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Where the Lovelight Gleams

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Definitely an interesting day, and not in a good way.  Kyle had to remind two of his more adversarial clients that Christmas was a time for their children, no matter whose houses they were in, and while he'd generally been able to avoid the most chintzy trappings of the holiday, the elevator in his office building had been stuck on "Last Christmas" by Wham!  He had no particular rancor for George Michael in general, but wished him horrible things whenever that song played.

It wasn't his favorite time of year by a long shot, and he still wasn't sure how to adapt it to his new circumstances.  It figured, of course, that his first Christmas with Warren would fall on the full moon.  He'd had the customary fantasies of cuddling on the couch instead of making himself a drink and passing out in front of the tv as usual, but those had vanished when he reviewed the calendar that now ruled his life.  Now, he was just hoping that Warren wasn't too exhausted in the morning to celebrate at all.  God, if Jack from law school knew he was living by the lunar cycle and still wouldn't check his horoscope, he'd never hear the end of it.

Without any enthusiasm at all, he pulled into Warren's driveway - he would at least be there in the morning - and dragged his bag of gifts to the door.  When he got in the door he was assaulted by unusual smells.  Fried chicken, maybe, and gravy. Evergreen and popcorn too.

"Hello?" Warren couldn't be around, but someone certainly was.

Mercy stepped out from the living room to smile at him.  "Hey! You're right on time. I've got KFC and some great Christmas movies." She beckoned him in.  There was a tree in the corner of the room with presents under it and some sort of garland stung across the mantle.  There were even stockings, one each for him and Warren.

"What's all this?" Kyle was dumbfounded.  He hadn't heard anything about Christmas from Warren.  He'd just assumed Warren wasn't into it either. He looked more closely at the mantle, "Is that..."

"Your old stocking? Yup. Warren called Ally and had her send it. I think some of the stuff under the tree is from her too, and some of the ornaments. The rest is all Warren." She beamed at his surprise.

Kyle cautiously approached the tree and picked up a glass ornament that he remembered hanging on the tree every year as a child.  There were a few that he or Ally had clearly made long ago that must have been boxed up and forgotten by their parents.  "He felt really bad about the whole full moon thing and decided to make it up for it.  I helped with the decorations, and now I'm entertainment. Gremlins first or Die Hard?  We've got a bucket of chicken to get through that isn't going to eat itself."

She smiled and held up the movies.  Kyle wasn't sure what to say.  He'd given up on Christmas for the most part when his mother had stopped speaking to him.  There had been boyfriends and presents, sure, but nothing big.  Nothing like this.  "Shouldn't you be with your family?"

"I don't fit there, or I fit less than I do here."  She looked oddly thoughtful for a moment and then seemed to shrug it off.  "Adam has something big planned for tomorrow that I'm not supposed to know about anyway.  But tonight it's just us.  So, Gremlins or Die Hard?"

"Uh, Gremlins, I guess.  I really don't... Thank you.  This is wonderful."  It took a few seconds, but Kyle made the decision to enjoy whatever madness this was and settled himself on the couch.  "You said something about chicken?"

****

Three movies, many beers, and 3/4 of a bucket of chicken later Kyle heard the front door open softly.  Marcy was passed out in a chair with her legs curled up under her.  He lay a throw blanket over her and made his way to the stairs.

He caught Warren trying to sneak up quietly.  "Damn, didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't. I stayed up."  He went up a few steps until they were at eye level.  "Thank you. This was amazing."

Warren ducked his head down before raising his eyes to Kyle's. "It's no more than you deserve."

"Bullshit. You're just wonderful. I haven't had a Christmas like this since..." He trailed off.

"I know." Warren pulled him in for a kiss. "You stayed, after you found out. I'm still not sure how I got that lucky."

There wasn't a lot to say after that.  Kyle followed Warren up to their room and tucked himself in beside his exhausted lover feeling for the first time in many years that holidays might be worth it after all.  "When we're all rested, I'll show you good will towards men. Until then, Merry Christmas.

Warren's chest vibrated with the force of his chuckle. "Merry Christmas to you too."