RATED PG
Ray hummed along happily with the Christmas carols playing on the radio. It was Christmas Eve, and he was officially off duty for the next 36 hours. So was Benny, who was on his way home right now.
Home. To their home. The home they shared together. Ray hummed more loudly as he thought of all the blessings he had this Christmas. He and Benny were lovers, their relationship was accepted and even embraced by the family, and they had moved into their very own home this past summer.
With so many wonderful blessings in his life, Ray could think of no gift he could receive that could make him any happier. Well, maybe one or two special gifts from Benny, he thought with a grin, but that would have to wait. They were spending Christmas with Ray's family, and would be leaving as soon as Benny got home from work.
Ray carefully placed the last few items of clothing in his suitcase and closed it, then went into the living room and began gathering the gifts they were taking to his mother's house.
Ray looked up with a happy smile as Benny entered the living room. "Hey," he said, walking over to give Benny a kiss. "Welcome home. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you," Ben smiled.
"Where's Dief?" Ray asked, noting the absence of the wolf.
"He's waiting out by the car," Ben said with a grin. "I think he's afraid we'll accidentally leave him behind, and he'll miss out on the Christmas festivities. And more importantly, the Christmas treats."
"Not a chance of that happening," Ray said.
"I know, but Diefenbaker can be very paranoid at times."
Ray sighed and rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go get packed?"
"All right." With another quick kiss, Benny headed into the bedroom.
Ray finished gathering the gifts for the family and took them out and put them in the trunk of the Riv. "Hey Dief," he said to wolf who was sitting attentively next to the car. "Keeping guard?"
He got a short woof in reply.
"You can come inside, you know. We won't leave you behind."
Diefenbaker gave a whuffing noise, and Ray rolled his eyes. "Fine, suit yourself," he said, heading back into the house. "Hey, Benny," he called excitedly, entering the bedroom, "You ready?"
"Yes Ray." Ben placed his toiletry kit in his knapsack and closed the knapsack.
"That's all you're taking?"
Ben gave him an amused glance. "It's only for one night, Ray."
"Yeah," Ray shrugged. "I guess." He took his much larger suitcase and Ben's knapsack and headed for the living room.
"This is gonna be great!" Ray said. "It's the first time you'll get the full 'Vecchio treatment' at Christmas."
"I've spent Christmas with your family before, Ray."
"I know, but that was just Christmas Day. This is Christmas Eve dinner, Midnight Mass, the whole works. And of course, the kids will have us up at the crack of dawn tomorrow."
"You love that part, don't you?" Ben smiled fondly at Ray.
"Yeah, I do," Ray said.
Ben slipped into his jacket and picked up his knapsack. "Well then, we'd best be on our way, so Christmas can get started."
"Mikey, you listen to your Grandma and get back here, or I'll paddle your bare hiney, Christmas or no Christmas!"
Ben grinned to himself as he heard Rosa's voice in the hallway. The entire Vecchio family was engaged in the barely controlled chaos they referred to as 'dressing for Mass.'
They had eaten a late dinner around 9:00, then cleaned up and were now trying to get dressed and leave for the church. Suddenly, Ray burst into the room, slamming the door behind him. "It's a war zone out there, Benny. Frannie couldn't find her shoes."
"Where were they?"
"Well, it turns out Teresa had set them out by the fireplace. She learned in school that Dutch children leave their clogs by the fireplace for Santa to fill with goodies, and she said her Aunt Frannie's shoes were the closest things she could find."
Ben laughed. "I'm sure that made Francesca very happy."
Ray grinned at him, and Ben caught his breath. "Ray, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"
"You did, Benny." Ray looked down at his feet, embarrassed.
"Well, I really must have meant it, then." Ben moved over to Ray and wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing him.
Ray sighed and leaned into Benny, gently parting Ben's lips with his tongue.
"Raimondo!" Rosa's voice called from the hallway, and Ray jumped and pulled away from Benny.
