Title: A CROSS Holiday
Author: Shadow
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Violence, shonen-ai, misuse of mistletoe, and spiked eggnog
Notes: Just a small side story, taking place sometime after the end of CROSS and A Forgotten Story but there aren't any spoilers. You just need to have read the first chapter of either story to understand…enjoy!
Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish…
It was a cold and blustery day on December the 24th, and the heavy blanket of downy gray clouds heralded snow. A house on a street was decorated with absurd amounts of rainbow lights and possibly the oddest nativity scene in the neighborhood (it involved a light up palm tree in a miniskirt and a mangled lawn gnome in a penguin suit in place of the baby Jesus to say the least.) The inside of this house was warm and smelt of spices and candles. Every available surface was in varying degrees of being covered with shiny objects. In the middle of it all was a hug, bare conifer tree. Well, it was bare except for the tree topper, a rabbit in a top hat with a teapot and a hookah.
Amongst the vast expanse of bubble wrap, lights, colorful baubles, and more mistletoe than should be legal sat the Yoshida sisters. Ryuu, the brunette, was sorting through a box of ornaments. Kyoko, the one of strange features and stranger habits, was unraveling what must have been hundreds of feet of tinsel and ribbons. Their 'babysitter' sat on the couch, almost completely obscured by the monstrous pile of presents he was wrapping. He would look up now and then, sighing as he did so.
"Do you have any normal Christmas traditions?" Vincent asked resignedly. Kyoko pointed to a file box full of mistletoe with one hand.
"We have that, and cookies. We mustn't forget the cookies."
"Ko, I don't think anyone could forget the cookies." Ryuu said, selecting a handmade dragon ornament and hanging it on the top window sill. Kyoko began humming Santa Lost a Ho under her breath, still wrestling with the tinsel.
"Yes, we aren't quite drowning in them yet." Vincent deadpanned, placing yet another neatly wrapped present on his pile.
"Besides, you don't complain about CROSS's traditions, even when you get boots thrown at you." Ryuu raised an eyebrow at her sister.
"I'm confused."
"At CROSS, during the holidays, you leave an old boot outside your office and people leave little presents in them. Some people like to steal presents from other people's boots, and the only retaliation for that is throwing the other old boot at them." Kyoko explained laboriously, like it was the most obvious thing on the planet. Ryuu just sighed and shook her head. Vincent was about to fire off a nasty comment but the oven timer beeped and Kyoko jumped up to check the chocolate-chip gingerbread cake that she was making, trailing tinsel the whole way. Instead, Vincent asked the inevitable question of Ryuu.
"Is it like this every year?" Ryuu nodded. Sai, Ryuu's spiritual mate, appeared at the top of the stairs, looking towards the kitchen hopefully. He had developed a strange affection for the chocolate-chip gingerbread that Kyoko and Ryuu baked during the holidays. Ryuu smiled sweetly when she saw him and beckoned for him to come down. She giggled lightly when she saw that a stuffed angel tree-topper was perched on the tip of his tall hat.
"She just took it out of the oven, so it'll be a few minutes. Could you get that box of ornaments for me?" Sai looked at her quizzically before picking up a box. Kyoko emerged from the kitchen to continue her battle with the tinsel. Sai carefully picked his way through the battleground of Christmas cheer and handed Ryuu the box of ornaments. Vincent finished wrapping the last of the presents and shoved them under the tree with his presents that Ryuu, Sai, and Kyoko had wrapped. Just as Kyoko was about to sit down, the doorbell rang. She dashed towards the door, nimbly leaping over the couch.
She opened the door to reveal Malik and Marikku, two of her closest friends. Behind them were Touzoku and his younger brother Ryou. Ryuu smiled and cheerfully greeted their guests while Kyoko invited them to chuck their coats in the closet. Sai meeped and hid behind the tree. Ryuu raised and eyebrow at him.
"The one with the really pointy hair scares me," he mumbled dejectedly. Ryuu laughed for a moment before tugging Sai out from behind the tree.
"He won't hurt you, not as long as I'm here. I'll protect you." Sai smiled a slight trusting smile. Kyoko ruined the sweet moment in good fashion.
