Koda placed his hand gently on the soft needles of the pine in the middle of their living room. Carefully, he set an ornament on the branch, watching it shake slightly as he let up. He turned to Romi, looking for approval on the man's face. The man smiled and held out the last piece of decoration. Koda lightly gripped the star in his own hands and examined the height difference between him and the tree. He tugged on Romi's shirt for help. Romi squatted down just enough for Koda to climb on his shoulders, like he did.
Koda precariously placed the star on top, making the light reflect off of it in just the right way to make it visually enticing.
Romi slowly lowered Koda to the floor. Koda landed with both feet on the ground.
"Alright, it's finished. Can we go outside now pleeeease?"
"Okay," Romi agreed. Koda shouted with glee and ran to gear up for the snow. Romi noted mentally that Koda seemed to be letting out his inner child. he guessed it was the Christmas spirit.
Koda came back running down the hallway. He was clad in a heavy jacket, a hat, gloves, and snow boots. The young man bounded out the door with his lover in tow.
The snow sunk under their feet, leaving a trail of footprints in the pure white surrounding them. It was a good snow, they found, for the snowballs they made stuck just right. The first ball thrown was aimed at Romi's chest. Koda got back down and cupped his hands full of snow, forming a compact little ball. Instead of throwing this one, he batted it around delicately in the snow. The ball gradually got bigger until it was a pleasing size for the base of a snowman. He repeated this process 2 more times, each ball a little smaller than the last. When they were all stacked on top of each other, the outline of a snowman was formed. Koda stuck 2 sticks in its sides and gave it acorn eyes. The nose was a pine cone, the mouth a trail of rocks.
As he finished that, Romi came up behind him. He grinned at the crafty snowman his Koda made.
Koda plopped down into the 9 inch deep snow. Romi soon joined in, Koda's bubbly mood being found contagious. They lay there, making snow angels, finding the bast part just being in each others company.
Koda rolled sideways to his new position atop Romi. Romi ceased his movements to wrap his arms around the young man. He kissed the purple headed boy's nose and gave him a small smile.
"Can we go sledding now?" Koda pleaded.
"Of course," Romi replied. Koda bounced up, pulling Romi with him to the sledding hill.
The sledding hill was a hill in Romi and Koda's back yard that was at a 50° angle. It gradually got less steep at the bottom and was open all around. The bottom drug out for 30 feet or so, and within those 30 feet was a pond. The momentum from the hill mixed with the speed gain from the pond sent anyone who rode it flying on to Romi's trampoline.
Koda pulled the sled from the shed and grabbed another for Romi. Romi took the sled and couldn't contain his joy at seeing his lover so uncharacteristically hyper. Usually, the young man was calm, cool, and collected. But here they were, Christmas eve, and Koda was as jolly as a small child.
The pair crept their way to the top of the hill. They set their sleds on the ground. Romi gave Koda a playful look saying, 'race ya'. Koda returned the look and took off. Romi went after him on his stomach, being more aerodynamic and quickly gaining his lost time. Romi loved the rush of speed all around him. He braced himself for when he hit the pond, knowing he'd fall of if he didn't. The hill slid under his sled and he let go, landing on the trampoline.
Koda saw Romi bounce on the trampoline a few times before getting off so he could land. Koda dropped his sled and did a spiral in the air to the trampoline. He bounced wildly up and down, laughing in the same sort of manor.
Romi held out his hand to help Koda from the trampoline. The young man tried to be graceful, but ended up falling on his butt. Romi laughed and Koda stood back up.
"Can we go one more time?" Koda begged.
"No, I don't want my poor Koda freezing to death or catching a cold," he denied.
Koda huffed and let himself be led inside.
They trudged heavily through the snow, panting from the cold and exercise they just endured.
When reaching the door, Romi ordered Koda to take off all of his snowy clothes at the door. Koda followed his instructions by removing his hat, jacket, shirt, pants, gloves, and boots. He watched as Romi did the same, leaving both men in only boxers and socks.
Koda moved to the living room, wrapping a blanket around himself and curling up by the flickering fire. He watched, shivering, as the flames licked and consumed the wood.
Romi joined the picture with 2 steaming hot cups of cocoa in his hands. He set the mugs on the floor. He joined his younger half under the blanket. The raven haired man shivered at the sudden warmth. He handed one of the mugs to Koda and held one to his own lips. The warmth coated his tongue, making its way down his throat. The man looked above him, swallowing.
