Author's Note: I did a little bit of research on how Christmas is celebrated in order to write this. What I found was that Christmas is actually treated more as a romantic thing. Christmas Eve in particular is a big night for couples, which certainly made things more interesting, considering my original idea before even doing the research. Talk about adding fuel to the fire! Anyway, hopefully I got the facts correct, my apologies if I did not. This does take place after another one of my stories, To Dance With You, but it is not necessary to have read in order to understand this, as small explanations are provided where needed (though, on that note, it does have some spoilers). It will only run two chapters, but it was too long to post as a one-shot. Contains TsuzukixHisoka and TerazumaxKannuki fluff!


Hisoka sat at the side of a lake, his back against a cherry blossom tree, looking up at the moon. It was full and pure white, not the blood-red that usually haunted him. The sky was clear, dotted with thousands of little stars. The still, dark water mirrored the sky. The temperature was just right. Hisoka sighed in contentment and closed his eyes, listening to the natural noises of the night. Owls hooting, crickets chirping, and...music? Music wasn't natural.

Sitting up, Hisoka looked around, trying to find the source of the music. Nobody was around, and there were no buildings nearby that could be playing music loud enough for him to hear it. The music- which he had realized was the song "Jingle Bells", was soon accompanied by humming. Determined to find the source, Hisoka stood up and peered through the darkness. A moment later, a familiar form began walking towards him. What was Tsuzuki doing out here, and why was he humming to a song apparently coming from nowhere?

"Hisoka!"

Hisoka ignored his partner, turning around and sitting back down beside the tree. He had been enjoying the silence, he didn't need musical accompaniment.

"Hisoka! Hisoka!"

He grumbled, trying to block out the music, pressing his hands to his ears. The calming scenery began to fade away as the music grew louder, as well as Tsuzuki's calling his name.

"Hey, Hisoka, wake up!"

Hisoka groaned and tossed a pillow in the general direction of Tsuzuki's voice. He sat up and looked over at the digital clock on the table beside Tsuzuki's bed.

"Tsuzuki, it's 7:30 in the morning, what are you doing up, much less playing music and waking me up? You are never awake this early."

Tsuzuki grinned, tossing the pillow back onto the futon, watching it land on Hisoka's head. "It's Christmas Eve! We need to get ready for Christmas, so I figured the best way to set the mood would be to wake up to some Christmas music!"

If Hisoka had anything heavier than blankets or pillows in his possession, he probably would have tossed them at his partner's head. With an aggravated sigh, Hisoka kicked the blankets off of himself and got up. He'd been staying with Tsuzuki for over a month and a half now, ever since Terazuma and Tsuzuki had gotten into an argument that ended with the destruction of Hisoka's house. His house was supposed to get fixed, but Hisoka had asked Tatsumi to delay the reconstruction and just told Tsuzuki they had run into problems that were delaying it. The truth was, ever since the incident in Kyoto, Hisoka had been afraid to leave Tsuzuki alone for long. After he moved in, Tsuzuki had seemed to be happier than usual and wasn't falling into depression. Hisoka had decided that, if him staying with Tsuzuki would keep him from becoming depressed and allow him to keep an eye on his partner, he would stay longer. Thus, his temporary stay had been lengthened to an indefinite amount of time. All in all, it wasn't bad, but moments like this made Hisoka wish for at least a bigger house.

"Don't be so grumpy. Grumpiness is not allowed on Christmas Eve! Besides, this will be the first time we spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day together!" By together, Tsuzuki meant all night and day. Usually, he asked Hisoka to visit for a couple hours Christmas Eve, then his partner would go home and they'd see each other the next day as normal at work (if it was a weekday), then at the Christmas party the Count always held, then they'd part ways again. This year, Hisoka's home was Tsuzuki's, so Tsuzuki wouldn't be alone at all. He was already planning on staying up late watching Christmas movies until they both fell asleep.

Hisoka was going to argue, but decided against it. Typically, Christmas Eve was more reserved for couples to spend time together. Hisoka had to remind himself Tsuzuki was just being typical Tsuzuki and wanting to have somebody to celebrate with, and, since they were partners, it made sense. It wasn't like Tsuzuki meant anything romantic by it, even if it could be taken that way. That would just be silly.

"You okay, Hisoka? Your cheeks look a little pink..."

Upon the realization that he was blushing, Hisoka quickly turned his back to Tsuzuki and gathered his clothes. Why the hell was he blushing?! He really hated how easily he blushed at the simplest things that wouldn't affect most people. Grumbling to himself, he picked up his clothes and headed to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Happy Christmas Eve everyone!" Tsuzuki announced upon arriving at work.

