Fluff. Just. Pure fluff. As always, no clue what length this is going to end up at. I thought I've known fluff before. But this? Woah. Enjoy! :)

Race can say that he's had a good past couple of months. Starting with his birthday. The next day, he did everything: woke up to Spot beside him; gambled at Sheepshead with Andrea and Giacomo; went to Moretti; spent a few hours with his grandparents; and made it back before he was in trouble with Jack. 

His days have more or less kept the same pattern since: get his newspapers (which only cost fifty cents per hundred, much to everyone's (but special his) delight); sell and gamble at Sheepshead with Andrea and Giacomo; eat lunch at Moretti; spend time with his grandparents (who feed him more food), and learn about his parents, Italian culture, and so much more from them; then make it back to the Manhattan lodging house. This doesn't happen every day, but close enough to it, and he likes it.

Of course, even with as busy as he is, he still has plenty of time at the lodging house with Ray and Stargazer, Jack, Blink and Mush, Crutchy, and everyone else.

And he has plenty of time with Spot. If he's not gambling with Andrea and Giacomo at Sheepshead, he's gambling with Spot. They do plenty of other things together. Most of the time, it's just talking and enjoy each other's company. They're happy together. 

Ain't it a fine life? 

Yes. For Race, it is.

Now, it's Christmas Day.

The lodging house is lively with a merry mood.

Since Ray came back, Christmas has returned to its rightful glory in the lodging house.

They are so happy that they don't have to sell today.

Someone put mistletoe up. Everyone knows it's only for the pairs currently residing here: Stargazer and Ray, and Blink and Mush.

Blink and Mush reach it first.

"Mistletoe." Blink wiggles his eyebrows. Mush doesn't need anymore invitation.

Those standing around them smirk and smile.

"Not in front of the innocents!" Crutchy berates them as they start kissing harder.

"Hey! I've seen worse!" Boots protests.

"Not you. I was talking about Race here."

"HEY-!"

"Nah, lover boy's fine," Snipeshooter adds to the conversation. He's smoking a cigar.

"SNIPESHOOTER THAT'S MY CIGAR I SWEAR I'LL-!"

"HEY! No smoking on Christmas!" Crutchy cuts in, and snatches Race's stolen cigar from Snipeshooter. They know that they have no say in this. And that Crutchy isn't going to argue with them on this. 

"Lover boy," Race mutters in a scornful tone.

"Well you and Spot Conlon are a thing, aren't ya?"

"Yeah, well-" He has nothing more to say. So he just sticks his tongue out at Snipeshooter and walks away.

Very mature, Race.

He deserved it.

You're sixteen.

Does that matter?

It's just that when it's phrased like that it sounds weird. Sure, he and Spot are together. But...lover boy would be a term for Jack, or for Blink or Mush. Not Race. Words and labels are everything. And that one just doesn't have the same energy as the sweet and soft relationship that Spot and Race have.

"Good morning, Race!" Ray comes up to him with a smile. "Merry Christmas!"

Race smiles back. "Merry Christmas!" He looks around. "Where's Stargazer?"

Without warning, Stargazer comes up behind Ray and snakes his arms around Ray's waist. "I'm right here." He kisses Ray on the cheek. "You left the bed early."

"Yeah, I know, I know. I just wanted to say good morning to everyone while it's still fresh."

"But you left me."

"I would have come back."

"Now we might never know."

This is the kind of sappy stuff that all the newsies have had to deal with since Ray and Stargazer came back. They're fine with it, though. Enjoy watching it, even. Ray and Stargazer insist that the newsies wouldn't want them around forever. The newsies insist that as long as they need a place to stay, they can stay here. Everyone is still figuring things out.

"I'm going to Brooklyn to go see Spot and my grandparents," Race tells Ray.

"Cool, just be back before evening," Ray tells him.

"Alright!"

Race starts walking toward the front door.

He is so close-

"Where are you going, Race?"

Race stops and sighs. He turns around. "I already asked Ray, and he said yes. Honestly, you're more over-protective than him. And he's the one who made the promise to raise me fourteen years ago."

