We don't spy on any of you." His mom smiled and turned back to the scene in the living room. Megan was already curled up in the chair asleep. He'd have to pick her up and take her to bed so she didn't get a cramped neck.

Jared leaned up for a kiss, but Jeff wasn't surprised when Jensen broke it and told him that he wasn't doing anything while they were here. Jared let it go even though he'd spent twenty minutes the night before trying to convince Jeff to let him sneak into his own room so he could sleep with Jensen. Not that he couldn't see Jared's point, but Jared would regret it when Megan found out and tried to throw it back in his face in a few years because she wanted to have her boyfriend sleep over.

"Do you think we were wrong to worry so much?" His dad didn't usually ask him questions like that. Even when they asked him to talk to Jared about things, they didn't usually question themselves. It was more just relaying information. But they were all flying blind with the Jensen situation, and Jeff had been involved a lot longer.

"No. It could've gone bad. He's a lot older. Why do you think I checked up on him so much last year?"

His parents nodded, but didn't say anything as they turned back to the scene in the living room. Jared was asleep, his head resting on Jensen's lap as Jensen ran his fingers through Jared's hair. Jensen had that look on his face that he always got when Jared did something that anyone else would think was idiotic. Apparently, Jensen thought that Jared was amazing when he was sleeping.

"Yeah, but, I think we can back off a little. Look at him." His mom nodded to the living room where Jensen was brushing Jared's hair off his forehead. "How do we even know there's a girl who would love him like that?"

"Mom."

"I'm just saying. He's always been the most sensitive of all of you. He takes relationships so seriously. It's hard not to worry about him. I know you said they had some problems last summer, but since then, they've been okay, right?"

"Yeah."

"So I think we should stop worrying so much. He's taking good care of Jared, and he seems like a nice, respectful boy."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to stop spying. It's weird." Jeff grinned until his mom stopped glaring and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"We're going to bed. You get some sleep, too."

"'Night." Jeff nodded to his dad before stepping around them into the living room.

"Hey," Jeff said when Jensen looked up. "He hasn't seen the end of the movie in years."

"But he still insists on this every year?"

"Every year." Jeff knelt next the chair and pushed Megan's hair out of her face. It was probably too much to hope she'd wait ten more years before she got serious about any boy. "You can get him to bed? Ideally before I get out of the shower, and you have to wake me up doing it?"

"Yeah. Sure." Jensen nodded.

"Cool. I gotta make another call, and then I'm crashing. Jared started trying to make me get up at six. If you skip a few chapters while he's sleeping, he won't even notice." Jeff shifted Megan until he could get one arm around her back and the other under her knees. She woke up just enough to wrap her arms around his neck, but she didn't try to get up herself. So maybe he'd spoiled her a little. Every year he expected it to be the Christmas she'd say she was too old for him to carry her to bed anymore.

He left Megan on her bed and slipped outside without Jensen noticing.

"Hey. Give me a minute," Josh said when he came on the line. Jeff could hear him making excuses to someone in the room, and then the noise dropped off. "Sorry. We still have some cousins hanging around."

"No problem." He'd be nice for Christmas and not ask if anyone even mentioned Jensen.

"How is he? I called earlier, but it's always hard to tell with him."

"He seems okay. He was happy about your presents. I think he thought you weren't going to get him anything."

"I'm trying, okay?" Josh sighed.

"Yeah. I know. Did he tell you he was here when you talked to him?"

"He mentioned it."

"And you changed the subject?"

"I told him that I was glad he had somewhere to go, and asked if he was doing okay. He didn't want to talk about it. He just said he was fine. We're not like you and Jared."

"I know. I'm just saying it's going to help if you can at least mention Jared casually, so he knows it doesn't freak you out."

"I'm working on it."

"Dude. He's not even bi. He was gay way before he even met Jared. I think you're going to have to deal with it. My roommate has gay friends at TU. Almost all of them knew who he was." Hell, they knew a lot more than just who he was. Jeff had been about ready to drive down to Austin a second time and catch Jensen alone. He would have, if they hadn't all lamented about Jensen disappearing from the scene and getting a boyfriend. Apparently, it was tragic and they'd all hate Jared if he wasn't "the most fucking adorable thing ever."

"It can't be that bad if you let Jared keep dating him," Josh said.

"I'm just saying. He's not going to go straight. You have less hope than I do, and I've dealt with it."

"My hope that you were going to give me a break on Christmas was stupid, huh?"

"This is me giving you a break. I have not at all mentioned how Jensen spent most of last Christmas by himself, or told you how Jared hid presents for him to find all over the townhouse so that he wouldn't mope even though Jared didn't really know why he was there by himself."

"Of course not. Because you're a saint."

"I am. I'm playing pseudo big brother to my little brother's boyfriend who I'm not even sure I like half the time. I'm a saint."

"Ignoring that Jensen is technically older than you?"

"You're both younger than me mentally."

~*~

Another note: I've previously been told by some people that Jeff is actually older than Jensen. When I first started writing this, i heard the he was younger and wrote with that idea. I have no idea what the truth really is and um, I have the full story in my head so I don't really care? I've already had to age Mackenzie to make her make sense, so it's not like I stuck to what's really going on anyway. Sorry if it bugs anyone?