Kannuki, who had just arrived moments before with Terazuma, looked over and smiled. "Same to you, Tsuzuki, Kurosaki!"

"Your partner doesn't seem too excited." Terazuma said, nodding to Hisoka. "You've probably already made him sick of Christmas."

Tsuzuki threw a glare at Terazuma before turning to Hisoka. "C'mon, Hisoka, smile!" He moved to stand behind Hisoka, then pulled his cheeks up, forcing him to smile.

Hisoka pushed Tsuzuki's hands away. "Cut that out!"

Kannuki giggled.

"Do you two have any special plans for the evening?" Tsuzuki asked.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it! Hajime-chan made reservations for dinner for tonight! You know how difficult it is to make reservations at a nice restaurant on Christmas Eve?"

"Wow, that's great!"

Terazuma gave a smug grin and put his arm around Kannuki's waist. "Yep, a nice dinner out on one of the most impossible days of the year to make reservations. I bet you couldn't pull that off, Tsuzuki."

"Hajime! Be nice!" Kannuki scolded. "I'm sure Tsuzuki could plan a lovely evening if he wanted."

Terazuma looked like he wanted to say something else, but decided against it.

"Well, we'd better get to work. See you guys later!" Kannuki said with a smile before turning around and skipping down the hall to her and Terazuma's office with Terazuma in tow.

"Wakaba's been so happy ever since Terazuma was finally able to touch her without turning into the Hound from Hell. Even Terazuma seems happy." Tsuzuki noted, watching them leave. It had been a somewhat recent event. Terazuma had wanted to learn to control his Shikigami, Kagan Kuroshungei, so that he could dance with Kannuki and ended up going to Tsuzuki for help. After Terazuma realized the whole thing had to do with his death, he eventually was able to resolve the problem with himself. Well, for the most part. Kannuki was the only one he could touch. Even Hisoka still made him transform, much to his dismay.

Hisoka started for his and Tsuzuki's office, letting his partner follow. "Well, he does really like her, even if he didn't admit it. I could tell when he saw you dancing with Kannuki at Hakushaku's last party. I'm sure he's been waiting for a long time."

"Well, I'm happy for them."

"Even though you don't like Terazuma?"

Tsuzuki shrugged. "Just because Terazuma and I don't get along doesn't mean I can't be happy for them. Besides, Wakaba is so sweet, she deserves it."

Hisoka shook his head. Despite the rivalry between the two, he knew Tsuzuki and Terazuma really didn't hate each other. He could recall when Tsuzuki had been in the hospital after Kyoto, Terazuma had apparently been pacing around outside the door, worried, though he never admitted it. He even wished Tsuzuki to get well soon. It was disguised as an insult, but it was clear that he really hoped for Tsuzuki's recovery.

They reached their office, and Hisoka took a seat at his desk. "You'd better get your work done on time, Tsuzuki. I'm not going to wait around all night for you to finish so we can go home. I'll leave without you."

"Of course I'll get my work done on time! I don't want to spend Christmas Eve in an office." Tsuzuki said and plopped down in his chair and turned to his stack of paperwork. He really didn't want to work, but he also had no choice. With a sigh, he started on his work.

"The faster you work, the faster you'll get it done and over with." Hisoka said, not looking up from his own papers. "Just make sure you actually do it right."

"I'll get it all done faster than I've ever worked before!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ha~ji~me~chan~!" Kannuki sung as the clock hit 5. "Guess what time it is?"

When Terazuma noticed the time, he jumped up from his seat so fast he whacked his desk with his thigh.

Kannuki giggled. "In a hurry?"

Pretending like it had never happened, Terazuma turned to the doorway of their office. "Shall we go?"

"We shall!"

As Terazuma was putting Kannuki's coat on for her, the two of them were met by Tsuzuki and Hisoka.

"Tsuzuki! Kurosaki! All done work and ready for Christmas?" Kannuki asked.

Hisoka glanced at Tsuzuki before turning to Kannuki. "Yeah, he got all his work done...on time. It's a Christmas miracle."

"I told you I was going to get it all done!"

"Well, I think you can understand why that's something I wouldn't believe until I see it." Hisoka turned back to Kannuki. "Going out to dinner now?"

"Yep! Hajime literally jumped out of his seat when it was time to leave." She laughed.

"Well, enjoy your night!" Tsuzuki said.

"Thanks. Have a good Christmas Eve, see you two tomorrow!"

With that, Terazuma and Kannuki headed out the door, holdings hands.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Kannuki squealed in delight. "Hajime-chan! You got reservations here?!"