Koda looked up, wondering what Romi could possibly be looking at. He realized, though, why he grinned. Above them, was a hanging sprig of mistletoe.
Turning, Koda looked into the older man's eyes. His eyes looked like they were flickering with the way the light reflected off of them.
Romi moved his face closer to the purple headed male's own. His lips softly brushed against Koda's, putting the slightest amount of pressure on them. He waited until Koda kissed him back, letting him take the initiative to press their mouths together.
Koda gently pressed back on Romi's lips, trailing his tongue around the elder man's mouth. He pulled back then, a trail of saliva connecting the 2. His head drifted to Romi's shoulder, lying it there with contentment. Without any prompting, Koda drank his hot chocolate.
Romi stroked Koda's soft hair with slow, easy motions. He felt the young man gradually become heavier in his arms. He assumed Koda was falling asleep after a long exhausting day. Lightly pecking him on the forehead, Romi placed the young man's mug on the mantel. He placed his own along with it. Koda was lifted from his spot in Romi's lap to the strong man's arms where he took the boy upstairs. Quietly was how Romi placed Koda in the bed, as to not disturb his sleep. He laid next to the boy, whispering, "Goodnight," before letting his eyelids flutter closed.
---------------
"ROMI! Wake up!" Koda shouted, bounding around the abnormally sized bed. He jumped back and forth across Romine's body. "Get up! C'mon! Get up, it's Christmas!"
Romi groaned, looking at the alarm clock beside the bed. Too early, he decided, it was for him to wake up. "Go back to bed," the man grumbled. He heard a distinct sniffling sound. His eyes shot open to see Koda wearing a heartbroken expression on his innocent face.
"P-please R-Romi? It's just this once, for C-C-C-Christmas," Koda stuttered, his voice shaking. He made his eyes well with tears. The saddest face imaginable was worn on his shoulders.
Romi took one look and gave in. With that face, he would've given him the world in a basket. Then hearing his quivering voice pushed him farther over that edge. "Okay, I'm up! I'm up!" Romi said, trying to calm Koda down.
"Yay!" Koda exclaimed with happiness. He had successfully tricked Romi into thinking he was upset. Now, he was dragging the speechless man into the living room, ready for the wrapping paper to rip.
Koda led Romi down into the living room, where sat the large tree. Surrounding said tree were several brightly colored packages. The young man made an effort to contain his joy as he handed Romi the first box.
Romi tore the decorated box in his hands open. When he took off the top, he saw a t-shirt that read '100% Beefy'. Romi chuckled at the gift. He'd wear this for New Years. The long box against the wall was handed to Koda.
The gift was torn open with fervor and Koda gave an excited shout when he saw what it was. He had wanted a pogo stick since he was a kid, but never got one. This made him so happy. Partly because of what he got, but mostly because Romi had remembered their conversation about it from a long time ago.
More boxes were opened until Koda and Romi exchanged the big presents. Koda's: a new iPod Touch for all of his music. Romi's: a professional Nikon digital camera. Each man was ecstatic. A long hug was ensued until Romi's rumbling stomach broke the silence.
"Breakfast?" Koda suggested, making his way to the kitchen.
Romi had the ingredients for fried eggs, ham and French toast laid out on the counter. Koda had made an attempt to cook breakfast himself, but Romi wouldn't even allow him to turn on the stove. The house would get burnt down like that.
In one pan, Romi had eggs going, another contained the toast, and the last had the almost ready ham. Romine wouldn't consider himself necessarily a 'good' cook, but what cook was always delicious.
Koda set the table while he waited for Romi to finish cooking. He finished just as Romi came into the dining room with 2 steaming hot plates of food. He set them down next to the empty plates, distributing the food evenly. They sat down in front of each other.
"When is everyone supposed to be here?" Koda asked, taking a bite of toast.
"1:30," Romi replied with a mouthful of egg.
The house was ready for company, but dinner wasn't done and both men were still in their boxers. They needed to hurry up, for it was already 10 o'clock.
When all of the food had been eaten and plates were clean, Koda took the dishes to the sink and cleaned them thoroughly. He then took the turkey from the refrigerator, where it thawed all night, all the while staying cold. He placed the raw bird in a large pan for Romi to cook once he finished changing his clothes.
