Ray Vecchio loved Christmas. In fact, he would even venture to say he loved it more than most people, in spite of the fact that it usually meant seeing some relatives he could generally do without. He also felt he had a fairly keen grasp on the idea that Christmas was a bigger deal when there were kids in the house. He\u2019d lived through enough nieces and nephews to know that. But that didn\u2019t change the fact that, in his opinion, Stanley Raymond Kowalski had gone off the deep end this year.<\/p>\n
Between the two of them, Ray could swear Fraser and Kowalski had hauled every bit of green within twenty miles into the cabin and draped it over everything. The tree alone was so big it had taken all three of them to even get it through the door, and it was covered from tip to toe in an eclectic collection of every single Christmas ornament the three of them owned. Which meant it was one third bizarre and hand-made (Fraser), one third at least somewhat classy (him), and one third kitschy Hallmark crap (Kowalski). Not to mention there was mistletoe hanging from all the doors\u2014Kowalski\u2019s idea, although Ray wasn\u2019t exactly complaining about that<\/em>\u2014a pile of presents under the tree that would be as tall as the tree if they were all stacked on top of each other, and the stocking that Kowalski was trying to place so precisely had been hand-knit by a woman in the village with Caroline\u2019s name running down the length of it. Ray\u2019d seen so much red and green, it was a wonder his eyes weren\u2019t bleeding, and this was from somebody who\u2019d spent past Christmases with Ma, Frannie, and Maria in charge of the decorating.<\/p>\n Still, it wasn\u2019t until Kowalski repositioned the little silver wolf stocking hook for the fourth time that Ray decided he\u2019d officially lost his mind. Turning the cabin into some sort of indoor winter wonderland was one thing. But Fraser was the one he expected to pull out a measuring tape and try to measure the exact center point of the mantel.<\/p>\n \u201cWill you give it a rest, already?\u201d Ray snapped. \u201cShe\u2019s a year old, it\u2019s not like she\u2019s going to remember whether or not her stocking was hung exactly in the middle of the fireplace.\u201d<\/p>\n Kowalski glared at him and flipped him the bird with one hand. \u201cFuck you, Vecchio. This is my daughter\u2019s first Christmas and it is going to be perfect if I say it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Ray snorted. \u201cYou call it perfect, I call it an allergy waiting to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Fraser came in just then holding little Caroline in his arms. He frowned at Kowalski. \u201cRay, kindly please refrain from employing that sort of language in front of the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat, allergy?\u201d<\/p>\n Fraser rolled his eyes expressively without twitching a muscle in the lower part of his face. \u201cNo, Ray. I was addressing Ray, not you.\u201d<\/p>\n Kowalski smirked. \u201cYeah, well fuck you too, Fraser. In fact, fuck both of you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah, promises, promises,\u201d Ray retorted, his grin turning into a leer as he leaned in to steal a kiss. Kowalski batted him away half-heartedly.<\/p>\n Fraser only frowned harder and cupped one hand over Caroline\u2019s ears. Or tried to, anyway. \u201cRay!\u201d he scolded, the name this time clearly directed at both of them.<\/p>\n Ray stopped even trying not to smile at this point. At least one of them was still acting like themselves. \u201cRelax, Benny. As I was just pointing out to Mr.-Perfectionist-Out-of-Nowhere here, it\u2019s not like she\u2019s going to remember any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat may be true, Ray. All the more reason to establish good habits before Caroline reaches a more impressionable age, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline let out an eager squeal, as if agreeing with him. Fraser shot them both a triumphant look. It was somewhat spoiled when she immediately tried to lunge out of his arms in the direction of the tree. Both Rays sprang towards Fraser to catch her if, by some miracle, she actually managed to escape his grip.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you like that, don\u2019t you?\u201d Kowalski cooed when he plucked her out of Fraser\u2019s arms. He shot a look in Ray\u2019s direction. \u201cYou wanna tell Babbo to stop ruining our Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRuining your Christmas? Thanks a lot, Stanley. Just for that, you\u2019re not getting any of Ma\u2019s grispelle this year.\u201d He leaned in to tickle Caroline\u2019s chin. She giggled obligingly and leaned towards him. \u201cWhat do you say, Cara Mia? You and me split Tata\u2019s share?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, see, now that\u2019s just playing dirty. Fraser, help me out here,\u201d Kowalski pleaded.<\/p>\n \u201cRay, Caroline has only begun to eat solid food,\u201d Fraser scolded obligingly. \u201cIt hardly seems likely she could consume sufficient donuts, no matter the origin, to justify depriving anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, what he said.