Fic: Cinis
Fandom: Due South
Character: Ray Vecchio
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Words: 229
Notes: Stand-alone, takes place in Vegas just before COTW. Belongs to this story arc.

February 25, 1998

Two lines of ash crossed his forehead. The priest spoke; he barely heard it, but the words were as old as his memory.

Who was he wearing this for, anyway?

Oh, right. The Bookman wore it every year without fail. It was a sick little fact. You had to repent for your sins, right? It made sense. A guy like that. The guy it was his job to be. If you were gonna repent anyway - if you were gonna go for it once a year and square every fucked up thing you ever did with God just to start all over again - you might as well make that year big.

Thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return. Was anyone going to notice the difference between the dust of Ray Vecchio and the dust of Armando Langoustini? Would God? He didn't know whose sin he was turning away from. He would've asked God, if he thought God was listening.

Someplace where it was still probably snowing, faces he wasn't allowed to miss wore the same cross. People who had only one life to repent for.

Armando had power, money, fine Italian leather, and buttermilk. Ray Vecchio had already given up everything. There was nothing left for Lent.