There was a knock on the door. "Ray, Benton. We are ready to leave now."
Ray gave a quiet groan of frustration. "All right, Ma," he called. "We'll be right there."
Ben gave a quiet sigh and gave Ray a longing look, then he shrugged. "We can always continue this later, I suppose."
"You bet we will." Ray took Benny's hand and led him from the bedroom.
Ray sighed as he drove slowly past the church again. Due to the large amount of Vecchios attending Mass, they had taken two cars. Even though it was barely 11:00, the church parking lot was full and the streets around the church were also full of parked cars.
They had found one spot just a block from the church, and Ray had let Rosa park there. He took comfort in the fact that his Ma was now in the church, saving them a seat. He pulled the Riv to a stop in front of the church. "Why don't you guys go on inside? I'll find a parking spot and then join you."
In the back seat Frannie and Maria nodded. Ben got out and pulled his seat forward to let the women out, then got back in the car.
"What are doing?" Ray asked in surprise.
"I'll stay with you and walk back to the church."
Ray flashed Benny one of his beautiful smiles. "OK. Thanks."
After driving around for a while, they managed to find a parking spot just four blocks away from the church. Ray parked the car and the two men headed back towards the church.
Ben had his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. Suddenly Ray put his hand in Benny's pocket as well, lightly brushing the back of Ben's hand with his fingers before taking Benny's hand in a gentle grasp. Ben shivered.
"You cold, Benny?"
Ben shook his head and smiled. "No."
Glancing around, Ben pulled Ray further back into the shadows, then drew him in for a kiss. Ray was surprised at first, but quickly recovered, bringing his hand up to stroke Benny's face. Ben sighed and tightened his grip on Ray's hand, intertwining their fingers.
Finally, reluctantly, Ray pulled away. "Come on love, we'd better get going."
Ben nodded. "I just hope there's no mistletoe in the church."
Ray groaned. "God, Benny, don't do that to me when I have to go and be reverent."
Ben laughed and they resumed walking.
When Ben and Ray reached the church, they quickly found the Vecchio family and slipped into their pew, to the seats which had been saved for them. They sat listening to the beautiful carols being played on the organ, making the occasional whispered comment to each other.
Suddenly the church bells began to peal, signaling midnight, and Rosa smiled. Looking down the row she whispered "Merry Christmas, everyone."
Ray looked at Benny with a warm smile. "Merry Christmas, Benny." He then silently mouthed the words 'I love you.' Ben smiled happily and flushed slightly, and Ray's smile deepened.
As he listened to the songs and the sermon tell the beautiful tale of the miracle of the birth of the Savior, Ben glanced at the people sitting next to him, the people he loved most in the world, and a feeling of warmth spread over him. 'I am so lucky,' he thought to himself. 'I have a family. Again. At last.'
He had never known this kind of family before. He knew that his Father and his Grandparents had loved him, but they had not been demonstrative, to say the least.
But this family expressed love freely, both in word and in action. They touched. They hugged. They held hands. Even in the midst of a loud, emotional argument, the love they felt for one another was always evident. Ben was slowly getting used to being a part of this family, slowly understanding how it worked; and he liked it.
As he sat there letting the music wash over him, Ben thought that there was nothing else in the world he could possibly want for Christmas. He smiled to himself. 'I am probably the luckiest man in the world,' he thought happily.
Ray looked over and saw Benny smiling and smiled back at him. Reaching over, Ben took Ray's hand into his own. Ray faced forward again, and he was blushing slightly, but he didn't let go of Benny's hand.
After Mass the family went back to the Vecchio home and herded the children off to bed. They went very reluctantly, protesting that they weren't in the least bit sleepy, and were far too excited to fall asleep. They were asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
After some quiet had descended on the house, the adults gathered in the living room to exchange their presents in a calm atmosphere.
