Unwrapping

There were a lot of things Jack liked about winter. When it came down to it, he preferred the crisp, coldness of the winter wind to the stifling humidity of the summer. He liked the holidays, seeing candles in people's windows, and the way rich folks all read A Christmas Carol or something and started getting generous as the days got shorter. He loved snow; he loved feeling it melt on his tongue, he loved throwing snowballs with the guys, getting into big fights in the drifts and then running into the lodging house after and stripping down out of all the wet stuff right there in the foyer.

But in some ways, he thought the best thing about winter was all the clothing. The extra sweaters, the scarves, the coats, the gloves, the hats. It was never quite enough to keep him warm, not on the coldest days, but he liked having the weight around him. It made him feel secure and safe.

And, after a day of selling papers with David, huddling together to keep warm when the wind was at its worst, there was something joyous about stepping into the Jacobs' apartment and helping David peel it all off. Seeing his the red of his cheeks and the tips of his ears exposed after unwinding his scarf and pulling off his hat, with his chapped lips slowly turning from white back to red as he warmed up. Finding ink smears on David's mittens, but his callused fingers clean, unlike the summer months.

Some days, David was so cold he couldn't even get his fingers to move properly. Jack would undo the buttons of his coat for him, those days, pull it off of his shoulders and hang it properly so it could dry after the snow melted off. Then he'd take David's frozen hands between his, rub them, hold them until they stopped shaking and David could stretch his fingers again.

Of course on those days, Jack was at least as cold as David, but he was heartier, used to it. He always recovered from being frozen first, and couldn't help but feel it was worthwhile. Somehow, unwrapping David after a cold winter day was better than unwrapping any Christmas present.

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