"I-I worry with good reason!" Jack tries to justify himself.

Race rolls his eyes. He knows exactly what Jack needs. He walks up to Jack and hugs him. "Merry Christmas, Jack."

Jack softens and holds Race in the embrace. "Merry Christmas, Race."

"Davey's coming by, right?"

"Yeah. Remember later today, too."

"Yeah I know."

"You get to see Spot later today, remember?"

"I never said I was going to see Spot."

"Please. What else would you be doing? Everything else is closed."

"Fine. I just want to see him. And I wanna see my grandparents, you know?"

"Alright. Invite them for later today too."

"Already did." A pause. "Can I go now?"

Jack sighs and lets go of Race. "Yeah, yeah you can. When did Ray say you needed to be back by?"

"Before evening."

"Guess that checks out then."

Race opens the door and waves at Jack. "See ya later, Jack!"

"See ya later, Race."

As he closes the door, Jack sighs.

"I'm not that overly protective, right?" he thinks aloud.

"Yes you are," Crutchy says immediately without missing a beat as he walks by.

"Hey wait a second-!"

Ray comes in to the room. "Merry Christmas, Jack!"

Jack brightens. "Merry Christmas, Ray!"

"Did Race just leave?"

"Yeah."

"Did you try to stop him?"

"...No?"

Ray chuckles. "Your lying skills haven't improved since you were younger, Jack."

Jack feels his cheeks heat up a little. "Yeah, yeah."

"I'm still proud of how you raised Race all these years," Ray tells him. "When I couldn't be there, you were. And now I hear that he organized his own rally during the strike you all had earlier this year! You raised him right."

"Thanks, Ray." Jack feels a pang of guilt. I didn't even know that that rally had happened. He stuffs that thought away. "But I learned from the very best."

"Aw, Jack." Ray pulls him into a hug. "When will you see that you're just as good as I am? And most likely better?"

Jack's heart glows.

For close to two months, Jack has had Ray back in his life. And suddenly, he feels like he's fifteen again. But he and Ray both grew up. Jack still looks up to Ray, though. He always will.

Figuratively though--they are pretty much the same exact height.

It's been many years since they've had a Christmas with Ray. September of 1892 was the last time they saw him--until November 1899, that is.

This is going to be the best Christmas since 1891.

Somehow, Race has found something to side track him from seeing Spot.

It's just that it makes more sense to drop by to see Andrea and Giacomo while he's still in Manhattan before both parties in Brooklyn he'll be seeing.

Race is pretty sure that every single time he finds them here, in this exact spot, they never move.

"Ciao!" he calls out.

"Ciao!" they call back out to him.

"Buon Natale!" he says with a big smile. He's glad that he knows that phrase.

"Buon Natale!" they echo, smiling along him.

"We taught him that!" Andrea exclaims proudly.

"Yeah, I was there," Giacomo responds.

Everyone's in a good mood. It's just impossible to feel down on Christmas.

"I'm seein' ya later today, right?" Race asks.

Andrea and Giacomo nod vigorously. "We wouldn't miss it for the world."

Race grins. "Alright then. Ciao!"

"Ciao!"

He loves how that one simple phrase means both hi and bye.

"Merry Christmas, Spot!" Race calls out first thing when he has his new boyfriend in sight.

"Merry Christmas, Race!" Spot returns with a big smile.

"You ready for later today?" Race asks.

"Of course!" Spot replies.

"It's gonna be big!" Race grins. "Everyone is going to be there!"

Spot raises his eyebrows. "Everyone? Everyone-everyone?"

"That's the plan!" Race answers happily. "It took a lot of strings to pull, but somehow, it's happening."

"That's great!"

They continue to walk and talk, and make their way down to the docks. It's not the kind of weather to sit right on the edge facing out towards the water, but it's still a nice place to be.

"Have I ever told you how much I love the way your mind works, Race?" Spot mentions.

"I think you have, maybe once or twice. Or a hundred."

