Christmas. A day of the year, six days before the start of a new year. It is also six days before the celebration of a four year anniversary, and six days before the start of a fifth year together.
Kanda was the first one to wake up this Christmas, at around seven in the morning. A faint smile pulled at his lips at the warmth provided by the smaller figure what was wrapped in his arms. A head of snow white locks was resting on his chest, glowing a faint gold in the early morning light. A faint groan of protest left pale pink lips as sunlight kissed the pale skin covering beautiful storm gray eyes. A soft chuckled rumbled in his chest as he watched Allen furrow his brow and move to the other side of the bed, burying his face in a pillow to keep from waking up.
Yū silently pulled himself from the warm bed, albeit reluctantly, and walked across the room to close the window blinds. He made his way back to the bedside and leaned down, holding his haie back as he placed a light kiss to his boyfriend's forehead before he quietly exited the bedroom and ventured downstairs. He knew it would at least another hour before Allen even thought about waking up. The raven haired male turned on their electric kettle and pulled out a mug from the cabinet, which happened to be his birthday present from Allen the first year they were together. After placing the mug on the counter, he placed a green tea bag in the cup and went to the coat closet.
The twenty-five year old pulled a few boxes down from the top shelf, grabbed the blue and silver stripped wrapping paper, as well as a pair of scissors, a roll of tape, and sheer red ribbon. He set the items down by the small, multicolored lit Christmas tree that had been set up on the glass coffee table, giving the illusion that the tree was set on a bed of glowing crystals due to the lights reflecting on the frosted glass. Kanda seated himself by the table and set to wrapping the items inside the boxes. Each gift was handled by nimble fingers and wrapped flawlessly due to years of experience as a gift wrapper at a department store. Certain gifts were paired and tied together with ribbon, while varying sized bows adored the single gifts. All in all it only took about thirty minutes to wrap all ten gifts, including the multiple parts to two of them.
Kanda arranged the gifts on the table and against the table legs before he gathered up the trash and tools. He carried them back to the closet and placed the wrapping paper, scissors and tape back were they belong, then he took the trash to the kitchen and tossed them into the garbage bin before he poured the now hot water into his mug and let it sit for the required two minutes. Yū removed to tea bag and sipped at the tea as he made his way to the doors leading to the apartment's balcony and watched the snow drift down to the ground as he waited for Allen to wake up, which hopefully wouldn't be too much longer, seeing as hour he had been up for almost an hour already. He had spent the last fifteen minutes hanging up a few last minute decorations, such as garland, a few small winter themed plaques, and a few twigs of a traditional green plant that was really popular amoung couples, at least according to Google it was.
Another cup of tea sat brewing on the counter, the tea bag having just been removed when the sound of a yawn and the ever distinct sound of Allen's footsteps on the staircase reached Kanda's ears. The long haired male placed his empty cup on the counter and picked up the steaming cup of tea. He walked to the edge of the kitchen and handed Allen the cup of tea as the twenty-two year old greeted his lover with a partial hug, "Good morning, love."
"Morning, Moyashi," Kanda hummed back softly and returned the embrace before he headed towards the stairwell, "as soon as you finish the tea, please get dressed, we need to run some errands before tonight." Dark blue eyes softened in adoration as he watched the half asleep Britain scratch at his head as he drank his morning tea. After recieving a nod of understanding, he ascended the stairs to get ready. The male traded in his sweatpanrs for a pair of dark wash jeans, traded in his tank top for a black long sleeved shirt and a cream colored scarf - his first Christmas gift from Allen - and laced up a pair of converse. Kanda gently carded his fingers through his hair as a makeshift brush before he tied it in a loose ponytail over his shoulder.
He descended down the stairs not long after and pocketed his wallet as well as the keys to the apartment as he watched Allen walk upstairs in his peripheral vision. Anxiety was starting to crawl up his spine, causing his heart to lightly pound against his ribcage. He leaned against the wall near the coat closet and closed his eyes, forcing himself to take a few deep breaths to calm down and ease his nerves.
