It had started with a phone call at three in the afternoon.

Mai had been sitting at home, reading, when her phone lit up and rang a familiar tone. Putting her phone down she was surprised to find Naru's number showing up on the caller id. Curious, Mai answered the phone.

"I apologize for disturbing you on your day off," Naru began, "Are you busy?"

"Not really. What's up, Naru?"

"I brought home the Takashi case file, and a lot of the information that Yasuhara gathered is in kanji. I'd prefer to not have an unproductive day and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming over to transcribe relevant information for me. If you aren't busy."

"You know, you really should learn more kanji."

"Mai."

She was quite sure that, if he were there with her, he would be glaring at her in an unamused fashion. Mai did her best to keep her amused laughter to herself.

"What about Lin? Isn't he normally with you on your guys' days off?"

"Lin returned to England for the Holidays. He won't return until January second."

Mai blinked. "Lin is on vacation?"

"Yes. He wanted to spend the Holidays with Madoka."

Mai pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at a few times. She knew that Lin and Madoka knew each other quite well, but traveling halfway across the world implied a different type of relationship. Were they dating or were they just good friends? She was about to ask when Naru continued.

"Mai, if you are busy you do not need to come over. I could call Yasuhara and—"

"No, no. I'm not busy. I just, ah, need to get ready is all." Mai poured as much of her usual politeness into a smile that she knew he wouldn't be able to see.

"Thank you. Make sure to note the time on your time card when work resumes."

And then, as suddenly as the call began, it ended.

Mai sat there for a few moments trying to process what had happened. When she still could not make heads nor tails of the situation after a full minute, she stood and went to get ready.

Sure, most everyone in SPR had met up with each other outside of work, but for some reason Naru's invitation seemed odd. While their hours could be as irregular as the people working them, Naru was usually quite a stickler about not having odd hours outside of cases.

Perhaps he merely wanted company?

It was very obvious that Naru's phone call had, in fact, been merely for work purposes.

The moment that Mai walked in the door he put her to work transcribing kanji while he poured over what resources that he could make sense of. She wasn't exactly sure what she had expected. She knew that Naru was a straight-forward person unless he had good reason to deceive. And, since he seemed to really want these documents transcribed, he tried to leave as little room for confusion as possible.

An hour or so later, Mai stretched and stood from the kitchen table that had become her work station. She was pleasantly surprised when the papers revealed quite a bit about the family history. It wasn't too difficult for her to be lost in the story.

But, as with most humans, Mai needed a break.

She didn't bother asking Naru if he wanted tea. He was deep in thought on the other end of the medium-sized kitchen table and it was easy to tell that his cup was empty. She started the kettle and was halfway through the process when Naru sat up and realized that she was no longer sitting across from him.

Looking up at the clock, Naru frowned. "It's nearly five. Did you need to head home?"

Mai shrugged. "I don't have anything going on, so I can stay as long as you need me to. I think I'm just now getting to the good part of the journal, so it'd be a waste to stop now."

Naru nodded. Standing he opened his refrigerator and looked inside. He grimaced at its contents before shutting the door. "I'm going to get some take out. What would you like?"

"Anything is fine."

Naru sighed. "Fine. Just don't complain if you don't like it."

He didn't wait for a response before picking up his coat and leaving his residence with a slam of the door. She could hear the jingle of keys and then the turning of the deadbolt. His footsteps retreated shortly afterwards and then Mai was left alone in silence.

Mai stood in the middle of the kitchen staring at the door. She didn't quite know what to do with herself. She had never been in Naru's apartment alone before. She was quite tempted to go looking around and see if she could find anything interesting, but she didn't want to find out what would happen if he found out about it later.

Which, of course, he would.

Instead, she returned to the journal. Cup in hand, she began transcribing the kanji. Before long she was lost in her work and she barely noticed the awkward feeling she had about being in Naru's apartment while he was gone.

Mai nearly spilled her tea on her work when Naru returned a short while later.

Normally quite quiet, Naru stormed into the apartment. He barely stopped to kick off his snow-covered shoes before he made a beeline to his counter. He hastily set down the bags that he had been carrying before taking off his jacket and hanging it on the back of his chair.

Mai quirked an eyebrow at the amount of bags. She was about to comment when a takeout container and disposable pair of chopsticks were placed before her. Naru took his own container and didn't wait before opening it and starting to eat.

"What's up with you?" Mai asked, ignoring her food.

"Nothing," Naru said, ignoring her gaze.

"Uh, huh."

Mai crossed her arms. He ate two more bites before glancing up. As his eyes met hers he sent her an annoyed glare.

"If you must know, it's cold."

"Anything else?"

"No."

Alright," Mai said opening her container to find curry. "But if something's wrong you can talk about it, you know."

Naru grunted and then returned to his meal.

The ensuing meal was quite awkward in Mai's opinion. She attempted conversation once or twice about what she had found so far, but she didn't get more than a few affirmative nods. She tried asking him what he'd found, but he ignored her questions and focused on his meal instead.

By the time that she was finished eating, Mai'd had enough. Without any preamble Mai picked up her trash and threw it away. She could feel Naru watching her, but she ignored him as she began packing up her belongings. She was nearly putting on her coat when Naru finally spoke.

"Wait."

Mai stared at him.

Naru sighed. "I apologize for my foul mood. There were a lot of mishaps at the store, so I became frustrated."

"Like what?"

"They were out of… peppermint."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Peppermint? Why would you be upset over something like that?"

