Title: I Know The Pieces Fit

Author: Greens

Feedback: Please, please, please. I live for feedback, feedback is my friend. But don’t be too harsh. Although I do like constructive criticism, please remember, fanfiction writers are people too.

Pairing: Michael/Ben

Rating: R/NC-17(just to be safe) (for language, adult situations, sex)

Genre: Drama, Romance

Summary: Ben and Michael attempt to spend their first Christmas together as a couple. (Response to the First Annual Christmas Challenge at Slashy Goodness, 1. It's your couples first Christmas together. 2.They must make love in front of the Christmas tree and in an unusual place. Let your minds wander. 3. One of them has to give the other a special gift. Again...let your minds wander. 4. One or both must sing Christmas carols while wearing something on their head. You decide which head.)

Notes: None

Special Thanks: Thanks to the actors who give us viewers characters we care about and for giving us writers a basis for inspiration. There would be no QAF if it wasn’t for the actors who were daring enough to take part in this project. So thanks to all of you!

Spoilers: None

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: I don’t own QAF or any of the QAF characters. All invented characters however are my own. I am not making any money off of this fic and am writing purely for pleasure and my general love for the show.


I Know The Pieces Fit


"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la." Michael belted out as he placed a few ornaments on the tiny fir tree, a pine wreath resting atop his head like a halo.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Ben asked, coming up behind him, wrapping his arms around the smaller man’s waist. "The ghost of Christmas past?"

Michael tilted his head back, gazing at Ben. He gave him a soft smile. "More like Christmas present and Christmas future." he said before capturing Ben’s lips. He could feel the contact lingering, the warmth of his lover’s lips consuming him. "Mmm" Michael said. "This... is going to definitely be one of the greatest Christmases ever. And I get to spend every minute of it with you." 

"Every single minute," Ben smiled, kissing his lover once again. 

Michael turned himself around in Ben’s arms, facing the taller man, lifting himself up onto his toes to cast his arms around Ben’s neck. Ben removed the wreath from Michael’s head, tossing it aside like a Frisbee before beginning to pull at his lover’s clothes. 

They sunk to the floor, clothing flying in all directions, Ben moved his mouth down Michael’s neck and across his chest working on each nipple equally before turning the other man over. Ben managed to reach over and grab a condom from his pants pocket and the convienetly hidden lube from the bottom drawer. He shielded himself, and slowly, almost planned out, lowered himself into Michael.

A contented groan escaped the smaller man’s mouth as Ben began to rock rhythmically against him, fingers weaving with Michael’s above his lover’s head. Their movements were like a clock, steady and pulsing, pushing forward with moans and pleasurable whimpers from both men. 

They held back as long as they could, not wanting the moment to end, but feeling it peaking. Unable to hold back any longer, Ben called out, his body collapsing against Michael’s. He remained for a moment, reaching down to pull a blanket up over them.

Michael took a deep breath, wrapping himself in Ben’s arms. "That was... amazing" he said practically breathless, chin resting against Ben’s chest so that he could gaze into the other man’s eyes. "Not that I’m surprised I mean... It’s always amazing. But it’s... it’s gotta be the tree, and the whole... spirit of the holidays stuff. It’s so..." Ben leaned forward, silencing him with a deep kiss. "Got it" Michael said with a soft smile on his face. "Shutting up." 

"I was thinking, maybe we could do this whole gift exchange early." Ben said, pushing himself up a bit.

Michael laughed. "You mean there’s more? I would have settled for just that." 

Ben smiled as he pulled Michael to sit along with him. "I don’t want you to just have to settle." he said.

"You know what I mean," Michael said. "Just being here together is enough. Always will be."

Ben reached over to go through the pockets of his jeans which had been cast aside. "But still," he said "I want it to be even better for you, for us. I love you, Michael." 

Michael smiled. "I love you too," he said. He paused, "OK, OK, I feel like I’m five again. I think we can open presents early. I wanna see what Santa got me this year."

"Well Santa knows what a sweet and caring man you are." Ben said.

"That Santa" Michael laughed. "He’s a smart guy."

"So this year, Santa got you something really special." Ben smiled, kissing him softly as the phone rang. Both men let out a disappointed sigh.

"I’ll get it," Michael groaned, shimmying out from under the blanket and reaching over for the phone. "Hello?" he said "...This is Michael Novotny.... Oh no no.... No, don’t leave them... I’ll be there in five minutes. Five minutes." Michael hung up the phone. "Some jackass," he said, beginning to put on his clothes. "Fucked up the shipping order for our comic. And now I’ve gotta get down to the store to open up or they’re gonna leave the boxes on the street." He paused, shoulder falling, looking down at Ben. "Ben... I’m sorry."