Romi waltzed into the kitchen, flaunting his newly pressed red silk shirt, black tie, and black dress pants. He made sure to put on an apron, in case he spilled anything. He was making a turkey, potato salad, green bean casserole, a honey baked ham, cranberry sauce, hash browns, hash browns, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese. He put the thermometer in the turkey and placed the baster on the counter.
Koda would never admit it, but he loved helping Romi in the kitchen. The older man knew that, that's why he always set dry ingredients aside for Koda to put in the bowls Romi designated for them.
While Romi worked on getting green beans and cream of mushroom soup into a casserole dish, Koda opened a can of cranberry sauce. Working like this together, you couldn't tell them apart from your typical American family.
After all the food was in the oven, Romi ordered Koda to go put some clothes on as well. He complied grudgingly, complaining about stupid boyfriends and their need to be dressed accordingly.
He disappeared up the stairs into the bedroom. His hands pulled out a green turtleneck and black dress pants. Instead of his usual studs, Koda replaced his earrings with reindeer.
Back in the kitchen, Romi took their best China from the cabinet and laid it on the table. When finished, he wiped away the imaginary dust from his hands just as Koda came downstairs. He took in what Koda was wearing, making mental sticky notes. How his shirt clung delicately to his slender torso, or how his pants splayed out ever so slightly at his calves.
Koda did a 360° turn to give Romi a full view of his outfit. As he did so, the timer went to off for the casserole and basting of the turkey.
---------------
The doorbell first rang at 1:22, just as Romi removed the turkey from the oven.
"Coming!" Yelled Koda, quickly making his way to the front door. He opened the door to reveal his mother, 2 boxes in her hands. "Hi, mom," he greeted, hugging her while doing so.
"Hi, are you?" She asked politely, Koda leading her to the living room.
"I'm fine. You can set those down by the tree," he told her, referring to the packages in her hands. She put them down around the tree along with the other packages there. Koda watched as Romi stepped in the room.
"Hello, Ms. Minuzuki. How do you do?" he asked, kissing her hand.
"I'm good, thank you. And please, you're always so formal, call me Maralynn," she requested.
"Alright."
The three of them heard someone shout from the door, "Open this damn door!" Everyone knew exactly who it was. When the door opened, it appeared to be the person they all expected: Spike with Mika on his arm. They opened the door just in time to see Spike get whacked upside the head.
Mika's cheeks were stained red as the dishes of apple pie and cheesecake were removed from Spike's hands. Koda took the food to the kitchen while everyone got settled in the other room, waiting for the last couple of guests to arrive before the ate.
The purple haired man made an attempt to sit on the couch. Romi, though, caught him before he had the chance and pulled him into his lap. Koda's cheeks turned a light shade of pink while he struggled to get away from the man's grasp. Finally, he settled for sitting next to his Koda with his arm around the boy's shoulder. They all sat in silence for a while until Mika suggested,
"How 'bout some music?"
Several heads nodded. Mika bounced up and to the stereo system set up in the corner. She popped in a mysterious CD and the tune to '12 Days of Christmas' started playing.
"On the first day of Christmas Son Goku gave to me, a desk of mahogany."
Everyone groaned at Mika's odd music. Otaku's. Figures.
A soft knock was heard faintly over the '12 Days of Abridgedmas', as Mika called it. Poor Spike.
Together the hosting couple answered the door. The guests on the other side of them were greeted with warm smiles. In hand, Lina held a parcel and Ringo held a bowl of pudding topped with a garnish of some sort.
A while back, Romi had dumped Lina for being unfaithful. Since then, she had started dating Ringo. That experience had given her a wake up call. She was obviously much happier with Ringo than she ever would've been with Romi. They were 2 very different people. Ringo, after being betrayed by so many me, gave up on them all together, finding comfort in Lina's welcoming arms. Some where along those lines the pair fell in love and BAM! they were inseparable.
At the same time, Romi didn't hold a grudge. He was happy to let his ex-girlfriend into the house. Because, despite what she did, he had loved her at one point in time and wished for her happiness. And their breakup had gotten him his Koda, so he had more than one thing to thank her for. No one had or ever would love someone as much as he and Koda did. He hoped to portray a fraction of what he felt for the boy to the family that night.
---------------
Romi noticed throughout dinner and opening gifts that Koda was back to his normal, mellow, old self. He wasn't acting like the childish Koda he had known that morning. He felt very privileged to be the only one who got to see that side of him.