"I say it because it's true." He steps closer to Race. "And also because I have a hard time believing that you believe it."

He knows me too well.

Race looks down and scuffs his shoes. "It's just that sometimes it's still hard to believe that someone likes me for me."

Spot puts an arm around Race and kisses his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

So far, this is mostly what their relationship has consisted of. Them just being super sweet and soft. A lot of Spot telling Race that he loves him and the way his mind works. And in return, Spot gets a loving significant other and gets to follow all the places Race's mind goes. It works well for both of them. Sometimes, Race has spent the night in Brooklyn with him, and they cuddle together. And they don't need much more out of their relationship.

Spot knows for a fact that he won't get certain things out of this relationship that many others would say is a normal part of relationships. And he's totally okay with that. He knows he and Race aren't like that, and don't have to be like that. Honestly, Spot is just relieved that Race wanted to be in a relationship with him in the first place.

They spend more time together being physically close and talking, but Race has more people he wants to see.

It would make sense that his grandparents live in Brooklyn. They would be in the same city as Stargazer, which is why he got to know them so well.

If everything went the way it was supposed to, if my grandparents were never taken, then I would have grown up in Brooklyn, instead of Manhattan.

That alone is a very strange thought.

Spot and I could have grown up together from the very beginning.

But there's nothing they can do to change what happened.

And everything ended up working out in the end.

Race knocks on the door. Once that door opens, there will be solo Italiano.

He's ready.

Seeing them every day has really helped his Italian improve. Spending time with Andrea and Giacomo helped a lot, sure, but his grandparents can fill in the gaps about their heritage and culture and their history that his gambler friends couldn't.

What he's learned is that his grandparents immigrated with his mother and her siblings in 1877, before the big rush of Italian immigrants came. They came from Messina, Sicilia. They came by boat to Ellis Island. They started a life for themselves in Brooklyn. They were looking for jobs and a better living situation. And they found one.

By 1880, they knew about Them. They found others like them who knew. Someone like Stargazer. He helped them. And they accepted him into their familiy--loro famiglia--Race's famiglia. When things were getting dangerous, they knew that he was the one that they wanted to take care of Race if they couldn't.

1880 was also around the time they met Fortunato Alam Ishmael Celesto Nephus. He helped them too. And a little bit later, he introduced them and their daughter to Edward Higgins, a friend of his. Not too long after that, Edward and Letteria knew that they were in love and got engaged. A wedding followed soon after, and by late 1883 Antonio Edward Higgins came into the world.

He loves hearing things like this. He loves learning about where he came from. It helps him feel closer to his grandparents, and to the parents he never knew.

Nonno opens the door, Nonna right beside him.

Race gives them a big smile. "Vi auguro un Natale pieno di amore, pace, e gioia sincera." My best wishes for a Christmas filled with love, peace, and sincere joy.

He had to take a long time to memorize that.

Suoi nonni smile back in happiness.

It was worth it.

Every time they hear him speaking Italian right off the bat like that, it fills them with so much gioia.

They pull him into a hug.

"E ti auguriamo Buon Natale!" they say. And we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Race loves being in the middle of his grandparents' hug. It makes him feel safe and loved.

That's what he loves about hugs in general. He likes feeling the pressure of people pressing against him the way hugs do. It's comforting.

"Abbiamo qualcosa per te, Antonio!" Nonna exclaims softly in his ear. We have something for you!

"Cos'è?" he asks.

She tells him that if he comes inside, he'll find out. 

He grins. "Sta bene."

He loves loro casa so, so much. It just has this feel to it. Sure, it's small, and obviously doesn't belong to anyone from high social status or old or new money. But it's home.

The amazing smell of fresh pane reaches him before he sees it.

And right there on the table are three platters consisting of amazing traditional Italian Christmas desserts right there: pandoro, struffoli, and not necessarily traditional, but very necessary: Nonna's bread straight from the oven. He had some of these foods for last night's dinner for Vigilia di Natale. He couldn't miss an Italian Christmas Eve dinner with his grandparents, of course.