Allen made his way back down the stairs, clothes in jean, a white and black striped sweater, and wearing mid calf boots. His thoughts were running a mile a minute in confusion. This was the first time in four years that Kanda hadn't greeted him that morning with either a birthday or Christmas wish, and it hurt. What if the Japanese male had forgotten about it completely? Especially since they were apparently going to run errands now.
A quiet laugh fell from his lips as he walked over to Kanda and noticed the male was in deep concentration, which resulted in what he liked to call a resting bitch face. Allen smiled lightly and pressed a light kiss to the other's lips before he pulled away and intertwined their fingers as Kanda blinked in shock, obviously having not heard Allen walk over. Blue tinted gray eyes watched the slightest shade of pink dust the bridge of his lover's nose in clear embarrassment.
Confusion flew through his thoughts as Kanda pulled away before Allen realized it was to get their coats from the closet. Each male pulled his coat on before their hands were quickly rejoined as Allen followed Kanda out of the apartment, which the dark haired male locked the door before they continued to and waited for the elevator to take them to the ground floor of their building.
Five minutes later, the duo was out of the building and walked down the sidewalk in a peaceful silence. Allen leaned his head on Kanda's shoulder as they walked, a faint smile on his lips as he absently watched the snow fall. His thoughts were both peaceful and torturous at the thought of Kanda forgetting what day it was, but he couldn't blame the other male if he had forgotten.
The past few months have been rough for the both of them. Although he wasn't close to them, Kanda had lost two of his adopted brothers, Alma and Daisya, in a car crash caused by a drunk driver. The death of his kin had placed the raven in a foul mood for almost a week, much to Allen's chagrin. It took multiple attempts to even get Kanda to confess what was bothering him, which soon led to the male giving in to his grief and cried silently as Allen held him close. If there was only one thing Kanda had to be thankful to Allen for, it would be that the white haired male had taught Kanda how to fully embrace human emotions without having a mental breakdown in the process of deciphering how he felt which would usually end up in violence.
Three weeks ago, Allen's yellow tabby cat, Timcanpy, had been hit by a car right in front of the couple as they were returning to their apartment. The feline had lived long enough for the pair to rush him to an emergency animal hospital, but there was nothing they could do. Too many bones were broken and there was too much interal damage to save the cat. The cat refused to leave Allen's lap once the doctor had given the feline back, which cause the albino to break out in tears and gently cradle the tabby as close as possible while sobbing into his boyfriend's chest. Allen's arms were the place where Tim took his last breath and gave his final purr of contentment. Kanda refused to leave Allen's side for the few days following the incident, simply because he knew that he had to be there for Allen despite the protests that came from the British male.
Kanda glanced down at his boyfriend and squeezed his hand softly as they came to a stop at a stop light, waiting for the green walk sign before they crossed the street. He heard a light hum come from his Beansprout as they walked into a nearby café.
"What are we doing here? I thought we were running errands?" Allen questioned, his lips pursed in confusion as he moved to stand in front of Kanda and looked up at him.
Kanda could feel his heart skip a beat the sight, despite having see it over a hundred times, he would never get used to how adorable the British male was when he was confused. A small smirk twitched at Kanda's lips before it was gone in an instant, "I know, but we need to eat breakfast. So go pick a table while I order." He placed a gentle kiss to the male's forehead before he released his hand and headed for the counter.
Allen glanced over his shoulder to briefly watched Kands before he went and sat down at a table next to the window, but it was thankfully in the direct spot the air vent was on, which provided warmth to the chilled young adult. His jacket was quickly discarded and placed over the back of his chair; his attention was turned to watch the snow outside, gray eyes following the path of certain flakes from the sky to the ground before being repeated as he waited patiently for Kanda to arrive at the table with their breakfast. Roughly fivw minutes had passed before he noticed Kanda's reflection getting closer in the window. Allen looked over and blinked in shock as his lover placed a steaming cup of tea down in front of him, Earl Grey by the smell of it, along with two blueberry scones and two chocolate croissants. A bright smile graced his lips as Kanda sat across from him with a cinnamon scone. He was shocked that Kanda knew his favourite scone, considering that he had never verbalized it and Kanda was usually not with him when he would pick them up at local cafés. Kanda smiled to himself as he observed Allen's shocked expression. The few times he had accompanied Allen to the shops for a quick break, he had noticed that his Moyashi would always order the same type of pastries.