Koda adjusted the beautiful vase they received from Ringo and Lina. It looked nice between the candles on the mantel. Mika stood next to Koda's noticeably larger frame. She pawed at the loosely hung stockings.
Mika noticed that her hand connected to something not quite as soft as the felt of the stocking. She read the name on the trimming to be Koda.
"Hey nii-san, you didn't check your stocking. There's somethin' in here," Mika told him, pulling a small unknown object from it. Before she got the chance to really examine it, Romi snatched it from her. "What is it?" Mika exclaimed excitedly.
"Something I've been waiting all day to give to Koda," he explained vaguely. Koda stepped from his spot on the fireplace.
"Romi?" Koda wondered aloud.
The commotion attracted everyone in the house's attention. Now all the people were about to find themselves engulfed in Romine's speech.
"Koda, you know I love you with every microscopic fiber of my being," he started. Koda nodded slowly, wondering what was going on. "You are my Koda cuppycake. If anyone ever took you from me, they'd also take my life, my reason to live. But I also trust you with everything, so I know you'll never do that. You are mine. And if it weren't for that turtleneck you're wearing, everyone would be able to see that, physically. Even still they can see it, mentally and emotionally. We are like 2 pieces of one person. That is blatantly obvious to everyone around us. You are mine, but you still have the potential to be someone else's. That is why I'm here now," Romi explained, lowering himself to one knee and revealing the concealed box in his hands, "asking for you to be mine. Only mine and no one else's."
The small felt covered box snapped open, displaying a simple ring. White gold adorned with a 2 carat diamond and twin smaller diamonds on either side of it.
Koda's tear welled eyes shut for a moment while he said, "I won't."
Romi, being the most embarrassed and ashamed he'd ever been, made an effort to get to his feet. He was embarrassed because he just got shot down, and ashamed that he couldn't get Koda to love him like he did. For whatever the reason, Koda wouldn't let him stand. Why embarrass him more than he already had?
Koda brought his hands to this man's, this wonderful, gorgeous, magnificent man's face. His thumbs ran circles on his love's perfectly shaped cheekbones. "you didn't let me finish," Koda stated, smoothing the creases in the man's forehead with his long, slender fingers. Koda smiled, a truly happy smile. His eyes glistened with the tears that ran freely down his face.
He didn't understand what was going on. He didn't know whether to be afraid or relieved that Koda had something more to say. Romi felt his face heat up. He swore he wouldn't cry. Every time he practiced, he told himself, 'I'm not gonna cry'. What was he about to do? Cry. He place his hands on Koda's small waist and waited for him to continue.
"I won't be yours. I'll be yours for eternity and no less."
It took a moment for the raven haired man to register those words in his mind. Then it hit him that if Koda's only request was forever, then he'd be happy to oblige. He was so relieved, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But even more so, he was content with the moment of pure bliss. The world seemed such a perfect place indeed*.
Romi buried his face into his new fiance's stomach, bringing himself to his feet and lifting the younger of the pair as well. He spun the boy in a circle, gently setting him on the floor as they came back around. He looked the smaller man dead in the eye.
"I love you," he said before capturing his Koda's lips in a simple, yet passionate kiss.
"Ewww! Kissing, gross!" Came from Spike, breaking the magic of it all. This time, it was Ms. Minuziki's turn to smack the smart aleck-y man over the head.
"This is gold, boys, gold!" Mika proclaimed, notifying everyone that she had taped the entire thing. "The fanclub will LOVE this!"
"Merry Christmas," Romi whispered.
---------------
After the party settled down, and Mika agreed not to put the video on youtube Lina approached Romi.
"That was beautiful what you did earlier. To think I gave that up for a one night stand or 2 kills me. Not that I regret anything, it brought me to Ringo," whom she pointed at with her elegant finger, "I just can't help but think, what if, ya know?"
"Thank you, Lina. You've really changed a lot since then. That's good, especially for Ringo. Alright well we're wrapping up for tonight, so you can take your dishes home and enjoy your leftovers!" Romi announced for everyone at the picked their dishes from the kitchen and started filing out the door. All except for Spike.
"Man, I'm just too comfortable. I may crash on your couch," Spike yawned.
"Sure, as long as you don't mind me taking and ravishing Koda all night long."
Spike shuddered at the painful memory of listening to them going at it then walking in on them cuddling naked in England. "I'm out," he stated, getting up and dragging Mika with him. Romi stopped them at the door to murmur to Mika,
"Thanks for the help."