Shock horror this is not a Klaine fic! :O
I just watched Extraordianry Christmas and was completely and utterly overtaken by the friendship/bromance that is Sam/Rory. So I wrote this :D
Merry Christmas
The fire was crackling loudly, the heat radiating out to fill the room with a sleepy warmth. It made the whole place seem welcoming and family-like. What Rory liked the most about it was that it wasn't real.
"Where did you get this from again?" He asked, looking down at the electric fire leant against the southern wall of the living room. Sam smiled.
"Wal-Mart. They do the most amazing things this kind of year." Rory cocked his head to the side as he stared at the plastic and his grin widened. At home they had a real fireplace – one outlined with stones and filled with sticks gathered from the woods outside. But they pretty much needed it running through most of the year, so it wasn't that special. Seeing this reminded him of that and his family, but also brought him back to the realisation that this Christmas was very different to the ones he had experienced every of the other 14 years of his life.
"What do you think of the decorations?" Looking back at Sam, Rory smiled yet again. Americans also went horrendously overboard with the decorations. The sight of Brittany's house had almost blinded him. To be honest he was pretty glad to be out of that grotto of commercialism for this day.
"They're grand." The paper chains winding their way across the ceiling were obviously homemade and they added yet another familiar touch to the living room. This was the kind of Christmas he wanted.
"Dinner's ready!" Suddenly a voice sounded from the kitchen. Immediately Sam and Rory rushed off to the kitchen, where Mrs Evans was taking the turkey out of the oven.
"Mmmn!" Sam licked his lips and she laughed, placing it on the side before Mr Evans stepped forward with the carving knife.
"Smells good." Rory walked over to the other side, where the carrots and brussel sprouts were simmering in a pot.
"Do you need any help with serving Mrs Evans?" He asked.
"Oh heavens no – you're out guest! Please sit down." She replied. He found it hard to accept the gesture – it seemed rude to let one person do the majority of the work. Everything was pretty much ready though, so he sat down in his place beside Sam and Stacy bounded in to sit the other side.
"Hey Rory!" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down in her chair so he laughed.
"Are you excited about Christmas dinner?"
"Yes!" As Stevie repeated the same actions next to Sam, Rory saw the turkey being carved, portioned out onto plates and then brought over to the table.
"Here we are! Bon Appetit!" Mrs Evans said happily, before Sam frowned at her.
"Mom, this isn't France. DIG IN!" As laughter ran around the room Rory picked up his plate and began dishing out some carrots for himself. He made sure Stacey got a decent amount and took great delight in piling everyone's plates high with roast potatoes.
"We made extra especially for you." Mr Evans said with a smile, making the Irish boy blush scarlet. It would be politically correct for him to state that his race didn't just only eat potatoes – but to be honest it was pretty much true. They tasted amazing, and he couldn't half the sound of pleasure that escaped from hi mouth when he took the first bite.
"You like?" Mrs Evans asked.
"Yeah! They're amazing!" He replied, before realising his mouth was full and blushing again. There was such joy around this table – nobody was complaining about anything being slightly burnt or wishing there was a little more. In fact Rory felt the portion was just perfect – enough to fill his stomach but not making him fit to burst like Christmas dinner made him so often feel.
When everyone's plates were clean Sam sat back, patting his stomach with a satisfied grin on his face. Stevie took the opportunity to playfully punch a fist in his gut and for a second Rory wondered if they were going to see a projectile show, but luckily his friend simply let out a noise of annoyance and then proceeded to tackle his brother off his chair.
"Hey, save the fighting for after your meals have gone down." Mr Evans said, prompting them both to laugh. As Mrs Evans collected up the plates Rory followed her to the sink, carrying dishes of his own.
"Rory, please go into the living room, I can do this." She pleaded, but this time he ignored her, turning on the tap and pouring in some washing up liquid.
"Thank you, for this meal." He said, taking the first plate and dipping it into the warm water.
"Oh, that's quite alright. It didn't take much to cook for one more."
"But you didn't have to. It was nice of you." Mrs Evans sighed, looking at Rory with kind eyes.
"Well you have Sam to thank for that. He insisted you come." Rory felt his heart swell slightly. He'd tried to hard to make friends at McKinley – Finn Hudson had been nice and offered him a helping hand occasionally, but as soon as the 1st of December struck he'd descended into Rachel land and left him a relative outsider. Everybody else had their friends and plans and loneliness had overcome him, made even more prominent by his parent's inability to afford the plane tickets to visit.
