A Very Royal Christmas

So here's my first Christmas oneshot - I plan on having twelve out in the month of December~. This one is simply Royal, and a gift for everyone who's read my stuff - I do appreciate it, really, especially since some of my writing is the most pathetic garbage I've ever seen XD

But anyway, merry early Christmas and happy holidays~.

x A Very Royal Christmas x 1500 words x Atobe x Ryoma

'No.'

Atobe stared at the door, completely shocked. No, completely shocked didn't cover it. Absolutely flabbergasted, maybe. Stunned beyond repair? Either way, Atobe Keigo was not sure why the situation had turned out this way.

It had started with Ryoma, of course. Everything always started with Echizen Ryoma, no matter how this fact irked Atobe, for obviously things should start with his glorious self.

Ryoma had mentioned, quite offhandedly, that his parents would be gone for the holidays. This meant that Ryoma would be in his house, all alone, with nobody but his cat for company.

So Atobe had suggested, out of goodwill and kindness and all the wonderful qualities that he possessed, that Ryoma stay with Atobe over the winter holidays. Ryoma had, after much coercion (though Atobe would prefer it be called 'strong love') from Atobe (and his servants - they were so good for sticking people in limos when they weren't looking, really, and feeding Atobe's boyfriend's pet cat whilst said boyfriend was off with Atobe), Ryoma had ended up in Atobe's private holiday home, all the way in Hokkaido.

Ryoma had spent most of the days (scratch that, all of them) sulking in his room, for some reason - Atobe had figured that Ryoma should have been honoured to be the sole person in Atobe's company, but no, the brat had had to gripe on and on about how kidnapping was illegal and how the stuffing of people into limos just wasn't appreciated very much by the people being stuffed.

But it was now Christmas Eve, and Ryoma was still sulking - even more so, if Atobe wasn't mistaken; the glare that Ryoma had given Atobe at dinner had been especially fierce - and that just wouldn't do. Nobody should be angry on Christmas Day, so Atobe knew he had to cheer up Ryoma before Christmas Eve passed.

And that had brought the two of them to the current situation.

'Ryoma-' Atobe started, trying for the nth time to get Ryoma out of his room, only to be cut off.

'Go away, Monkey King' was the muffled reply, though the tone of irritation was conveyed quite nicely. And after all Atobe had done for Ryoma too! 'Unless you're going to be putting me on a private train back to Tokyo.'

'I have something even better for you,' Atobe said, smirking - he had this all planned out, and was sure that Ryoma would forgive him for bringing him to Hokkaido once the plan was carried out, though Atobe really didn't think his actions needed to be forgiven - really, they should have been lauded with bright smiles and words like 'Keigo, you're the best boyfriend I could ever have; thank you for bringing me all the way to Hokkaido with its picturesque landscape and great tourist spots!'

...The words sounded farfetched even while Atobe imagined them, but the meaning was there. He really should have been praised, but he was willing to let it go, just this once. Ryoma couldn't be blamed if he had no appreciation of culture.

'Is it a plane ticket?' Ryoma asked impudently through the door. This was too childish, honestly - anybody who looked in through the impossibly large window that looked over a frozen lake would see the Atobe Keigo talking to a door. Not even through an open doorway, but just to a door.

'Yes, I do have tickets,' Atobe said, smirking even wider than before - oh, it was going to be great when Ryoma heard what he had in store for him - 'for tomorrow - a Christmas showing-'

'-I'm not going,' Ryoma interrupted, sounding somehow sulkier than before - Atobe hadn't thought it possible. 'Go away, Monkey King.'

Okay, now Atobe officially had no idea what was going on. 'What do you mean, you're not going?' the diva demanded, annoyed. 'You didn't even let me say what the tickets were for! And you are going. I didn't go to the trouble of getting two tickets just to have only one be used.'

'Then go with somebody else,' Ryoma grumbled back. 'I don't care. I miss Karupin.'

So was that it? 'Would you go to the show if I brought Karupin here?' Atobe asked, wondering if the Himalayan cat was the reason for Ryoma's juvenile behaviour (though Atobe shouldn't be expecting that much, considering the tennis prodigy in miniature was still two years younger than Atobe was).

'No.'

So that wasn't the problem then.

Atobe really didn't like how the evening was going, though could it be considered evening if it was already eleven? In less than an hour, it would be Christmas, and this wasn't how he wanted his first Christmas ever with Ryoma to start.

