blind to the purpose of the brute divine

[abstracthalo]

 “If you could make one Christmas wish, what would it be?”

 

Blake was curious where Mark stood on their future. It had been a great couple of years together and he had a ring tucked away in his suitcase for Mark.

 

“It’s going to sound weird, but I’d like my own kid. Louie and Leni are wonderful and Sam is amazing for letting me into their lives, but I want my own child.”

 

Blake nodded. Mark was right. Sam was being a wonderful co-parent and while it was tough at first, she finally accepted that Mark was going to be part of Blake’s new family. His kids were part of that package and they loved their Uncle Mark. 

 

Blake reached down and slipped his hand into Mark’s, their fingers intertwined perfectly. He squeezed gently smiling at Mark as he did so. 

 

“Maybe something for the future. Always can adopt.”

 

Blake leaned over and kissed Mark on his cheek to reassure him that he supported whatever he wanted. He loved Mark so much that he’d try to move the mountains for him if he asked. If a kid is something he wants, then he’ll start looking into adoption. 

 

Mark settled in closer to Blake, resting his head on Blake’s shoulder. He sighed softly and closed his eyes. 

 

“Oh hell no, you are not sleeping on me.” Blake gently pushed Mark off him and pointed to the bedroom. 

 

“But you’re the best pillow I have!” Mark pouted while grabbing his glass off the coffee table. He took it to the kitchen and looked at the time. 

 

“We should get to bed anyway. It’s nine o’clock” 

 

Blake pulled himself off the couch and grabbed his popcorn bowl. He went to the kitchen and put the dishes in the dishwasher, lightly chastising Mark for not doing so in the process. 

 

They changed into their pyjamas and brushed their teeth next to each other like they did any other night. They had a routine that included Mark scrolling through his phone while Blake did his best to read something on his tablet until they fell asleep. Blake reached over and turned the light off and settled in. 

 

Blake rolled over, swearing he heard someone knocking on their door. He squinted at the time on his phone, seeing that it was only six in the morning. 

 

Blake climbed out of bed and threw on a shirt. He figured he’d be presentable in case someone was actually at the door. He padded through the house, deftly making his way around the furniture in the dark. 

 

When he got to the door, he heard someone knocking again. He flipped on the light in the kitchen and winced at how bright it was. He looked through the peephole and saw nothing. He cracked the door open and looked around, not seeing anything. He ended up looking down and he saw a small baby in a car seat and an envelope tucked in with the child. He reached down and picked up the car seat and brought it inside, not sure what else he was supposed to do. He looked outside again and couldn’t see anyone on the street, just freshly fallen snow. There were no footsteps in the snow and it looked completely untouched. 

 

Blake shook his head and shut the door behind him. He reached into the car seat and pulled out the envelope gently, trying to not jostle the baby awake. He didn’t know what the baby had been through and didn’t want to wake it up just in case it was finally sleeping after a long journey. 

 

He slid his fingers under the seal on the envelope, admiring the intricate gold design on it. As he slid the card out, he noticed a glimmer fall out of the envelope. He dusted off the sparkling dust on the card and read it.

 

Sometimes when my best children make wishes, it moves me to a point where I sprinkle some magic and grant them, even if they’re adults who have stopped believing. 

 

At the bottom the name Nick was scrawled in beautiful script. Blake pondered for a second and then he heard the baby start to coo. 

 

The baby had woke up and Blake figured it was hungry. 

 

It. He knew that he should probably take a peek to see what they were going to be dealing with and so he could stop calling it, well, it. He scooped the baby up out of the car seat and cradled it gently. He unswaddled the baby some and noticed a pink and yellow onesie. She had no name yet, but when she cooed again, Blake could feel his heart melt. Blake put her back in the car seat and turned on one of the lamps in the living room. He heard Mark making his way from the bedroom. Before he was able to make his way into the living room. As he rounded the corner, he put his finger up to his lips to let Mark know to stay quiet. 

 

“What is going on?” Mark whispered as he got closer. Blake gestured towards the sleeping baby. 