Allen gave a nod of thanks before he started eating, happily downing the food as well as the tea. They made small talk between bites, discussing what they liked best about the past year, laughing at the memory of their friends' -Lavi and Tyki- wedding, celebrating the lives of loved ones, and suggesting plans for the new year. Both males finished around the same; Kanda took the dishes back to the return as Allen slid his coat back on and met the other by the door. Their hands were instantly glued together once they were in reach of one another. A brief shiver ran through the albino's body at the initial cold blast of air as they stepped outside, pulling an annoyed whine from the younger of the two. Kanda laughed softly before pulling Allen against his side to help keep the male warm. Their peaceful walk continued, with trivial conversation of course, but as time went on Allen continued to sink farther into his internal depression. It took a lot to make him upset, but he was starting to get frustrated with his boyfriend who had yet to say anything regarding either of the day's holidays. He continued to dwell in his thoughts as his feet carried him to their next destination.
Kanda frowned at Allen's sudden silence, but he had an idea what it was from and refused to address the problem at hand. He was also thankful for the absence of sound, which meant that Allen was too deep in his thoughts to pay attention to where they were heading. Kanda kept their walking pace relatively even, but did speed up slightly in order to arrive at their destination quicker. It took about twenty more minutes until they reached the right place. Kanda held the door open and ushered Allen inside, earning a surprised gasp from the smaller male as he looked out at the open ice rink. Allen didn't move from his spot until Kanda gently nudged him and handed him a pair of skates. Gray eyes widened in childlike excitement as he rushed over to the closest bench to the rink entrance and quickly exchanged his boots for the skates before he carefully made his way onto the ice. Kanda chuckled fondly and picked up Allen's boots and placed them in a locker along with his own shoes. He watched Allen skate around as he laced up his own pair of skates once he was sitting down.
Allen could feel the smile stretching across his face as he glided across the ice, enjoying the light wind and watching the snow fall to the ice next to him. He looked around at the pine trees that lined the rink, each one frosted with snow and drooping a few inches from the frozen water on their branches. The sight was beautiful. The company had strung white and blue lights across the top of the rink from the building to the tops of the natural trees as well as the large Christmas tree that had been set up in the middle of the ice. The light gave the ice a soft glow and made the falling snow look like falling diamond fragments. Allen quickly skated over to the entrance of the rink as Kanda stepped onto the ice and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist in a hug.
"Thank you for this. I love you, Kanda," Allen chimed happily and placed a light kiss to the other's lips before pulling away and skating backwards as he pulled Kanda farther onto the ice and away from the other couples and families that were rounding the last curve.
Kanda chuckled and offered a small smirk as he responded to Allen and moved to skate next to him, "I love you too, Moyashi." His smirk grew as he watched a pout form on his boyfriend's face at the nickname to which Allen responded by calling Kanda by a nickname in return, "Bakanda, that's rude." The Japanese male simply shook his head in response and offered a faint smile before he started to pull Allen along behind him.
The British male took this opportunity and grinned mischievously as he shook free from Kanda's grip and quickly skated past, "Bet you can't catch me!" He exclaimed as he started a game of cat and mouse. The couple continued to chase each other around the rink, turning the game into a game of tag, soon of which attracted many of the children that were there as well. Despite his low tolerance for children, Kanda could not find it in himself to be rude and ruin the fun Allen was having as they included the kids in their game of tag.
It was approaching their third hour at the rink when Kanda caught Allen for the last time by wrapping his arms securely around his boyfriend's waist and led them back to the exit off of the ice. He silenced Allen's protests, before they could be verbalized, by a surprisingly passionate kiss that cause Allen to flush a dark pink once they had parted.
"Let's go, we still have a couple more errands to run before we head home," Kanda informed the Britain as they stepped off the ice and quickly switched out their skates for their regular shoes.
