An M/M Christmas, episode 5

 

• Mistletoe Omega, S.C. Wynne
• Merry Christmas, Mr. Miggles, Eli Easton

Two downtrodden men find comfort and safety in one another.  They were there in the background but one offer of a ride brought them to the forefront.  Sam is an unlucky omega.  Unlucky enough to have gotten involved with a wastrel, to have fallen pregnant, and to come home to his stuff packed up on the stoop and nowhere to go and no money on a frigid, snowy night.  Graham is a sad, lonely alpha who surprises himself by offering Sam a ride.  And a place to stay.  And forever.  Neither one of them begin in a place where they are looking for help or companionship but it doesn't matter what they were or  weren't looking for because fate had something different in mind.  In Graham Sam finds safety, desire, trust, companionship, love, and hope.  In Sam Graham finds attraction, affection, someone to protect, love, and healing.  I liked both of these men and found them both to be interesting.

There isn't a lot of background and we get some basics.  Sam's past and present drive him to push people away and Graham's past does the same.  Both live life with self-preservation in mind.  The complication of the pregnancy is valid and I think Sam handled it pretty well.  His honesty came a bit later but it wasn't something that got revealed before he was ready and could then own the situation.  Graham's reaction was honest.  It would have been pure fantasy for him to not feel any twinge of jealousy at all and he owned it and was honest about his feelings.  Because of that I respected them and the story felt believable.  I liked it quite a lot.  3.5 stars.

We have Toby, the junior librarian, who is dating a jerk named Justin and is getting taken advantage of at almost every turn.  Staying together out of convenience isn't unheard of, but it's becoming untenable for Toby.  He loves his job and his literary mind is matched by the wit and intelligence of the head librarian, Sean Miggles.  Their relationship is based only on their working relationship and Mr. Miggles is determined to have it stay there.  Toby is okay with that...at first.  It slowly becomes something that nags at him.  There's much more under the surface of that acceptance than first appears.

Sweet awkwardness, slow to recognize feelings, literary cuteness, giving natures, a heartbreaking past, a determined junior librarian, and one hell of a great community.  This book had so many feels that I wasn't sure whether I should rage out about injustice or cheer for human goodness.  Ultimately I did both, but on the inside.  My kids were sleeping.

When an unfortunate situation escalates and puts Mr. Miggles' job and reputation at risk Toby joins the community together to speak out in support of Sean and the library.  Human goodness and decency get a chance to shine with a cast of awesome characters that are truly individuals.  And then comes the passion.  Sean finally gives in to Toby and when what held Sean back previously comes out we're left with a heart that sinks in our chest but is now totally open to all the healing and love that Toby uses to buoy it back up.  Well, all those tender feels in addition to a bit of bed-sheet lovin'...and maybe some stack time too.  Such a perfect ending to a really awesome story.  5 stars.