Come to think of it, here, there's pretty much always bread on the table--c'è sempre pane sulla tavola--in this house. That's why he loves it so much.

He automatically reaches for the delicious cibo. But stops himself before he touches anything. With the sweetest (childish) persuasive smile he can, he asks, "posso aver un po'?"

"Sì," she tells him.

"Grazie!" He'll have to wait for the pandoro to be cut. But he starts taking some struffoli and pane right away. "Mmmmm!" Nonna's food is amazing. "Che bello!"

"È per stasera," she tells him with a smile.

"Fantastico!" he exclaims.

Nonno comes back into the room. He has his hands behind his back. Then, with a big smile, he holds his hands--and the regalo--out for Race. "Tieni."

It's un libro. But not just any kind of book.

"Questo apparteneva a tua madre," Nonno continues as Race examines it in his hands.

Race opens up.

Written in cursive on the back of the cover reads: Letteria Gaetana Bonoforte.

This was his mother's journal.

After Stargazer's journals, Race thought he would never want to look at another journal again. But now...

"Abbiamo pensato che ti sarebbe piaciuto averlo," Nonno finishes. 

We thought you would like to have it.

"Grazie," Race says grateful, not looking up from the book. "Grazie, grazie, grazie."

Both Nonno and Nonna smile. "Prego."

He flips through the pages. There's writing, dates, drawings, everything. Some in cursive, some not; some in Italian, some not--and some of it is written in languages he doesn't know. But he can learn from this.

I get to learn everything about my mother.

All through their lunch--pranzo--Race looks through the pages. Now he's had Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch with his grandparents. And he's surrounded by good food (even if some of it is for later) and has his mother's journal with him. He could stay here for a long time.

Then he realizes what time it is.

"Devo andare," he tells them apologetically. "Ciao!"

"Ciao!" they say in response as he head out the door. "Ti amo!"

He turns around. "Ti amo, Nonna. Ti amo, Nonno. Fino a notte!" And then, he heads back to the place he still calls his home--the Manhattan Newsies Lodging House.

The plan is to go to Tibby's for dinner. The newsies (along with all three Jacobs siblings) get there early.

On any other Christmas, Tibby's would be closed. But Denton was able to convince them to let them use the restaurant for the night. Since the staff knows him well, they agreed. The main owner and Denton are the ones to greet the newsies. Since it's already unusual that they're here, and with less staff, it's understandable that there wouldn't be enough food made for everyone they expect to show up. That's okay: they planned it this way. They wanted it to be a sort of pot luck, sort of typical-restaurant.

Of course, very few Manhattan newsies have more than a dollar to their name, so the offerings they bring to start the Christmas feast are few and far between. Good thing they have Ray and Stargazer and Kloppman who have money. And good thing Esther Jacobs made them a cake.

Little do the newsies know that the people they invited aren't as broke. But they won't arrive for some time now.

The Manhattan newsies settle in around the restaurant, all in their own little circles.

"Is everyone going to show up?" Race asks.

Jack shrugs. "Who knows. But hey, if it turns out to be just us, I think we still have everyone we need."

But there's one boy in Brooklyn that I really want to see.

Very shortly, Race's prayers have been answered.

Spot comes through the door.

Grazie al cielo.

Race gets up immediately. "Spot! You came!"

"What did you think?" Spot chuckles as Race hugs him. "Of course I came!"

A few extra Brooklyn newsies (who Race thinks he's seen at some point? This is going to get hard for him though--they're all wearing red) also come through the door. They bring food. 

They all get settled and the conversation continues.

"I have an announcement for all of you," Denton tells all of them. They stop talking. "Last month, Spot and Racetrack, as well as Ray and Theodore here, unearthed a major conspiracy going on, involving the World, and Pulitzer. I just got word from the governor. Pulitzer is now arrested."

There are a lot of exclamations among the newsies. They all know the story well now about all of Them, and all of what their favorite Manhattan and Brooklyn newsies endured.

"I thought we told Pulitzer we'd let 'im cower," Race says.