"What do we still have to get that can't wait till tomorrow, love?" Allen asked in confusion as he and Kanda returned their skates at the counter and headed outside into the snow, which was now falling faster, but still not threatening yet. Kanda didn't answer and just offered a shrug instead, causing Allen to huff in irritation. He reluctantly continued to follow the raven towards their next destination, which was surprisingly back towards their apartment. Allen was confused as to why they didn't do that one first instead of walking past it to go to the ice skating rink, but he trusted his boyfriend, who must have had a reason to do these errands in the order he chose.
After ten minutes had passed, Allen was about to start complaining about being cold and that his feet hurt when Kanda pulled him into another building with a knowing smirk. Allen pursed his lips and gave Kanda a weak glare as he walked past him and into the building. The white haired male grumpily crossed his arms over his chest as his raven haired lover pulled him farther into the building. His brow furrowed as Kanda handed him a parka like coat and slipped into one himself. Allen was beyond confused at this point as he pulled the coat on and followed Kanda behind a pair of double doors. He had just opened his mouth to announce that he was tired and was going to head home before he fell silent as his eyes rested on the huge structures of carved ice that were hidden behind the doors. Stormy eyes frantically looked between each piece, trying to take in all the art works that were illuminated by soft white and yellow light strands, suspended above. The ice was dyed different colors via paint, but the paint was still thin enough that it almost looked like stained glass instead of ice. Allen was frozen in awestruck wonder as he took in the sight before him.
Kanda walked over to the white haired male and grabbed his arm to start leading him around the exhibit. It was endearing to see Allen so surprised by just ice.
"You know, Allen, this place supposedly have a piece of ice carved to represent every country, including the seven wonders of the world. I thought you would enjoy this since you used to travel the world with your father when you were younger. Besides, I know you really didn't want to run errands all day, so I figured you would want to do one more fun thing before we stop for groceries," Kanda said softly, stumbling slightly over his words as he tried to explain his "reason" for the stop.
Allen felt his heart swell in happiness as he finally regained movement. The first thing he did was launch himself at Kanda in a hug before he started to drag his boyfriend along and start explaining what he had seen in each country once they got to the specific piece if ice. Allen even told stories that were centered around each monument that was chosen to represent the countries. Kanda took over once they reached the sculpture of Osaka Castle for Japan. He told a brief history of why the structure was built, what purpose it served, and when it turned into a museum. Kanda did that for a few more countries that were relatively close to Japan before he let Allen take over again.
By the time they had finished, and after Kanda had bought a necklace with a charm of the sculpted London Bridge for Allen, it was around four in the afternoon. They stripped off the heavy coats and hung them up at the return area before exiting the building completely. Kanda kept an arm wrapped around Allen's waist as they walked. Kanda smiled faintly as he listened to Allen ramble on about how much he enjoyed the ice sculptures. He chuckled lightly as Allen released a yawn and rubbed his eyes before he pouted up at Kanda, "Don't laugh at me, Bakanda."
"Why don't you head home and take a nap, I can get the groceries. Beansprouts need a lot of rest so that they can grow."
"Are you sure you don't need help? I don't want to leave if you need help."
"I'll be fine, Moyashi. You haven't been sleeping all that well lately, so go home and rest. I'll wake you up in time for dinner."
Allen nodded and let out another yawn before Kanda pulled him into a soft, caring kiss that caused butterflies to flutter around in his stomach. He was breathless by the end of the short kiss simply from the raw emotion that it held. Allen flushed a light pink as Kanda chuckled and pulled him in for another chaste kiss. Allen let out a light laugh as well before he departed from Kanda and headed back to the apartment.
Kanda shook his head with a smile as he headed towards the grocery store. He had to refrain from running after Allen just to kiss him senseless. He picked up his pace to get out of the snowy weather as quick as he could. As soon as he entered the store, Kanda grabbed a basket and perused the aisles for the items he needed for dinner tonight. He headed for the register once his basket contained what was needed, which took about an hour and a half to find all of it. He impatiently patiently waited in line before paying for the ingredients. Kanda grabbed the bags and started heading back to the apartment. He shivered slightly as he walked while his body adjusted to the cooler temperature outside.