 

“You have a letter by the way” Blake handed the card over to Mark. 

Mark shook the glittering dust off the card some more and Blake watched in awe as it just disappeared and didn’t mess up the carpet. 

 

“Nick? As in Saint Nick? What kind of joke is this?”

 

Mark started glancing between the card in his hand and the baby that had woken up to his outrage. She started to cry and Mark dropped the card to make motions to pick her up. Blake was faster and scooped her up quickly, bouncing her gently to try and calm her down. 

 

“We need to get supplies. Formula and the such.” 

 

Blake didn’t feel like pointing out the obvious but Mark had seemed awestruck at the baby so he needed to bring him back down to earth. 

 

“I’ll call Sam in a few hours to see if she still has some of the stuff from the kids. In the meantime, you get to watch her while I run to the store. Don’t name her without me? Please?” 

 

Blake handed the baby off to Mark and quickly threw on a jacket and some shoes. He grabbed his keys and took off to the nearest Walmart to get some basics. After Mark heard the door close behind him, he started to tear up. This was one of his greatest wishes coming true. He had heard of wishbabies in the past, but didn’t know it was going to be an option for him. He had always assumed that he was going to get to adopt a child and that might still be the case later on down the line, but he finally was a father. 

 

That was starting to sink in more and more as the baby started to cry. Mark bounced his arms softly, rocking her back and forth. 

 

“Daddy will be back soon sweetie.” 

 

Mark knew that he was pressing his luck with the wishes, but he wished that Blake was back soon with the supplies. He was great with kids, but a baby was a different ball game altogether. He felt lost in the excitement and change that was happening to him. He shook his head and looked down at the little girl in his arms. He was instantly in love and knew that he was probably the happiest he could be in his life. 

 

As Mark’s thoughts wandered to possible names he heard the door open and Blake stumbling in with his arms laden in bags. He heard a thud as the bags hit the floor and a soft curse escaping Blake as some of the cans of formula went rolling across the kitchen floor. Mark shot him a disapproving look at the language used. Blake shrugged it off and made quick work of retrieving the loose cans. The rattling sent the baby into a tailspin of tears and Mark rushed to bounce her some more. 

 

In the kitchen, Blake made quick work of putting together a bottle. As he was testing the temperature of the formula, she ramped up the screaming. He rushed over and handed Mark the bottle. He guided Mark’s hands so that she was in the perfect position to be fed. They fed her until she was content and Blake quickly grabbed a burp rag that he bought. It was pink and had little yellow ducklings on it. He tossed it over his shoulder and lifted the baby out of Mark’s arms. He burped her and then cleaned him and her up. 

 

“Since it’s a Christmas wish come true, I think I’ll name her Christina” 

 

Mark looked over at Blake and he just got lost in the look in Blake’s eyes at the name. He smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. 

 

“Sounds perfect to me.”

 

They looked over at everything that Blake bought, including diapers and pyjamas. They changed Christina and put her in some clean pyjamas. She started to nod off and Blake snuck off to the bedroom. 

 

Mark sat on the floor next to the car seat, gently rocking it while they were under the Christmas tree. He looked up and saw Blake coming back from the other room. He had a small package that was wrapped in a light gold paper with a red bow on top. It was clearly not wrapped by Blake, if the rest of the gifts under the tree were any indication of his skill. 

 

“Merry Christmas”

 

Blake handed over the small box and watched as Mark carefully unwrapped it. As Mark opened the box he saw the glint of silver and Mark’s eyes widen. 

 

“You don’t have to answer now given what happened this morning, but I saw you with Christina and I knew I was making the right choice.” 

 

Blake’s words were rushed and his thoughts were racing. They were cut short by Mark leaning over and kissing him. 

 

Mark slid the ring on his hand, admiring how the blue stones were inlaid in the silver band. He kissed Blake again. 

 

“Yes. The answer is always yes.”

 

It felt like a new beginning to Mark. He had his family and the one that he loved more than anything else. Nothing could be more perfect. It was his best Christmas ever.