The snow is falling, the city is white
Your eyes are shining like diamonds tonight
And we're all alone, there's no one home
You're finally in my arms again
The night is silent and Christmas is here
I couldn't ask for more than having you near
'Cause I love you, boy, I always will
And now I know the moment is right
The moment is right

I couldn't believe he'd gotten rid of all of them. All of them!

Well, the boy always did have a way of charming others into doing anything and everything he wanted them to do. That was part of why I loved him so much.

I touched the window lightly, and watched the snowfall as I waited for him to come back downstairs. Christmas Eve. A nighttime snowfall. A fire crackling in the other room. Race had something up his sleeve, and I knew it was an Ace of Hearts.

I heard creaking on the stairs and looked away from the snow, my gaze finding my sweet, Yuletide lover, Racetrack Higgins. His face was flushed, but he looked pleased with himself.

"'Swierd ta have da Lodgin' 'Ouse be quiet, ain't it?" he said, whispering, as if there was someone who might overhear us.

I grinned. "Youse ain't got no ideah."

"Yeh, I does. I's been heah longah den you has, Blink."

I shrugged. "Good point. But I's da one what hangs out with Snitch, Mush n Pie Eatah."

"Good point." Race said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, anyway, I managed somehow ta make 'em get outta heah fer a coupla hours. We gonna waste dat time?"

I stood and stretched, grinning again. "Depends on what youse got planned fer t'night."

Race grinned back. "C'mon. 'Scold in heah. Le's go get warm by da fire."

I've been waiting to give this gift tonight
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time
It's something to last for as long as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you (oh, boy) all my heart can give

I sat with my back to a chair, and Race sat in my lap. We held each other, talked, and laughed. It was pleasant, warm, sweet. Race could be the most caring guy in the world when he wanted to be. He seemed a little out of it, though. Strange. I called him on it, and he simply said that he was thinking.

I started to worry that maybe all this was because he wanted to leave me, he wanted to make it easier for me.

But that didn't sound like Race.

I sighed and nuzzled my face into his neck, deciding simply to let this warmth last as long as it would.

I thought I'd give you something shiny and new
I tried to find something worthy of you
But I realized when I looked inside
There's some things that money can't buy (oh, no)
I feel the magic whenever you're near
I feel it even more this time of the year
'Cause I love you, boy, I always will
And now I know the moment is right
The moment is right

Then it hit me, and I grinned into his neck. "Heya, Race. I gotcha somethin'."

I felt him stiffen. "Ya did? How?"

"Saved me money. Hol' on, lemme go get it." I kissed his cheek then dashed upstairs. I reached under my mattress and grabbed his gift, then ran back downstairs. "Heah ya go, Race! Merry Christmas."

He stared at me, then took the gift from my hands. It was a horse carved from wood and painted in a shop down in Harlem. I'd had to use all my savings to get it. He stared at it, then looked up at me in shock.

"How da hell did youse get da money ta get me somethin' like dis?" he asked quietly.

I shrugged. "Ain't wort' 'smuch 'slooks like its wort'," I lied.

But he caught me. "Doan lie ta me, Blinkahs." he said, shaking his head slowly. "'Ow much was it?"

I sighed. "Me savin's."

"All of 'em?"

"All of 'em."

He stared at me for a moment, shocked, then looked down at the horse. He ran his fingers over its surface, his face contorted with heavy thought, then he looked up at me again.

"I cain't take dis." he said, pushing it towards me.

I've been waiting to give this gift tonight
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time
It's something to last for as long as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you (oh, boy) all my heart can give

I frowned, and pushed it back. "Yeh, youse can. I wouldnta spent dat money if I didn' care enough to buy ya dis."

Race looked at me, blinking rapidly, as if he were about to cry. "But…but I ain't got nuthin' fer youse, Blink. Didn' have da money."

I grabbed his shoulders and kissed his forehead. "Ya got da boys outta heah, didntcha? Dat's good enough fer me."

Race stared at me with damp brown eyes. "Blinkahs…"

We embraced then, and he held me tightly. A thought came to me, but it flew away as quick as it had pecked the surface of my mind. Then Race pushed me away, enough that he could look me in the face.

"I t'ink I does have somethin' fer ya, Blink." he said, his cheeks taking on a rosy tinge in the firelight.

"What?" I asked, a little confused.

He stood back, and placed both hands over his chest. "Me heart. I loves ya, Blink. Will ya take me heart dis Christmas?"

You know I'll always be true to you
And you know I'm the one you can turn to
Any time, any place, or anywhere
You know that I'll always be there

I stared at him. My one eye was open as wide as I could get it as I stared at him, shocked, and excited. He'd never said that to me before. I guess he took my wide-eyed gaze as rejection, because he immediately tensed up, and fell on his knees before me, his face silhouetted by the fire.

"Please doan say no, Blink!" he begged, something else I'd never heard him do before. "I loves ya Blinkahs, wit' all me heart, n I dunno what I'd do if youse stopped bein' me boy jus' 'cause I love youse n youse ain't ready fer dat yet…"

I put a finger on his mouth and he quieted, staring up at me hopefully.

I removed my finger and watched him.

He smiled slightly. "I loves ya, Blink."

Three simple words.

That's all it took to change my life.

I fell to my own knees and embraced him, starting to feel hot tears welling up in my eye. "I loves youse too, Race." I said softly. His muscles loosened, and he grabbed my shoulder blades in a mix of relief and bliss. We separated enough to look each other in the face.

He studied me for a moment, running his callused fingers over my face before kissing my mouth softly.

And I knew he meant what he said.

Three simple words.

He meant them.

A group of newsboys, having decided that whatever Race had paid them wasn't worth staying out in that cold for two hours, started to pound on the door as Race's and my kiss deepened. I recognized Jack's voice among them, Snitch's and Jake's too. But I didn't care.

Race loved me.

And I loved him.

And that was all that mattered on that snowy Christmas Eve.

I've been waiting to give this gift tonight
I'm down on my knees, there's no better time
It's something to last for as long as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you (oh, boy) all my heart can give

***AUTHOR'S NOTE***

This was written extremely fast, in the middle of the night, because I wanted to get it posted before Christmas. It is a Christmas fic after all. Short little thing. Not up to my usual standards, but hey. You gotta consider that there was a deadline. And that I won't be on much tomorrow (today? it is after midnight), considering it's Christmas Eve (and I know most of what I'm getting too, aheheheh…MISERY ON DVD, AH, I CAN DIE HAPPY! **stephen king fan extrodinaire** **ahem** Yesh. I should be getting to bed now, but I probably won't go. Ooo, Ashley's on! Now I definitely won't go!

But I will leave this note alone now. Aheh. Probably gonna go work on Outkasts or While the Thunder Rolls or something…ooo, that Snitch/Spot fic, hmmm…**wanders off, musing**