He had seen Gael a lot of ways, Carlos thought as he watched his lover twist his fingers and look down at the floor. But never nervous, never unsure. His confidence was like a second skin, and at one point Carlos would have said it was impossible for Gael to be anxious like this. "Joyeux Noël," he said after a moment. Something was up other than a holiday surprise, he thought. Christmas dinner, even if he worried that Carlos would be annoyed by it, wouldn't work him up like this.

He smiled a bit and loosened his shirt collar and took the present before shooing Mr. Meowgi away from the Very Interesting Christmas tree. "You didn't have to," he said, "but thank you." He had gotten Gael something, but he'd planned to give it to him the next day.

And...he thought as he unwrapped the box and opened it, this wasn't what he would expect. He knew what claddagh rings were for. Ty's aunt Zoë wore one on her left hand. He looked up with a questioning look. "Are you...what is this, cariño?"