"You told him that you would let him go, temporarily. We never promised that we wouldn't get the governor to do something."

Race stands up. Denton didn't say that. 

Fortunato Alam Ishmael Celesto Nephus said that.

And there he is, standing right there, in the doorway to Tibby's, grinning.

Wow, does he know how to make an entrance.

Race's jaw drops. He looks around wildly. "Who-what-who invi-invited-why-why are you-huh?!"

They all start laughing at his confused excited stammering.

"I brought him here," Spot says. "I know how much you looked up to him, and everything, so I-"

"Thank you, Spot!" Race exclaims. Then he turns to the Gambler. "And thank YOU for coming!"

Fortunato Alam Ishmael Celesto Nephus smiles and winks at him. "Of course, young Gambler."

Gambler.

I heard that.

He called me a Gambler.

Not a gambler.

A Gambler.

He called you 'young,' too.

Stop it. That's not what's important.

I'm a Gambler.

Race feels like he's walking on air.

Jameson walks through the door. "Merry Christmas, Racetrack!"

"Merry Christmas to you too!" Race responds cheerfully.

Jameson also brought food with him.

Now, there's enough food on the tables for people to begin picking and choosing what they'd like to eat. 

The door opens and two very familiar faces enter.

"Ciao, Antonio!" Andrea and Giacomo grin.

Race grins back. "Ciao!"

"We brought a friend," Andrea says mysteriously.

"We're going to have so much pane!" Giacomo exclaims gleefully.

They step aside, and allow Signor Moretti walk in.

"Signor Moretti!" Race exclaims. "Benvenuti a Tibby's!"

Signor Moretti's grin grows. "Antonio! Che piacere vederti!"

Race grins with him. "Buon Natale!"

Sure enough, Signor Moretti brought bread.

Lots of it.

It's like he didn't trust Tibby's enough to provide their own food.

Or maybe he just wants everyone to get full on his delicious bread.

No matter what, that latter theory is working.

More people come. Some just want to say hello, others stay longer. Some are people Race knows, some are people he doesn't know.

People that were taken show up too.

The ones that stand out to him are Annie Kelly and Jim Barlow.

Neither of them stay for the full feast. But that's okay; just seeing them was enough. 

As Annie bid them farewell, they could hear a few newsies murmur "patron saint" in awe as she walked out.

Some former newsies come. Of course, they're surprised to see Ray. But they're happy nonetheless to see them. Morris and Henry tell him all about Race's rally. Not all of former-newsies stay long, but seeing them was nice.

Even Medda comes by. None of them were expecting it, but there she is, decked out in all pink, all smiles. Very contagious smiles. And she brings food. That's always welcome. It's so strange seeing her outside the theatre, though. But no one can deny that she brings more life to this already very lively party.

But there's still two people that Race was hoping would come.

Surely his grandparents would come.

Right?

Then, the little doorbell rings.

And there they are: Giovanni Antonio and Mattia Chiara Bonoforte, smiling, one carrying a lot of pandoro, and one carrying struffoli.

Race stands up, smiling. "Nonno! Nonna! Siete qui!"

"Sì, Antonio! Siamo qui!"

He runs up to them and hugs them. With the hands not carrying plates, they hug him back.

"Grazie infinite d'essere venuto," he tells them.

"Oh, Antonio. Non c'è di che."

"Aww!" Andrea and Giacomo murmur softly from another part of the room, overhearing that phrase, knowing full well what it means. 

There's no reason to say thank you.

If they wanted to, they could have said Non c'è di che ringraziare and it would have had the same meaning.

Either way, it's almost like saying of course we came. They're happy to be a part of Race's life. And the two once nicknamed le carte da gioco see this play out beautifully.

Meanwhile, Ray, Spot, Stargazer, and Jack watch the scene with so many different emotions.

Spot smiles. I'm so happy that he can have this relationship with his grandparents. He can't understand the conversation one bit, but he can still see the strong family bond.

