Margaret had been delighted when Billy said they would both come to spend Christmas with her. Billy had been working at this time of year for so long he wasn't sure when he had last done the big family Christmas thing, even though Margaret practically demanded he be there every year. He had made his mind up in November, resigning himself to the fact Dom would never be able to get enough time off filming to make it all the way to Scotland. And then, at the start of December - their own little Christmas miracle - his schedule had cleared for a week. Dom had his flights booked before he even phoned to give Billy the news.

They were spending three days in Margaret's busy suburban home, of which Christmas Eve was the middle day. It had taken forever to get the kids to bed, and then the grown ups had felt it only seasonal to have a nightcap or three before heading to bed themselves. It was two in the morning before Billy was easing himself underneath the duvet in the big guest bedroom at one end of the house, and he was hoping that Santa wouldn't be the only one coming before the end of the night. Dom was still perched on the end of the bed, fully dressed, which didn't fit in at all with Billy's plans.

"Move your arse, Monaghan. Santa won't bring you any presents unless you're tucked up in bed."

"That's the fucking least of my problems with the fat man, Bills. I mean, I haven't exactly been a good little boy all year, have I?"

Dom turned to look at Billy as he spoke with his customary "yes, I am funny, aren't I?" smirk, but it was gone again in an instant as Dom resumed staring at the wardrobe against the wall opposite the bed. Billy was perplexed. Surely that would have been the ideal opportunity for Dom to show Billy how bad a boy he could be? But nothing. Billy frowned. They hadn't had that much to drink, had they? Alcohol had never dampened Dom's ardour in the past, he reasoned, so it couldn't be that. Maybe the Hawaiian heat had been overcooking his sex drive? But the last time Billy had been over there they'd spent so long in bed he hadn't even made it into the surf. So what the hell was going on? What was so fascinating about the wardrobe all of a sudden anyway?

Somewhere in Billy's head, the penny dropped.

"You've got to be kidding me, Dom. It was a pantomime. You know, a wee made up story for kids at Christmas? Men dressed up as women? 'He's behind you' and all that?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't even mention the panto."

"Even the kids knew it wasn't real, and they still believe in Santa."

Dom turned round again, his face a mask of shock.

"You mean Santa's not real?"

Billy moved forward to the end of the bed and placed one hand comfortingly on Dom's shoulder.

"I'm sorry to have to be the one to break this to you Dommie, at your tender age, but I'm afraid there is no Santa to bring the presents."

Dom's head dropped in dismay.

"Fuck me."

Well, yes, Billy thought. He walked his fingers along the edge of Dom's shoulder to the edge of his T shirt, where his shoulder curved into his neck and Billy knew Dom was particularly sensitive. He stroked his fingers up towards Dom's ear and replaced them with his lips, a quick, wet kiss to the warm skin.

But then Dom was up off the bed and away from him. Billy made a quiet noise of frustration. This is what he got for going out with a 5 year old.

Dom had made his way to the wardrobe and pulled one of the two large wooden doors open. Surprisingly, considering they were in the guest bedroom, the wardrobe was absolutely crammed full of clothes. Margaret had always had a weakness for shopping and Billy supposed this must be the overspill. Dom stood motionless, peering inside as if the hangers might all move to one side, or perhaps as if he might develop X-ray vision over the course of the next 15 seconds.

"Well? There are clothes in the wardrobe. Are you satisfied?" Unlike me? Billy managed not to add.

Dom turned and looked at Billy, absurdly in the circumstances, as if he was stupid.

"We have to go through the clothes to find it. Otherwise it wouldn't be a hidden world, would it?"

"Good point, Dommie. I don't know what I'm thinking of."

They looked at each other for a few seconds. It occurred to Billy that Dom was waiting for him to do something.

"What?"

"Well? Are you coming or not?"

Evidently not at any point in the near future.

"Why? Are you scared that you might be entranced by the Snow Queen and taken away to her magic castle if you wander off on your own?"

Dom rolled his eyes.

"No, you smart arsed little wanker." Then, quite seriously, "I just think that if there's a secret world in the back of your sister's wardrobe you should probably know about it."

"Have you actually lost your fucking mind? How much did you have to drink tonight?"

"Look, Billy, I know it's an extremely long time since you were a child and it's probably difficult for you to remember that far back, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and you had to push buttons on the TV to change the channel. But trust me. There could be something in this. Sometimes kids know better than adults, yeah?"

"No."

"YES."

Dom crossed back over to the bed and started pulling at Billy, trying to manhandle him out of the bed. When it became clear that that wasn't going to work, he tried an alternative approach. He sat down on top of the duvet next to Billy. Dom could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. His voice dropped to a purr.

"The sooner we investigate the back of the wardrobe, the sooner we can get back to bed."

To emphasise the point, Dom pressed a quick kiss in behind the back of Billy's earlobe. Billy closed his eyes in an attempt to maintain his anger, but the twitch in his cock pointed out that it might be better just to play along with Dom for the next five minutes for the greater good of the couple of hours of distinct pleasure which might follow.

Billy sighed.

"Fine then."

Dom beamed and pulled Billy from the bed. Billy had to admit that there was a part of him which loved the fact Dom could be like this, although that part wasn't the semi erect cock waiting impatiently in his pants. They moved back over to the wardrobe and Dom pulled the other door open. Then: nothing.

"Well? Are you going to fucking look inside there or what?"

Dom said nothing, instead looking down at his sockless feet.

"Dominic Monaghan, are you scared to go into that wardrobe?"