"When he asked me I was so surprised." He replied, handing another plate to Mrs Evans who dried it and put it on the side. "Nobody had ever been that nice to me before."
"Well Sam's a lovely boy. I don't know what we'd have done without him."
"Yeah." Rory knew all about the Evans' struggles, in fact it made their kindness and generosity here even harder to understand.
"It's been lovely having you here though. Will you be able to speak to your family later?"
"Yeah, probably." The time difference made it harder but Rory had already organised a phone call that Sam. Stacey and Stevie would no doubt also be a part of.
"I'm glad. Anyway – no more washing up for you! Go into the living room!" Suddenly Rory's hands were pulled out of the water, he was handed a towel and his face wrinkled in annoyance. Mrs Evans laughed before pushing him again towards the door and eventually he relented.
Inside the living room Mr Evans and Sam were watching the TV – some holiday special that reminded Rory of the one the Glee club had put on. The fact that Sam hadn't taken part make him realise just how special he really was, and how it had taken that for him to become equally understanding. Stacey and Stevie were playing with the toys they had got from Santa in the morning and he skipped around them to sit next to his friend on the sofa.
"Do you think the directing is as good as Artie?" Sam asked with a smile, motioning to the TV.
"Nah. He incorporated Star Wars. The guy's a genius."
"I still think you should have worn that elf costume today. It was hilarious." At this Rory let out a noise of annoyance, lightly punching his friend on the arm as he laughed loudly, his father doing the same.
"Do Santa's elves come from Ireland?" Stacey suddenly asked, bounding over and resting her chin on Rory's arm.
"No, they're from the North Pole. Leprechauns come from Ireland." Again the Irish boy rolled his eyes at the obvious stereotyping and laughter filled the room once more. This was great. Sitting together, having a great time. He couldn't a remember a time when he had felt more at home or at ease.
"Present time!" Suddenly Mrs Evans appeared with bag full of presents. Immediately Stacey and Stevie jumped to their feet and as the bag was set on the floor they scrambled to take the packages out. Rory's eyes widened.
"I thought we already got presents?"
"Yeah, but those were from Santa! These are from us!" Ah. That meant there would be nothing for him. Happy to sit back and watch the show he crossed his legs and moved back further onto the sofa – but when a gift was handed over his brown furrowed.
"Who's this for?"
"You silly!" Stevie replied, as if it were the most stupid question in the world. What? Rory stared down at the present.
To Rory,
Merry Christmas
From the Evans Family
"You didn't have to do this." He could feel tears suddenly building in his eyes, emotion overcoming him uncontrollably.
"Of course we did. You're part of the family now – you get a gift." As Rory looked up at Mrs Evans all he wanted to do was hug her. She smiled and he looked at Sam, who was also looking equally as happy holding his own gift.
"Ok, everybody open your presents, one, two, three!" Suddenly the sound of paper tearing filled the room, everyone frantically opening their gifts and then exclaiming in delight when they were revealed.
"A robot! Awesome!"
"New earrings!"
"A musical tie!" Rory laughed out loud when he saw his present. It was an Ohio scarf.
"We thought you might need if for if it gets cold in Ireland. Plus then you can remember us." Sam said. Rory looked at him, noticing the Sean Connery DVD he had in his hand and smiled. Of course he would remember them. He would remember this moment for the rest of his life.
"Thank you guys. Thank you." Suddenly unable to contain himself he stood, up, walking over to Mrs Evans and giving her a huge hug. She squeaked, obviously not expecting the gesture, but then her hands squeezed back and Rory smiled. He went round the rest of the room hugging everyone, Stacy practically jumping onto him so he almost fell over and Mr Evans slapping him heartily on the back. When he reached Sam, Rory stopped and took a deep breath. He didn't know how he could repay such an amazing gesture. The invite, the present, just the past couple of days in general. He was overwhelmed.
"Thank you for being my friend." He simply said. Sam grinned, a wide grin that stretched across his whole face and made Rory's heart sing.
"Any time. Thanks for being my friend too." As they hugged Rory heard Mrs Evans begin to cry, waving her face over her hands so her makeup wouldn't run. Rory chuckled and Sam echoed the sound, laughter and happiness suddenly filling the room and almost lifting it into the air. The fake fire crackled and burned, mixing with the warmth exuding from all parties and drifting off out the tiny cracks in the door into the crisp winter air.