"No, no, it’s OK." Ben said. "Go. Go ahead. This is important. I can wait."

Michael smiled. "Thank you" he said. "I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise." He grabbed his jacket and keys. "I promise." Michael hurried out of the apartment, and Ben sat back with a deep sigh. watching as the door closed.

>>>>>>

Michael went as fast as he could down to the comic book store. He stopped when he saw the shipment of comics sitting in front of the store. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. fumbling now for the keys to the front door, finding the one that fit the odd shaped lock and pushing into the store. He attempted to keep his eyes on the shipment as he moved to the back of the store for a hand truck to move the boxes, dragging the piece of metal back to the front of the store on its three good wheels.

Michael stepped out side, beginning to shimmy the boxes onto the contraption with a soft exasperated grunt with the effort. "so much for muscle mass, huh?" Michael heard a laugh coming from behind him. He turned, smiling as he saw Ben. 

"What are you doing here?" Michael laughed. "I thought you were still at home keeping the couch warm." 

"And let you have all the fun out here in the cold?" Ben said. "With the heavy boxes? Not a chance." Ben bent down, picking up some of the boxes, helping Michael to bring them into the store. "Where do you want to put these?" he asked. 

"The back room." Michael said, pushing the hand truck. "I don’t want to do inventory now. I don’t have the energy or the desire." He followed Ben to the back of the store, dropping off the boxes. "I can’t believe they just left these outside." Michael complained. "You know what could have happened. A bunch of... hoodlums could have grabbed them and took off."

"Hoodlums, huh?" Ben laughed, setting the boxes down. "Don’t put too much faith in human kind, do you?"

"Not really, not tonight. It’s kinda like taking Brian down to Babylon and telling him he can look, but not touch." 

"That bad" Ben couldn’t help but laugh at Michael’s analogy.

"We’ve been together for almost one whole year." Michael said. "Have you ever known Brian to turn away a trick?" Michael looked at Ben, laughed loudly. 

"He’s hopeless," Ben said, taking a seat on top of one of the boxes. Michael followed.

"He’s Brian" Michael said with a smile. 

Ben nodded. "Michael..." he said "Call me persistent..."

"I’d much rather call you Ben" Michael laughed at his own corny joke, resulting in Ben smiling. 

"I couldn’t wait another minute for this," Ben smiled. "That’s another reason I came after you." Ben paused. "Michael, this place is so much a part of my life as it is yours. We met right out there. It was where I first saw those beautiful brown eyes of yours. It was the moment I felt that instant connection to you. And everything we’ve been through, everything I’ve had to face... I knew that... I never had to do it alone. Not anymore because... no matter what happened, no matter what was going on between us, you would always be there. You would always be there when I was feeling horrible or when things just weren’t going right and... I hope you know that I would do the same thing for you. I would do anything." 

Michael smiled softly, nodded. "I know." he said 

"Michael, I love waking up in the morning and having you lying beside me. I love being able to look over and watch you sleep, to watch how the sunlight bounces off the window and splashes your face when the sun rises. I love the way it feels when we make love. Its like we fit. Like those two pieces of the puzzle that were made for eachother, and to try to force them into another piece would destroy them. I love every minute that we spend together and I love you." Ben paused again, going into his pocket and pulling out the small black velvet box. "Michael" he said "I don’t ever want a day to go by that I don’t have you by my side." He opened the box slowly to reveal the fitted gold band. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my husband?"

Michael was speechless as the shimmer of the gold reflected in his eyes. "Ben..." he said, unable at the moment to utter another word. He looked into his lover eyes, forcing the tears that danced right behind his eyes not to fall. "Yes," he said "Yes I’ll marry you." 

Ben smiled widely, taking the ring from the box and slipping it gently on Michael’s finger, a perfect fit. He kissed Michael’s hand softly, then pressed their lips together. 

Michael brought his hands up to cup Ben’s cheeks, fingers wiggling back to sift through his hair. Their lips parted as the two men managed to move themselves from the tops of the shipping boxes. Ben’s hands moved lower, lifting Michael’s tee shirt over his head before he went back to kissing the smaller man, lips trailing down Michael neck. 

Michael managed to shed Ben of his clothing, which now joined his own in a pile on the store room floor. He pulled Ben down against him gently, arching his body upwards against Ben’s steady kisses. Their bodies pressed close together, Ben gazed right into Michael’s eyes. "I love you" he said 

Michael smiled. "I love you too." he said " This is... the best Christmas ever." 

Ben kissed him deeply once again. "Merry Christmas, baby." he said 

"Merry Christmas," Michael smiled against his lips, feeling their souls already joined together as Ben kissed him again even deeper, pressing him down making love to him. Their puzzle was complete. The pieces a perfect fit.


THE END