Dom shrugged, still not looking up. Billy started to laugh but thought better of it. Giving Dom the slagging he richly deserved right now would not let him back into bed any quicker. Besides, it would keep for tomorrow. And the rest of Dom's life.

"I'll go first then, will I, you big jessie?"

Dom looked up gratefully.

"I'll be right behind you, Bills."

Billy's cock twitched again. Did he have to find every fucking thing Dom said a turn on? He reached out and started pushing at the clothes. His side of the wardrobe seemed to contain unwanted winter clothes and he took a step into the wardrobe, insinuating himself in between two (presumably faux, knowing Margaret) fur coats and dragging his body through until he was flush against the back. To his total lack of amazement, there were no trees, no snow on the ground, no beginnings of an alternative icy universe just waiting to be discovered. He was in the process of working out what time it was in LA to see if Elijah could join in via telephone with the apocalyptic ripping Dom was about to receive, when all of a sudden his hand knocked against something cold and metal. He moved his hand again, slower this time, and found a smooth, spherical object attached to the back of the wardrobe. Billy frowned in the crushed darkness. It felt like nothing so much as a doorknob. But why would there be a doorknob here, in the back of the wardrobe? It was madness.

For a moment Billy didn't move. Dom obviously hadn't overcome his fear of the Snow Queen as yet, judging by the lack of his graceless presence falling through the clothes on the other side of the wardrobe. Billy considered shouting to him what he had found - it was pretty fucking weird after all. But then, it could lead to a lot of excitement on Dom's part, and not the sort of excitement that might lead to a lot of sex and frankly, that was the only sort of excitement Billy was really interested in just now. He kept his mouth shut and took a hold of the doorknob. He twisted. He pushed. And he fell through.

"Fucking hell! Dom, fucking get your arse through here! There's another room, a whole fucking room!"

He was still half holding onto the doorknob, which was keeping him mainly off the floor, but his knee had landed on something sharp and solid. He pulled himself back to his feet gingerly, coats from the wardrobe still pressing against his back. Crouching down, he reached carefully round the floor. Crinkling and rustling, unfamiliar shapes. He placed both hands round one of the objects and lifted it. Fucking hell. Christmas presents!

A shaft of light fell on him from the bedroom. Dom was removing piles of clothes from the wardrobe rail and placing them on the floor. Billy could see that he was in another wardrobe which seemed to be sunk into the wall behind the original wardrobe. And he was surrounded by brightly coloured packages.

Billy looked round in wonder to see Dom crawling into the wardrobe, grin plastered all over his face. Why was that stupid bastard not looking a bit more shocked? Then realisation dawned. He looked down at the present in his hand, turned the tag over to see what was written.

To Billy, Happy Christmas you miserable old bastard, Love Dom x x x

That fucking wanker.

"You fucking wanker. I got the fucking fright of my life!"

Dom had crawled into the wardrobe alongside him and was sitting back on his knees. At Billy's words, his face grew suddenly serious.

"Sorry, man. I know it's bad to get a shock at your age. Your heart could give out at any minute."

"Fuck off."

"You fuck off, you idiot. There are about 3 million presents here for you."

Billy looked round the tiny room and grinned. Dom always went totally overboard at Christmas. They'd be here until the morning opening everything. He turned his body round so that he was facing Dom and pulled him in for a kiss, sweet and gentle and filled with thank you (rather than fuck me, although Billy compromised with his cock that they would get to that later.) Thank God or anyone that they could be together at Christmas.

They pulled apart, and Dom looked at Billy softly.

"Merry Christmas, my Bills."

Billy grinned back.

"You are too good to me."

"I fucking know. You can show me your gratitude later."

"I was trying to show you my gratitude before, you know."

"Yeah, I noticed." Dom looked meaningfully in the direction of Billy's lap. "It's quite difficult not to."

Billy tried to look unabashed but the colour in his cheeks suggested otherwise.

"So, which one should I open first?"

Dom looked round the array of presents on the floor and then looked back at Billy. A slow smile spread across his face.

"How about we do the thank yous first?"

Billy launched himself at Dom, knocking him back so that they were both lying half in and half out of the wardrobe, attacking his mouth with kisses and pulling at his clothing until Dom cracked his head against the edge of the wardrobe door.

"Ow, fuck. Let's move this to the bed, shall we?"

Slowed by kisses, they crawled back out into the bedroom, now painfully bright and with clothes spread all over the floor. Billy spread Dom on top of them and started pushing his T-shirt up over his body, kissing his chest as it was revealed, and listening appreciatively to the sounds Dom was making in response. He pulled the T-shirt over Dom's head and started licking along his neck, murmuring against the warm flesh.

"The only thing I don't understand, Dommie - "

"Gnuh- Uh -"

" - is how did you know that place was there?"

Dom suddenly fell silent and Billy pulled away from him, looking down into Dom's face with his arms braced on either side of Dom's shoulders. It didn't look as though Dom was going to respond, so Billy filled in the blanks for him.

"You didn't, by any chance, find it earlier on today when you were looking for a hidden world, did you?"

Dom opened his eyes and looked slightly sheepish.

"Um....maybe."

Billy leaned down again and dropped a couple of kisses onto Dom's cheek.

"Thank you, Dominic."

"What for?"

"That's the best present I or Elijah could ever have received. He'll be giving you wardrobes for Christmas for the rest of your life."

Dom groaned and Billy covered his mouth with his own. It looked like it was going to be a very happy Christmas.

Slashababy 2004 Stories