Due to the increased snowfall, it had built up about three inches on the sidewalks, which turned his ten minute walk home into a twenty minute walk. As soon as he entered the lobby area of the apartment building he maneuvered the groceries to one hand while he took of his coat and switched hands to fully take the clothing off. Kanda draped it over his arm and took the staircase up to his floor as he fished his keys out of the pocket of his coat. He tried to be as silent as he could as he entered their apartment and closed the door behind him before heading to the kitchen to start dinner. It took about thirty minutes to chop up all the needed items and prepare them for cooking.
Thirty minutes later, Kanda was pulling down two plates, turning the stove to warm, placing their dessert in the microwave to keep it warm, and turned off the oven. He surveyed his work and nodded to himself in approval before he headed upstair to wake Allen up. Kanda smiled softly as his gaze fell upon his boyfriend who was cuddling with his pillow. Silently, his padded across the floor after slipping out if his shoes and tossed his scarf across the end of the bed, having taken it off when he first started cooking.
"Allen...it's time to wake up, dinner is ready," he said softly as he sat down on the edge of the bed and gently ran his fingers through Allen's silky white hair. Kanda received a tired groan in response before he was greeted with sleep glazed silvery gray eyes and a warm smile. Allen slowly sat up and blinked away his tiredness before he and Kanda stood up and headed back downstairs. Allen blinked in shock as he took in the sight of the steaming food on the table and a pot on the stove that he assumed held the rest of the dish. Kanda did not cook very often, but he was a damn good cook when he did make food. Allen happily pulled his boyfriend to the table and salivated as his nose was assaulted by the spice ridden smell of chicken.
"How did you know I love chicken lo-mien?" He questioned before taking his seat, with Kanda taking the seat across from him and just answered the question with a knowing smirk. Allen smiled, almost sheepishly, in return before they both started to eat. The younger of the two moaned softly at the decadent taste, the spices provided a pleasant burn in the back of his throat and set his tongue ablaze after he finished the bite of noodles and poultry. He heard Kanda smother a chuckle at his response, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he continued to happily devour his dinner. Allen figured he could forgive Kanda for forgetting about his birthday this year because of the food, food was definitely the fastest way to earn Allen's forgiveness and this was common knowledge to his circle of friends.
"Eat as much as you want, Moyashi. I made enough to feed four people," Kanda said with a small smile. Allen would typically eat enough food to feed a small army, but this was due to his unusually high metabolism; Kanda had noticed the the past few days Allen had not been eating much and it was starting to worry him. He knew this was from Allen still grieving the loss of his first adoptive father who had passed away on Christmas Eve when the Brit was around the age of eight. He understood why it still affected Allen; Mana, Allen's father, had been the only one to ignore the unnatural scar that marred the child's face as well as the burn that had scarred the entirety of Allen's left arm, which used to be a deep maroon color but had recently completely healed to such a dark red that is was practically black. According to the pictures, Allen originally had a dark red-brown hair color, but due to the trauma of witnessing the accident that killed Mana it had completely turned white and never reverted to the natural color.
Kanda's small smile grew slightly as Allen finished his plate and practically raced to the stove before piling his plate with the rest of the lo-mien. Allen seemed to skip back to his seat before he started to devour his second plate of food almost as quickly as the first plate.
Kanda stood up from his place as took both empty plates to the sink as he told Allen to stay put. Allen listened, albeit he was confused. His confusion only grew as Kanda dimmed the lights. He heard the microwave open and close before he spoke up, "Kanda? What is going on?" His question was answered when he heard a light humming from behind him before Kanda placed a plate piled high with Mitarashi Dango in front of him, with small sparklers poking out of random places.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to.
Happy birthday my dear Allen,
Happy birthday to you," Kanda sang softly as he wrapped his arms around Allen's shoulders and hugged him close. Allen leaned into the touch as he listened to the soothing baritone of Kanda's voice. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he looked down at the plate after blowing out the sparkles. Written across the edge of the plate in the sweet sauce and in perfect cursive was a simple, three worded message that causes the tears to drip down his cheeks, "I love you."