'You know what?' Atobe said decisively. 'Fine. I'm going to go out by myself to see the show, and I'll leave the ticket here. It starts at midnight.' He brushed off his clothes slowly, sure that Ryoma would burst out and apologise for being bratty and say that he would love to come. He waited for ten seconds.

Then a minute.

Then five.

But still, Ryoma did not come out, and Atobe sat down, his back to the door.

'Go away, Monkey King,' Ryoma said for the third time in ten minutes, and this time, Atobe really did leave.

-

So now Atobe was standing in the cold all by himself, waiting outside the theatre. He didn't want to go in by himself; he'd look like a guy who didn't have a girlfriend to be with on Christmas Eve.

...Never mind that he really didn't have a girlfriend to be with on Christmas Eve.

Suddenly, his phone rang. Though Atobe's heart leapt for a moment, it fell back down right after when he realised it wasn't Ryoma's ringtone. (For the record, Ryoma's ringtone was far cuter and in the key of F major. Ryoma didn't like it much.)

'Yes?' he answered formally, flipping open his cell phone and seeing the name 'Oshitari Yuushi' on the screen.

'Ah, Keigo, I hope I'm not interrupting anything?' The sultry voice of Oshitari floated through the phone, and Atobe couldn't help but wish that it was a less low, brattier voice instead.

'No,' Atobe said with a sigh. 'What is it, Yuushi?'

'I'm not?' Oshitari sounded surprised, even through the phone, though Atobe just knew that the surprised tone came with a condescending smirk - it always did. 'I had thought I would be.'

'And you still called?' Atobe queried, frowning. What, did Oshitari take pleasure in ruining Atobe's day?

'Well, Echizen's phone was off,' Oshitari said offhandedly, making Atobe's suspicions immediately arise.

'Why did you want to call Ryoma?' Atobe asked accusingly. Thousands of reasons were running through his head, none of them any good.

Oshitari paused. 'Well, it's Christmas Eve. I wanted to wish him a happy birthday.'

...And that wasn't one of the reasons. Atobe's mind abruptly stopped supplying him with possible images of Ryoma and Oshitari eloping to Hawaii.

'What?' Atobe thought over this latest piece of information. Yes, it was Christmas Eve. He knew that - Christmas Day was right after. But... 'It's Ryoma's birthday?'

'No wonder I'm not interrupting anything,' Oshitari said with a chuckle - Atobe hated that chuckle. 'I bet he's sulking in his room right now because you forgot about his birthday.'

Atobe also hated it whenever Oshitari was right and he himself wasn't.

'Thank you for telling me,' Atobe said grudgingly, hanging up immediately and dialling another number.

'Chauffeur?'

-

The minute hand on Atobe's watch was still on the eleven - he had five more minutes. Running up the flight of stairs, he bounded up two steps at a time, hoping that he would reach Ryoma's room in time. Why did his holiday home have to be so huge?

He reached Ryoma's door and knocked once. 'Ryoma?'

'What?' was the irritated reply. Good. Ryoma hadn't run off.

Atobe tested the doorknob. It wasn't locked. He pushed open the door and saw Ryoma sitting on the bed, glaring at him. 'What?' Ryoma reiterated, but Atobe didn't answer, instead pulling Ryoma off the bed and enveloping him in a hug.

'Idiot. Why didn't you just tell me it was your birthday?' Atobe asked. 'Happy birthday, brat.'

'What?' Ryoma looked confused, and Atobe paused. Had something gotten lost in translation? Then, Ryoma smirked. 'You thought I was angry because you'd forgotten my birthday?'

'Weren't you?' Atobe questioned, frowning, his arms falling limply to his sides.

'No,' Ryoma said plainly, rolling his eyes, 'I was angry at the fact that you had dragged me halfway across the country just to come to a place with snow and no tennis.'

Atobe had never felt stupider in his life than in that moment.

But then Ryoma stood on the balls of his feet, putting his own arms around Atobe's shoulder and kissing him lightly. 'Thank you, I think. Merry Christmas, you idiot.'

And as Atobe's minute hand reached twelve, Atobe couldn't think of a better way to spend his Christmas.

x owari

So, how was it? Good? Bad? Positively horrifying? Do drop a review to tell me your thoughts - reviews make my day. -awinchan