Ray grins. He remembers watching Race reunite with his grandparents. It was so sweet. I'm so happy that Race gets to connect to his real family after all these years. He remembers years ago when he and Stargazer unhappily decided that it'd be better not to teach young Antonio about his Italian heritage. Now, he finally gets to learn about it in the best way possible.

Stargazer watches with a smile too. After all these years, they reunited with the grandson they loved so much. He remembers that time in between the fire and them being taken, when they were ready to lay down their lives for the child they loved with all their might. They missed seeing him grow up, but that doesn't mean they still can't watch him grow.

Meanwhile, Jack watches in amazement. Since when did Race know so much Italian? 

Race truly did have a life outside of Jack and the newsies. And I'm just gonna have to accept that.

After the hugging is done, they set the dessert plates on the table. "Mangiamo!" they exclaim with wide smiles.

Race knows that not many newsies--or anyone else here--well, except maybe Stargazer (who remembers these piatti well)--would have had either pandoro or struffoli before. "Try 'em! They're really good!"

That was the best advice that any of them have ever received.

And so, with the last people here, the full feast and Christmas celebration can begin. All talk merrily, very happy. 

Race can honestly say that all of his friends and family are here. And it's the family dinner of a lifetime.

All the newsies (accompanied by Kloppman) (and former newsies Ray and Stargazer) walk back to the lodging house in peaceful silence. 

The couples are all holding hands. Ray and Stargazer. Blink and Mush. Jack and David. Race and Spot.

It was a good night. And they are all completely stuffed. They know for a fact that unless they do this again, they will never again eat that heartily.

Jack's just glad that David decided to come to the lodging house with him instead of go back to his house with his siblings. Jack knows that David's going to have to go back sometime in the night. But in the moment...David is mine. The world can't have him.

Some go to sleep right away when they get back. Others stay awake, talking quietly.

Mush pulls Blink away from everyone else, and into the closet where they had their first kiss. And that one eventful kiss that young Race saw. They haven't been in here for a while; no reason to hide. But there still is a lot of nostalgia here. Mush brings their foreheads together by placing one hand behind Blink's head, stroking Blink's face with his other hand.

"Any reason why we're here?" Blink asks.

"Can't I just want to kiss you hard without anyone watching?"

"Good point."

"But there is something I wanted to ask you about."

"I'm listening."

"Well...we aren't going to be newsies forever. And I was just thinkin'. When we're out and about in the world...are we sticking together?"

"Of course we are. What did you think we'd do?"

"I don't know. I was just wondering if you still wanted-"

He's cut off by Blink kissing him. Mush kisses back with all that he has.

"I don't care where we are, or what we do. Just as long as we're together," Blink tells him.

"That's all I need to hear," Mush says, then kisses Blink again.

Jack and David stand outside, staring up at the stars that have just started peaking out.

"It's beautiful," David says peacefully, looking right up.

"Yeah," Jack agrees. He can't stop staring at this wonderful smart boy he fell in love with. "Just like you are."

In the dim light, David blushes and smiles at the ground.

Jack loves it. Modest, unassuming. Exactly like David. Somehow, his love for him grows even more.

Then, Jack swallows. There's something he wants to say. "Um, Davey?"

David turns to face Jack. "Yeah?"

"I, um..." Jack stammers nervously. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

"I'm listening."

"So I remember you was saying earlier that this was your last year in school. And...I know my newsie days are numbered. So I was wondering, when I moved out...you might want to move into some place with me?"

"For real?" David asks, heart beating faster.

"Y-yeah." Jack looks away.

"I would love nothing more."

Jack looks back at David. "Really?" He's cut off by David kissing him on the lips. He kisses back.

"Merry Christmas, Jack," David whispers when their foreheads are pressed together.

"Merry Christmas, David."

"I love you."

"I love you so, so much."

They kiss again.

At some point, Jack is going to go back inside the lodging house. At some point, David is going to return to his family.

But that can wait. Because for now, it's just them. And none of the rest of the world matters.

Ray and Stargazer are up on the roof. Not many stars are out. But they'll wait. They are both really good at waiting.

"You can see the beginning of Aquila there."

"And you can see the beginning of Aquarius there."