Terazuma grinned. "Yep."

Kannuki flung her arms around his neck. "Oh, Hajime-chan, you are amazing!"

"Come on, let's get inside so they aren't tempted to give away our spots."

"But we are a half-hour early."

"And that won't stop them from giving it away if they decide we aren't coming." Terazuma said, ushering Kannuki in. Once inside, he gave his name to the secretary, and they were soon escorted to their table. It was a high-class, romantic restaurant that was highly sought after on Christmas Eve. A large, gorgeous chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling that glowed in the dimmed lighting, and a large fireplace crackled in the back of the restaurant. Silk tablecloths with intricate designs covered each table. Three piece candle sets also adorned each table. Kannuki gasped as she looked around.

"Hajime-chan...how did you mange this?"

Terazuma smiled at her. "Not important." Terazuma pulled Kannuki's chair out for her, sat down in his own seat after she was seated, and handed her a menu. Once they had decided what they wanted and placed their orders, they sat back and waited for their food.

"I still can't believe you got us a place like this."

"I knew you always wanted to come here, and I figured now was the best time. You know, it being Christmas Eve and us not having to worry about Kuroshungei anymore."

Kannuki looked about ready to cry. "Oh, Hajime! I love you so much!"

If the table wasn't in the way, Terazuma was sure Kannuki would have come at him with one of her flying hugs, as he called them, and proceed to kiss him repeatedly. While that idea didn't sound bad, it wasn't exactly the best place for that. He was sure it would come later, however. She had a habit of throwing her arms around him when Kuroshungei was a threat, but now that that obstacle was no longer there, she did it far more often.

Terazuma smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? Hajime, I love it! To think of all you've gone through for me lately..." Kannuki sniffed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "It just makes me so happy!"

"It's the least I could do. You've put up with me and Kuroshungei for so long."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing. Well, the problem with Kuroshungei wasn't exactly a good thing, but I never minded being with you, even if we did have to be careful."

"That means a lot to me, Kannuki..." Terazuma said. Kannuki gave a smile in return.

In a short while, the waitress came and delivered their food. When Terazuma and Kannuki were done eating, Terazuma insisted Kannuki order a dessert, and Kannuki insisted Terazuma share it with her. They ended up ordering a hot walnut brownie underneath a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, hot fudge, and two cherries. After dessert, Terazuma paid the bill (which he refused to let Kannuki see), and the two headed home.

"Thank you so much for dinner, Hajime-chan." Kannuki said, giving him a kiss after they had arrived.

"Your welcome. Oh, but I have something else for you..." Terazuma walked to his bedroom, dug through one of his drawers and came back with a small, rectangular-shaped gift, all wrapped up with a bow on top. "Here."

Kannuki looked at Terazuma for a moment before taking the present. She unwrapped it, revealing an ivory case. Nestled inside was a necklace with a silver chain. A small, heart-shaped pink garnet hung from the middle, with three small diamonds on both sides. Kannuki gasped and looked up at Terazuma.

"Hajime-chan! All this?"

"Don't you worry about it. Here, let me put it on you." Taking the necklace out of the case, Terazuma unclasped it, reached around Kannuki's neck, and fastened it. He pulled her hair up gently from under the necklace, letting it fall onto her skin. His fingertips brushed her cheek as he moved back. "Do you like it?"

"Yes! I do!" Kannuki threw her arms around Terazuma's neck and kissed him. Though, as much as she loved the gift, what she loved more was how thoughtful Terazuma was, and how much planning he had done just for her. "Oh! And I have something for you!" She got up, ran to her room, grabbed his gift and ran back to the living room. "Here you go!"

Terazuma looked at the rather tall gift. He wondered how Kannuki had even managed to hide it from him. Unwrapping it, he discovered it was a bow with a matching quiver, already full of arrows.

"Like it? I got it custom made. I know you like archery, so I thought you could use it. Maybe it will give you good luck on the next archery contest!"

Terazuma smiled. "Thanks, Kannuki. I do like it." Putting the bow and quiver aside, Terazuma pulled Kannuki close to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her, happy that he was finally able to spend Christmas Eve with Kannuki like this.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On the kitchen counter, all the ingredients Hisoka needed for dinner were spread out. Tsuzuki was staring in amazement, practically drooling on himself at the thought of a crab dinner.

"I didn't think you were actually buying crab for dinner!"

Hisoka raised an eyebrow. "You think I just decided to walk to the market and buy crabs for no reason?"

"Well...no. But what made you want to do that?"

