star (thunderheart, ray/crow horse, pg)
For escritoireazul for the 2012 holiday fic meme. Her request was Thunderheart, Christmas means beers.
Star
The ice on the Little Walking was cracking; it was an unusually mild Christmas. The halls had not been decked; there was no pie, no eggnog, no who hash. George had kids, and Danny had gone to New York to do the holidays with some cousins, so Ray and Crow Horse took the Christmas Day shift at the station.
There were donuts, but they were from yesterday, the glaze as brittle as the ice on the river.
Ray’d had the radio on, listening to Christmas music, until the batteries gave out.
They drove home in a light snow, the fat, wet flakes splattering against the windshield. The stars shone brightly in the dark sky, and Ray thought about the Star of Bethlehem, the wise men walking for days in the desert fed solely on faith.
After supper, they sat on the back porch watching the snowfall. Ray brought out his present for Crow Horse, a six-pack of seriously expensive lager that he hadn’t managed to wrap, and had eventually just slapped a bow on.
“Be nice to share a drink with someone,” Crow Horse said, rolling one of the bottles between his palms.
“Oh,” Ray said. “I-you know I don’t-”
“That’s not what I meant,” Crow Horse said. He disappeared into the house, returning a moment later with a Coke and a small, haphazardly wrapped package. He handed Ray both, and sat down beside him on the porch, cracking open a beer.
They clinked the glass of their bottles together. Ray fingered the dimensions of the package without opening it.
“Sure glad you’re here,” Crow Horse said. He was looking ahead, at the snow.
Ray smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”
Crow Horse took another drink of his beer, and rested his free hand on the back of Ray’s neck, squeezing gently. Ray closed his eyes, and felt the cool rush and feather touch of the snow falling around them, and understood the magi, following a star, fed only by faith.