"We aren't ever going to let them go, will we?"

"Not a chance."

It's quiet moments like these that the two nearly never get to have in the day time. So they enjoy this time while they can.

"You know, if we stay up here long enough, it'll no longer be Christmas. It'll be December 26th."

"I'm aware of that."

"So I'll say it while I can: Merry Christmas, Raymond."

"Merry Christmas, Theo."

Stargazer has something else to say. As casually as he can, he says: "I think I found a house."

He can practically hear Ray's eyebrows raise. "'You think you found a house?' As in, one to move into?"

"Yep. And on January fifth, I can drop by and see if it's the one I want to get. I want you to be there with me."

"I'm assuming it's still our house?"

"That was never a question."

"Of course I'll be there. Now, how far into Brooklyn are we talking about?"

"Actually, it's not in Brooklyn."

That catches Ray off guard. "What?"

"It's in Manhattan."

"What?!"

"Shocking, isn't it?"

"Who are you and what have you done to Theodore Conlon? Who has more patriotism to Brooklyn than his country?"

Stargazer chuckles. "Yeah, you got me there. But I realized that there truly isn't that much for me in Brooklyn. I mean, that's where my family who never cared about me lives. And I'm too old to be a newsie. Most of the Brooklyn newsies I knew have moved away, moved on. But you? Everyone you care about is here in Manhattan. I know they're all aging out of being newsies. But I know you all care too much about each other to move really far away. They're your family, Ray. And I can't take you away from them. So, Manhattan it is."

"What about Spot?" Ray asks.

"Yeah, that's the one thing I couldn't figure out," Stargazer admits. "But as long as he has Race, his heart is always going to be intertwined with Manhattan. Like mine was from the very beginning. I just couldn't accept it back then."

"I, for one, can't wait to see this house you picked out."

"I can't for you to see it either."

So maybe they never did have that house in Brooklyn they'll move into when they're 21.

But now they have a house in Manhattan they'll move in to when they're 31.

Race and Spot walk around inside the lodging house, talking. There aren't many people around to bother them. At one point, they stop walking, just staying around a doorway.

"Thank you so much for coming today, Spot."

"Thank you for going out of your way to see me in Brooklyn, Race."

"I mean it, Spot. Oh, and thanks for inviting Fortunato Alam Ishmael Celesto Nephus too."

"Of course. Wow. You can stay his full name that fast?"

"Can't everyone?"

Spot chuckles a little. "I love the way your mind works."

I know many, many people who would have given up on the Gambler's name, and just kept to calling him the Gambler. But not Race. Race, who can say the full name so easily, as if it were something commonplace. He doesn't even realize how unique he is.

"You say that a lot."

"Well, it's true." Then, Spot remembers something. "I almost forgot. I got you a little something."

"Oh?"

Spot digs around in his pocket. "Here." He pulls out a little silver chain. "I saw this, and I thought of you. It's a lot like the gold chain you gave me, but you know, it's silver."

Race takes it tentatively. He plays with it in his hands. Oh, his hands are going to love this. "I love it. Thank you, Spot."

Spot smiles. "You're welcome." 

There are a few moments of comfortable silence.

That's when Spot's eyes land on something directly above them.

Mistletoe.

He puts a hand on Race's shoulder. "Race, look up."

Race stares at the ceiling. "What?"

"Mistletoe."

Race is quiet for a couple seconds. His heart speeds up. He knows what this means.

"Can I kiss you?" Spot asks, as softly and as gently, and in the most considerate tone that he can. He wants this. But he can't have it without Race's consent.

Race thinks for a few seconds. Then, he nods. He trusts Spot.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Spot leans in.

And then his lips are pressed against Race's.

Both have wanted this for some time.

It's sweet, and gentle, and soft, and not that long. It's everything that they need. It's all that Race needs.

Both are glowing inside. That felt amazing.

Then Race's eyes widen in realization. "I just remembered I have something for you, too. Stay right here."

He rushes out of the room and up the stairs.

Spot smiles. Race is so cute when he gets excited like this.