Naru bristled. "It's a long story."

"Well before I accept your apology I would certainly like to hear it. "

Mai crossed her arms and stared him down. Naru stood his ground and glared at her. It seemed as though they were evenly matched for quite some time.

Eventually Naru gave in.

"I'll explain after I've finished eating."

Mai nearly pumped her fist in celebration of her small victory but knew that the odds of that action upsetting him were rather high. And, should she upset him anymore, it was likely that he would not tell her anything. So, with as much control as she could exert, Mai calmly nodded and sat down.

It didn't take long for him to finish. Once he was done, Naru gathered his trash and threw it away. Mai expected him to either make another pot of tea or sit down. Instead, he opened a cupboard, pulled out a pan, and turned on his stove.

Mai was tempted to ask what it was that he was doing. But something told her that it would be best to allow him to do as he pleased for the time being. She watched, curiously, as a retrieved a carton of milk and poured it into the pan. He then reached into a nearby cupboard and retrieved a can of something most peculiar:

Cocoa powder.

"You're making hot chocolate?" Mai asked.

Naru nodded. "Normally I would add peppermint, but—"

"The store was out."

"Yes."

Naru became suddenly interested in the warming milk and went about stirring it. He stared at the pan, lost in thought. He stood there for a few minutes before he shook his head and went about adding the powder. Once mixed, he leaned his hand on the counter and drummed his fingers on the surface.

Suddenly, he turned the temperature down and left the room. Mai watched as he entered a room, but soon lost sight of him. She could hear things being moved haphazardly. She was quite sure that she heard a crash or two, but, before there were too many, Naru re-emerged.

In one hand he held a candy cane. Encircling it was a red bow that Mai distinctly remembered tying the year before. She had bought a package of them and redressed them as gifts for everyone. Everyone had happily received their gifts with the exception of Naru and Lin. Or rather: Mai had always wondered what their reactions had been since they had been out of town when she had left the gifts on their desks.

Mai was jolted out of her thoughts by Naru crushing the candy cane on the counter.

As Naru stirred the pieces into the hot chocolate, much of the tension in his shoulders melted away. Before long he was speaking again.

"When we were young, Luella liked to make us hot chocolate. If I recall correctly, the recipe that she uses is one that has been passed down through the family."

He took a sip of the drink. He considered it for a moment before retrieving a small bottle with a brown liquid from the cabinet. He poured a small amount in the pan and then added more peppermint to the mix. He stirred for some time before tasting it again.

"Hot chocolate was Gene's favorite drink." Naru idly stirred the pan as he spoke. "As soon as it became autumn, he would beg Luella to make it. She would always tell him that he had to wait until the Christmas tree was put up. And then, come Christmas-time, he would drink it ecstatically.

"She should have specified a date that first year, though, because that year he tried to get away with putting the tree up in October. He didn't get too far because Luella caught him when he couldn't figure out what branch went where. It was quite entertaining to watch her try to explain to him that it was an activity for December and not just whenever he wanted hot chocolate."

Naru retrieved two obnoxiously festive mugs from the cupboard and carefully filled them. He looked through the shopping bag and took out a can of whipped cream. He put a generous amount in each before offering a cup to Mai.

Naru let the cup set before him, untouched, as he continued.

"To be honest, I never much liked Luella's hot chocolate. It was always too sweet, and I had already acquired a taste for tea by then. So, when she made it for both of us, I would give my other cup to Gene. We tried to be inconspicuous, but I imagine that Luella knew.

"Ever since Gene's… passing, though, I make a point to drink a cup on Christmas Eve. I've tried to find a place that sells a good version of it, but nothing is ever quite right. So, I've resorted to recreating it as best as I can." He took a sip out of his mug and grimaced. "Though it appears as though even I can't make it correctly."

"I'm sure it's fine, Naru." Mai took a sip and was surprised how good it was. "Wow this is really good!"

"You can have as much as you'd like. I'll only have this cup for myself." He picked up one of the news articles that he had been reading before he had gone to the store and studied it. All of a sudden the moment was gone and the working atmosphere was back.

But, yet, it had changed completely. Mai noticed that Naru's demeanor had drastically changed. He seemed more relaxed, and though he kept chastising her for getting off task, he himself instigated many of the deviations from the work. Even his usual teasing seemed to be almost… softer in comparison.

And Mai wasn't sure what to make of it.

After, high school Mai's infatuation for her boss had diminished almost entirely. It wasn't as though he was less attractive. Far from it, actually. But, with seemingly no response to her affection, time had tempered her feelings immensely.

But, as she sat there drinking hot chocolate, going over kanji, and getting hopelessly off-task, Mai could feel some of her old feelings stir. Now she didn't want to read too much into the situation, everyone was lonely sometimes, but Naru could have invited nearly anyone over to help him. He could have sent her home long ago. Or he could have clammed up and refused to tell her anything.

Instead, he chose to open up to her.

And, while sharing all of this might not seem like a big deal for most, Mai could see it for what it was: a step toward a deeper relationship with Naru. Perhaps it wouldn't be anything more than a closer friendship. But, whatever it might turn out to be, Mai hoped that they might continue taking steps forward, together.

And, hopefully someday in the future, Naru might invite her over for hot chocolate without the pretense of work.

A/N: Merry Christmas! I wrote this as part of a secret santa thing for Souls! I thought I'd cross post this over here so that everyone else could enjoy it too. Anyways thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!