Before long there was a small mountain of torn wrappings and discarded boxes in front of the fireplace. Finally, they were down to the last two gifts. Ben handed Ray his package with a somewhat nervous smile.
Ray eagerly tore off the wrappings, and a delighted smile lit up his face. "Wow, Benny! A model kit to build a Riviera! And it's even a '71. Cool!" He held it up to show the rest of the family.
"This one is white, Ray," Ben said. "But I figure we can go to a paint store and get the right shade of green, so the car will be perfect."
"Yeah, it'll be great!"
Ben smiled. "And I can't blow up this Riv."
"That is not even funny, Benny."
Ben grinned.
Ray sat admiring the box, turning it over in his hands for a few minutes, then he handed Benny his present. "OK, now yours."
Ben carefully tore open the paper and lifted the lid off the box inside. He pulled out the tissue paper covering the gift, and when he saw what was underneath, he paused in surprise, just looking at it for a moment.
Ben lifted it carefully out of the box and held it in his hands, just staring at it. Then he slowly and wonderingly ran a finger over the red metal of the toy fire truck.
Ray smiled at him. "Every kid should get a cool fire truck at least once in their lives, Benny. I figured better late than never, right?"
Ben nodded wordlessly because, ridiculously, he had a lump in his throat. He cleared his throat. "Ray, this is almost the exact one I wanted when I was a little boy. How did you know?"
Ray shrugged. "You were what, 7 or 8 when you asked for it? I just got one made in the early 1970s and hoped it would be close."
"It's perfect."
"Yeah, it's made of metal, not that cheap plastic crap they use these days."
"Ray, wherever did you find this?"
"Oh, please, Benny. I'm a detective. I know a little about finding stuff."
Ben wondered if he would have felt this absurdly happy if he actually had received the toy when he was a child. Somehow, he doubted it. "Thank you, Ray."
"Merry Christmas, my love." Ray leaned over and kissed Benny, who brought a hand up to the back of Ray's head, deepening and lengthening the kiss. They broke apart, and only then remembered that the rest of the family was still in the room; and Benny turned a very vivid shade of red.
Rosa chuckled. "I'm glad everyone is enjoying their Christmas. But the children will be wide awake and have us up in just a few hours, so we'd better call it a night."
With another round of "Merry Christmas" and hugs for everyone, they scattered to their bedrooms. Benny took his fire truck, which he had not let go of since opening.
Once in their bedroom, Ben and Ray stripped down to their t-shirts and underwear and climbed into bed. "That Riv is the coolest thing, Benny. Thank you again."
"You are very welcome, love. Do I get to help you build it?"
"Well, Benny, I don't know."
"You don't know?!"
"Yeah, you might do it wrong."
"Oh, that hurts, Ray."
"I'll have to think it over and let you know what I decide."
"Fine. But if I can't help you build your model car, then you can't play with my toy."
"I can't play with your toy?"
"No."
Ray grinned hugely and grabbed Ben's crotch. "Are you sure I can't play with your toy?"
Ben gasped, but removed Ray's hand and rolled over onto his side, facing away from him. "I'm quite sure, yes."
Ray reached over him to grab his crotch again. "Benny, pleeeasseeee let me play with your toy. It's nice to share."
Ben was giggling almost helplessly. "No!" He managed to gasp out. He flung Ray's hand back again and rolled over onto his stomach.
Ray determinedly worked his hand under Ben's body and grasped him again, using his fingers to lightly tickle Benny's balls.
"Ray."
"What?" Ray gave Ben's crotch a firm squeeze, and Ben gasped.
"Ray!" Benny rolled over onto his back again.
"Did I hurt them?"
Ben was laughing so hard he could barely get the words out. "Yes, Ray. You hurt my toys."
"Oh, dear. Well, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
Ben's laughter trailed off and he looked seriously up at Ray. "Well, you could kiss them better."
A smile spread across Ray's face, and he moved to kneel over Benny. "Well, what do you know? Santa got my Christmas wish list after all."
THE END
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