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat said,\u201d Fraser continued. \u201cIt does seem a bit…excessive to spend so much time decorating the cabin when we are going to be departing in only a few days for Chicago to spend the holiday with your parents and Ray\u2019s.\u201d Of course, he promptly belied this by crossing to the mantelpiece and straightening the abandoned stocking hanger.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you\u2019re a big help,\u201d Ray groused, not quite managing to hide his smile. \u201cMy point is, a perfect Christmas isn\u2019t about how much plant life you can haul indoors. A perfect Christmas is being surrounded by people that love you…\u201d He gave Kowalski a pointed look when he added, \u201c…even when you drive them crazy. And our Carolina<\/em>\u2019s gonna have that in spades, both here and in Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n Thank God for that. He hadn\u2019t been sure, at first. Hell, it had taken him six months after they finally figured out this whole arrangement\u2014never mind when it started\u2014to even bring it up with Frannie, let alone Ma. He\u2019d been terrified his family would never want to speak to him again. And yeah, okay, so there were a few aunts and uncles who had stopped coming to Christmas dinner when Ma refused to disinvite the three of them, but in Ray\u2019s opinion it was no great loss. And Ma herself…it took her a little while to adjust to the idea, granted, but once she did, she started talking like God had given her two new sons to replace the one she lost, and everything was okay again.<\/p>\n Fraser smiled. Not his usual forced smile, but that spontaneous, gorgeous smile that still took Ray\u2019s breath away, even after all these years. \u201cHe\u2019s not wrong, Ray.\u201d<\/p>\n Kowalski\u2019s scowl faded into a wry smile of his own as he looked down at Caroline in his arms. She stared back up at him in owlish curiosity. \u201cYeah, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesus, just looking at the three of them made Ray\u2019s heart hurt, in the best possible way. How the hell was this his life? It wasn\u2019t that long ago he\u2019d been on the outside looking in, fresh from Vegas and bitter as hell that he hadn\u2019t realized the best thing in his life before he lost it. To have gotten Benny back, and with him what amounted to interest in the form of Kowalski and now Caroline? Five years ago, he wouldn\u2019t have believed he could ever deserve that, let alone have it.<\/p>\n God, he was turning into a sap. But who could blame him?<\/p>\n Caroline yawned widely and dropped her head onto Kowalski\u2019s shoulder, her eyes drifting towards closed, but still open just enough to return Ray\u2019s scrutiny. Fraser smiled softly. \u201cWe should probably put her to bed. It\u2019s getting late.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you tell?\u201d Ray groused mildly. They hadn\u2019t seen the sun in so long, he was beginning to think he forgot what it looked like. But that was okay too\u2014he was getting used to the warm lamp-light that bathed the room and turned everything golden. Something else he never would\u2019ve thought possible a few years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI got her,\u201d Kowalski offered, jogging Caroline in his arms a little as he started to move towards the bedroom.<\/p>\n Ray watched them go for a moment before turning back to find Fraser studying him. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Fraser didn\u2019t answer, just closed the distance between them and pulled him into a fervent but infinitely tender kiss. Whatever it was he hadn\u2019t been able to say, his tongue communicated just as eloquently without words.<\/p>\n Kowalski poked his head out of the bedroom. \u201cHey, no fair starting without me!\u201d<\/p>\n Ray laughed, his heart as light as the snowflakes almost certainly falling outside. \u201cWho\u2019s starting?\u201d he shouted back, then winked at Fraser. \u201cI\u2019m just getting caught up.\u201d<\/p>\n End note:<\/strong> I do not speak Italian or Polish, so sorry if “Babbo” and “Tata” are not the correct form of ‘father’ in this context. They seemed the most likely candidates from my research, but context is tricky. In my defense, I doubt Kowalski actually speaks enough Polish (if any) to know the right form either, and I think I have some wiggle room–language ability-wise–with Vecchio too.<\/em><\/p>\n Also, I apologize for the lack of Dief; I’m not entirely sure why he didn’t make an appearance. It’s possible his time has passed, or that he’s outside with the sled dogs, or just asleep by the fire. I like to think it’s one of the latter two.<\/em><\/p>\n Title is from the song “The Bells of Christmas” by Loreena McKennitt.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ray Vecchio loved Christmas. In fact, he would even venture to say he loved it more than most people, in spite of the fact that it usually meant seeing some relatives he could generally do without. He also felt he … Continue reading
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