"It's your Christmas gift." Hisoka answered with a slight blush. "You like food so much, I figured I'd cook something different. We have the Christmas cake, so an apple pie will have to wait for another time, and the party is tomorrow, leaving no time to cook on Christmas, so I decided to do it tonight."

Tsuzuki grinned and hugged his partner. "Thanks, Hisoka!"

"Your welcome, now let go, I need to start this."

"While you do that, I need to get your gift!"

"Tsuzuki, you don't have to-" Before Hisoka had a chance to finish his sentence, Tsuzuki had left the room. He was back in a couple of seconds, holding a rectangular-shaped present.

"You have to open it as soon as you are done cooking!"

Hisoka glanced at the gift in Tsuzuki's hands. "Can it wait until after?"

"Nope. You have to open it before we eat."

"Fine." Hisoka sighed. He should have expected Tsuzuki to want to exchange gifts early. He always did, unable to wait until Christmas day when everyone exchanged presents at the party.

As soon as dinner was done cooking and was set on the table, Tsuzuki held the present out to Hisoka. "Open it!"

Hisoka took the gift and did as he was instructed. Underneath the wrapping paper were two books that Hisoka had wanted, though he didn't recall ever telling Tsuzuki that he wanted them. Also in the package was a picture of the two of them from a few years ago, when they had first become partners, set in a simple black frame. Tsuzuki had his usual goofy grin on his face, his arm slung across Hisoka's shoulders in a friendly way. Hisoka, despite being annoyed at having to take a picture, didn't look completely upset.

"I hope that's okay...I wasn't sure what to get you. You didn't seem to have any pictures, and I thought you might like to have one of us for when you get your house back. I thought that one came out nice, and it was the first picture we took together."

Hisoka gave a small smile. "It's nice. Thanks, Tsuzuki."

Tsuzuki grinned. "Alright! Now, let's eat!"

After dinner was done, Tsuzuki and Hisoka had some Christmas cake for dessert. Tsuzuki, naturally, took a rather large slice, eating almost a quarter of the cake in one sitting. Hisoka had settled for a much more slender piece, which ended up leaving a forth of the cake eaten. Tsuzuki then washed the dishes while Hisoka cleaned the rest of the kitchen. When all of that was done, the elder Shinigami insisted that they get into their pajamas and settle down on the couch to watch Christmas movies. A few minutes later, they were both on the couch and the television was playing Christmas cartoons.

"Are you cold?" Tsuzuki asked, seeing Hisoka curled up with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs.

"A little. I'll just get a blanket."

Tsuzuki stood up before Hisoka got the chance. "I'll get it." He walked into his bedroom, grabbed a warm, light green throw blanket from his closet, and headed back to the living room. Holding on to one end, the tossed the blanket up, opening it, and let it fall on Hisoka. "How's that?"

"That will be good, thanks." Hisoka looked over as Tsuzuki plopped himself back down on the couch. "You're not cold?"

Tsuzuki shrugged. "Not really."

After a couple Christmas cartoons, Hisoka was getting tired. He yawned, and suddenly found himself resting his head on Tsuzuki's shoulder.

"Tired?" Tsuzuki asked, looking down at Hisoka. "Want to go to bed? I'll turn down the T.V. if you want so you can sleep."

"No, that's okay, I can stay up a little longer." Although he didn't want to admit it, Hisoka was rather comfortable and didn't want to get up. Tsuzuki's happy yet tranquil mood was very relaxing, different from his usual hyper attitude. It had Hisoka unconsciously inching closer, something he wouldn't have done normally. He was never one for cuddling, and would normally feel incredibly awkward about it, but, at the moment, he didn't care much. He was content and comfortable, so he had no plans moving.

Tsuzuki glanced over at Hisoka and gave a small smile. Most of the time, he had a hard time getting his partner to even accept a hug, never mind having him rest against him of his own free will.

"Hey, Hisoka?"

"Hm?"

"I um..." Tsuzuki cut himself off, "Ah, never mind."

"Don't start telling me something then decide mid-sentence you don't want to." Hisoka said, a slight edge in his voice. "What were you going to say?"

"It's nothing important, don't worry about it."

Hisoka sat up and looked at Tsuzuki. "You already started, so tell me."

Tsuzuki shook his head. "It's nothing."

"What, can you not trust me?"

"No, that's not it..."

"Then tell me." Hisoka's eyes narrowed. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was when Tsuzuki kept secrets. It was difficult getting him to talk when something was wrong, and it drove Hisoka crazy when Tsuzuki wouldn't talk to him to let him help. What made it worse was that he had already started saying something then abruptly decided not to. His gaze softened slightly when Tsuzuki looked over at him. He could sense Tsuzuki was nervous and reluctant to finish whatever he was going to say. Now Hisoka was concerned. "Please?"