"Ryuu, look up." Kyoko called, carrying a tray of mugs of hot chocolate out. Ryuu reluctantly raised her eyes toward the ceiling; dreading what she would see. Her fears were confirmed as she spotted a tiny sprig of green leaves and white berries in a little red bow. She blushed and lightly pecked Sai on the cheek. Sai blushed as well and looked up quizzically.
"Is this another tradition?" Ryuu nodded, still embarrassed. Kyoko stepped in with an explanation.
"The plant you are standing underneath is mistletoe and whenever two people stand under mistletoe, they have to kiss." Touzoku cut in almost before she finished explaining.
"Most normal people hang it in doorways, so that two people passing through the door at the same time have to kiss."
"That and it's easier to push people under it that way," Marikku said with a smirk. Malik, the less mischievous of the twins, rolled his eyes. The doorbell interrupted this little lesson. Ryuu rushed to the door this time. It turned out to be her friends Kaelyn and Hikari. She ushered them out of the cold and warned them under her breath about the mistletoe.
Soon the room was no longer a minefield of tinsel and mistletoe littered the ceiling every couple of feet in any direction. Ryuu had popped in one of the holiday cartoons that she had collected from around the house and Kyoko brought out the gingerbread cake and several platters of cookies. Ryuu got eggnog for everyone and Kyoko slipped a bottle of brandy in while she wasn't looking.
The evening progressed with minimal chaos and everyone in the room kissing just about everyone else at least once. That is, until Kaelyn suggested that they play "Honey, do you love me?" Vincent opted out and went upstairs to do…something. Kyoko stripped an area of the ceiling of mistletoe and they sat in a slightly deformed circle. Touzoku went first. His victim of choice was Ryou, his younger brother. He crawled over leaning very close to Ryou and started the game with his own personal flair.
"Honey, if love me, baby, could you please smile?" Touzoku was close enough that his breath tickled Ryou neck causing the corner of his mouth to twitch slightly. You could tell he was trying not to laugh. He was about to respond when Touzoku pulled a puppy dog face. Touzoku's puppy dog face was pretty demented and Ryou cracked up. Touzoku sat in his place and Ryou sat in the center of the circle. Ryou gauged his options and crawled over in front of Kaelyn. He took a deep breath and emitted a sort of high-pitched shriek that sounded sort of like the phrase he was required to say and Kaelyn dissolved in a fit of giggles.
The game continued in a similar matter though soon the rule of no touching boiled down to no tickling. Some of the highlights were when Malik simply went over, sat on his twin's lap and said "This year for Christmas I want…" when Kyoko broke out into a tap and sing number in front of Sai, and when Kaelyn gently took Hikari's hand and said in a perfectly serious really deep voice: "Bitch, puh-lease, stop trying to hide and smile for me."
It was nearly three am by the time Vincent re-emerged from the second floor and suggested that presents be exchanged. Everyone got a tin of cookies from Kyoko in addition to whatever she had gotten them for an actual present. Ryuu had gotten Hikari the next three volumes of Hikaru no Go that she needed and had received a boxed set of the Japanese anime in return. Kaelyn had gotten Ryuu and Kyoko a joint gift of traditional Japanese food, including pocky. Ryuu had gotten her a drawing journal and Kyoko had given her a certificate good for one gun upgrade. Strangely enough, that was also what Kyoko had gotten for Vincent. Vincent gave each member of his team twelve chances to opt-out of writing reports. In return he received a pack of explosive bullets from Kaelyn, a bottle of good, aged bourbon from the twins, and a sarcastic note from Touzoku along with a twenty dollar bill.
Once all of the presents were exchanged the slightly hung over group of teens parted ways, each heading to their own home to get a couple hours of sleep before they were forced to endure family togetherness.
A/N: Yes I do realize that this is horrendously late, but you're lucky you got it at all. Thanks for reading by the way, a review would be nice. So would reading my other stories, thank you please. Keep an eye out for the companion to this, A Forgotten Christmas.
Happy belated holidays to people of all denominations, especially my atheist brethren.