Within a few extra seconds, Race comes down the stairs. He has a paper in his hand. "I know it ain't much, but I wanted you to have this."

Spot brings it up to the light. It reads, Pareidolie.

"That's the German word for pareidolia," Race explains quickly. "This is the article I was talking about. It's how I found out about the word and all, and I just thought you might like to have it-"

"Race, that was really thoughtful. Thank you so, so much."

Race glows a little. "Really?"

"Really." He pauses. "I think I need to get going."

"Okay," Race responds, slightly disappointed. He understands. "Can I...can we...can..."

"Can we what?"

Race doesn't know how to ask for this. So instead, he just silently points up at the mistletoe.

Spot seems to understand. He nods.

This time, Race leans forward. This kiss is a lot like the last one--short and sweet and gentle. Spot brings their foreheads together.

"I love you, Race."

"I love you too, Spot."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya tomorrow."

Then, Spot leaves.

Race waves at him as he leaves. He has so many emotions right now. Sad that Spot is leaving. Excited for the kiss. Happy that Spot truly loves him.

But most of all, he's feeling euphoric.

No matter how many Christmas's he'll have in the future, this will always be one that he holds closest to his heart.

Awww Christmas fluff!! :)

...Even though I'm writing this in the last days of August haha.

I loved writing the mistletoe part. It's so cute! The way I described their first kiss was how I would want mine to be (bold of me to assume it'll ever happen at all haha). Just...soft, not that passionate, and really sweet. I'm so glad that Race and Spot finally got it.

I love writing very-understanding no-limit-pushing Spot. Consent is key, everyone.

Also: research time! Kissing under the mistletoe has been around since the 1700's in England. Others say it's been around longer. I couldn't figure out why people do it though.

Pot lucks have been around since the 1860's in Minnesota.

I mean I guess this can count as research but the real newsies referred to Annie Kelly as a "patron saint" so I had to have that here haha.

Kinda unrelated here. While writing the Gambler's entrance THAT part of Feeling Good--when you first hear the trombones play that chilling bass line part--was playing and oh my gosh it worked SO WELL haha.

I had to have Spot give Race a small chain as a Christmas present. Race needs a stim toy.

I realize that they were the only ones I showed exchanging gifts. Don't worry, everyone else did too. It was just off screen haha.

So how was that?!

I wanted to make sure I got everyone in there at some point. If they had importance to the story, they were there. That's the kind of feel I wanted. It made me happy writing everyone in in some way.

I wanted Race's grandparents to be in Brooklyn because the real Racetrack lived in Brooklyn with his grandparents, and I kinda wanted to have this in there like if stuff didn't happen, this would have been his life.

I did some research on Italian culture and the holidays. In Italy, it's custom to have a huge dinner Christmas Eve and a huge lunch on Christmas Day. And of course I had to/really wanted to learn all the holiday greetings. So I've never had pandoro or struffoli before, but look them up. They. Look. So. Good. Have you ever had those foods? Or any other traditional Italian Christmas foods/desserts? Tell us!

Still on the subject of Christmas tradition foods, there's this one Scandinavian food my family has: it's called lefse. It's not specifically for Christmas, but we have it pretty much only for special occasions--like Christmas and Thanksgiving. And it is one of the best foods ever created by humankind. It's hard to describe. It's like you take a a very thin pancake made of flour and potatoes and lathered it in butter (and maybe sprinkled some cinnamon sugar in there) and folded it up like a quesadilla--at least, my family folds it kinda like that. The internet might describe it better. If you've tried it, then yay! I can talk to someone about lefse! If you haven't, try it! You won't regret it! :)

Any other cultural/traditional foods your family has around the holidays? Feel free to share here! I'd love to hear them! :)

This chapter made me really happy. 

Sorry for the length...

...I'm gonna take forever to proofread this...

I'm happy and sad to say that this is the second to last chapter. After that, it's just add-ons...and then I say goodbye to this story.

Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section at all times.

Best,

~Your Beloved Author (who loves this story's world so much)