"Well...I just wanted to say..." Tsuzuki hesitated a moment. He was clearly afraid of the reaction he would get with what he was going to say, but decided to continue, "I love you, Hisoka."

Hisoka stared. Did he just hear that correctly? He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He had no clue how to respond. Sure, he and Tsuzuki were close, but he'd never expected that. Nobody had ever just told him that they loved him, not even his mother. What was almost as surprising as that was the fact he was so surprised to begin with. He was an empath, so shouldn't he have seen this coming? He was convinced that he knew Tsuzuki well by now, so how had he missed this? Was it because he had been misreading him? No, that couldn't be right. He didn't misread the warm emotions he periodically felt from Tsuzuki, he simply mislabeled them. Granted, he didn't know what it was at first, and chalked it up to Tsuzuki's generally friendly personality, and the line between things such as admiration and love was often a blurred one, but to have never even thought of the possibility didn't make sense. It wasn't that he misread Tsuzuki's emotions, but that he had been too afraid to let himself consider the possibility that Tsuzuki truly did love him.

And why? Hisoka knew Tsuzuki would much sooner harm himself than hurt Hisoka. There was nothing about Tsuzuki to be afraid of. In fact, Hisoka really liked Tsuzuki, despite becoming annoyed with him at times, so what reason was there to be afraid?

Tsuzuki turned away, his mood quickly changing from warm and welcoming to cold and withdrawn. He wished he'd never said anything. To push away Hisoka now, the one person who had actually wanted to remain his partner after all this time, would be devastating. "Aaah, I knew I shouldn't have said anything. Now you probably think I'm some creep and hate me and want to leave and-"

"Tsuzuki." Hisoka said finally, stopping Tsuzuki from saying anything else.

"What?" He asked, looking back over at Hisoka.

"That's not true."

"Huh? You aren't freaked out?"

"No..." Hisoka looked down and stared at the blanket, his cheeks turning pink. "I actually...um..." He looked back up at Tsuzuki. "I love you too, Tsuzuki..."

Tsuzuki was surprised. One of the reasons he'd been so hesitant to tell Hisoka in the first place was because he didn't think his feelings were reciprocated. He knew how upset he'd be if he was rejected, so he never wanted to say anything. For quite a while, he'd felt much closer to Hisoka than just being his partner at work. He thought maybe they were more like brothers, but even that didn't quite feel right. After he thought about it, he'd realized that he had fallen in love with Hisoka, but never expected that Hisoka felt the same. After all, thinking about it, it was a strange relationship. They were eighty years apart, both males, and didn't have the best start. These things hadn't bothered Tsuzuki too much, as he cared deeply about Hisoka and nothing would change that, but he had thought for sure that Hisoka would think differently about it.

Hisoka moved the blanket so it covered both of them and snuggled up to Tsuzuki, laying his head back down on Tsuzuki's shoulder. Tsuzuki smiled and wrapped an arm around Hisoka, who smiled in return. Never had Hisoka felt so very comfortable and content. Tsuzuki was warm, and not just physically. The warm emotions he was emitting made Hisoka actually appreciate his empathetic abilities for once. Tsuzuki wasn't trying to hide them this time either. He usually kept a careful wall around his emotions for Hisoka's sake, but now he wasn't holding any back, letting Hisoka sense exactly how he felt: happy, caring, loving, everything that made the empath feel, for once, safe, wanted and loved; everything he'd never gotten from his life.

Hisoka closed his eyes, completely forgetting he was supposed to be watching Christmas shows, all his focus instead on Tsuzuki. He was so relaxed, he felt like he could just fall asleep any second...

Tsuzuki opened his eyes and blinked, forgetting for a moment where he was. The T.V. was rolling credits from a movie and his arm was still around Hisoka, who was laying against him. Realizing they had both fallen asleep, he gently rubbed Hisoka's back, trying to wake him up.

"Hey, Hisoka."

"Mmmm?" Came the sleepy response.

"I think it's time for bed. We both fell asleep on the couch."

Hisoka mumbled, "But I don't want to get up..."

Tsuzuki chuckled to himself. "It's just a few steps away, and more comfortable than the couch."

With a yawn, Hisoka got up and followed Tsuzuki to the bedroom. Tsuzuki got into bed and was about to say goodnight to Hisoka when his partner crawled in beside him and resumed his cuddling.

"Not going to sleep on your futon?"

"No, you're more comfortable..."

"That's fine with me. Goodnight, Hisoka." Tsuzuki said, hugging Hisoka closer to him.

"Goodnight..."