"If you want to, you can take these with you to the other room to eat while you open your birthday and Christmas gifts. Merry Christmas by the way," Kanda said softly after releasing the hug and leaning down to wipe away Allen's tears. Kanda placed a white and black striped santa hat on Allen's head with a loving smile. Dark blue eyes took in Allen's appearance and cause Kanda to laugh softly, somehow his boyfriend still had some of the lo-mien sauce on his lips. He wiped away the remaining tears the clung to Allen's cheeks as he pressed a soft kiss to his lips and quickly licked away the left over sauce before pulling away.
Allen gave Kanda one of his rare blinding smiles as he grabbed the plate of sweet dumplings and followed Kanda into the other room and sat by the coffee table. Kanda sat behind him and moved Allen to sit between his legs as as Kanda wrapped his arms loosely around the younger's waist. Allen started to happily eat away at his version of a birthday cake as he pulled a few of the gifts into his lap and started to tear into them. His smile only grew as the first gift opened revealed a two toned silver watch that he had been marveling at one day when the couple went window shopping. In place of each number was a small diamond and the four main numbers of twelve, three, six, and nine were a dark red garnet instead of the diamond. Allen carefully set it aside before opening two gifts that had been tied together. The smaller box was a new red silk bowtie, while the larger box held a new grey vest and a white collared button down. He pauses to eat another section of his cake before continuing to open his gifts. The next four gifts revealed a professionally framed picture of Allen with Mana, a yellow and gold cat ornament for the tree, a black hooded cardigan, and a note that told him to check the spare room upstairs.
Allen convinced Kanda to open his own gifts as well as Allen finished off his dumplings. Kanda opened his gifts and smiled as he pulled out a white version of Allen's new cardigan, he also received a new sheath for his sword -the black paint had small lotus blossoms that seemed to all be falling towards the bottom- that had strap to go over the shoulder, a two pairs of sweatpants, and a pair of black diamond stud earrings. Kanda gently ran his fingers along the canvas painting that Allen and his father, Tiedoll. It was an oil painting of Kanda with all five of his brothers when they were kids, "Thank you Allen...this means a lot. I love you, so much," he said and kissed Allen deeply to help express his thanks.
Allen happily returned the kiss, just as passionately. The raw emotion of the kiss left both of them breathless once they had parted. Kanda pulled Allen to sit in his lap again as Allen started to open the last three gifts, all tied together. A smirk pulled at Kanda's lips as he watched the confusion take place on Allen's face as he opened a laser pointer, a cat collar, and a bag of cat food.
"Why did I get stuff for a cat...we don't have a cat anymore," Allen said as he felt Kanda pull away and get up. Gray eyes watched the older male walk over to the closet and pull out a small ball of fluff. Allen gasped in shock as he stood up to meet Kanda halfway and gently took the calico kitten from him.
"Oh my God. Kanda, I love you so much! Oh my God. Thank you!" Allen cried happily as he nuzzled the small feline. Kanda chuckled, "You are very welcome, Moyashi. His name is Timothy, and he is already litter trained."
Allen gently placed the kitten on the ground to let him go explore before he pulled Kanda into a hug and held him close, "I can't thank you enough for all of this." Kanda just responded with a smirk and returned the hug, holding Allen as close as physically possible. Allen looked up and spotted a small red ribbon attached to a sprig of green leaves, causing him to gain a smirk of his own as he wrapped his arms around Kanda's neck and pulled him into a loving kiss. They kept the kiss relatively soft, but it wasn't long before hand started to wonder, traveling up shirts and into the back pockets of jeans. The kiss quickly turned into a full on make out session and became a battle to show dominance. Kanda pressed Allen against the wall and pinned his arms above his head before Kanda completely gained dominance over the kiss. He slowly pulled away and pressed a chaste kiss to Allen's now kiss swollen lips before he leaned his forehead against the younger male's. Both adults were equally breathless as Kanda released his grip on Allen's hands and rested them around his waist again, pulling him close with a genuine smile, "I love you, so much, Allen. Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas and I love you too, Kanda," Allen said softly and smiled back before placing another soft, love filled kiss on his boyfriend's lips.