A/N: Written for The-DA-Ranger-Group's NaNoWriMo Contest.
I've actually had this idea for a while now, but didn't really have the motivation until the contest was announced. I'll probably go back and edit some things (nothing major though), but on the whole, I think I'm happy with how this turned out.
Hope you like it!
It took twenty minutes, fifty-two seconds, and five renditions of 'Deck The Halls' in five different languages for Kyoya to come to the conclusion that Tamaki Suoh needed to have his mouth sewn shut. In fact, had he some surgical tools and his older brothers' medical training, he'd have been tempted to do the job himself, right then and there. As it was, the ever-vibrant Host Club King's dancing and prancing while he hung up wreaths and sleigh bells and threw tinsel here and there was getting on Kyoya's last nerve.
A vein in his head pulsed as Tamaki's voice grew louder, building to a climax that would never come. Kyoya stood abruptly. His head bent, the light from the windows hit his glasses and made them gleam. Searching gray eyes found Tamaki immediately, as the happy idiot skipped on by, tossing the silvery strips of paper around without a care in the world. Following close behind was Haruhi, with a large garbage bag she scooped all the tinsel into. Kyoya felt a twinge of gratitude towards her, and made a mental note to deduct this from her debt.
As Tamaki spun around, his eyes closed and his mind shutting out the world, Kyoya's hand jerked out and caught him by the collar of his jacket. When he went to take another step, Tamaki went flying into the air, the note he'd been holding morphing into a startled yelp. Kyoya took that as his cue to let go, allowing his friend to land hard on the tiled floor. He whimpered in pain as Kyoya glowered over him.
"Tamaki, I know you're very excited about the upcoming holiday season," he said. "But you're going overboard with this decorating."
Tamaki straightened back up, rubbing his aching side and pouting.
"But Kyoya," he whined. "It's almost Christmas. Of course I'm going to decorate, as much as possible."
"I'd prefer if you wouldn't," Kyoya eyed the many wreaths lining each wall and the fake snow glued to all the windows. "This'll take a long time to clean up."
"Why would you want to?" Tamaki asked, his eyes sparkling as he raised his arms to motion dramatically at his handiwork. "Just look at it Kyoya, the greens and reds and whites, the candles and wreathes and bells. All we need is a tree, and it'll be perfect! Granted, I would have liked a fireplace to put our shoes in front of, but we can make do without that. Don't you just feel the Christmas spirit running through your bones, Kyoya?"
"No," his immediate and blunt answer sent Tamaki's joy into a swan dive. He deflated faster than a popped balloon, giving Kyoya a look that would have made anyone else melt before him. "And where do you expect to get a tree? There are no forests anywhere near here, and getting a fake one would be a big hassle. I've got far too much work to do and no time to make those kind of arrangements."
"But-"
"No, Tamaki," Kyoya's firm and curt voice sent Tamaki back several steps.
He recovered quickly, as expected. Kyoya could do little beside sigh under his breath and try to stifle the intense annoyance boiling in his stomach while Tamaki went back to shouting.
"I don't see why you're so grumpy," Tamaki said. "Everyone else is getting into the spirit!"
On cue, Hikaru and Kaoru slid over, wearing identical Santa hats and cheeky grins.
"Yeah, Kyoya, don't you want to help us make a popcorn garland?" They said together, holding a huge bag of popcorn for him to see.
"It's really fun," Hunny-senpai piped in as he and Mori-senpai appeared out of nowhere. Kyoya couldn't help but stare at the latter, clothed in a full Santa Claus ensemble complete with a fake beard. Hunny-senpai, in his little green costume covered in bells, could only be an elf. "Takashi and I really like these costumes, mine makes funny noises when I walk!"
"Ho ho ho," was Mori-senpai's emotionless contribution.
Groaning, Kyoya pushed past them and went to sit back down. He hoped beyond hope that his posture and body language would penetrate Tamaki's thick skull and he would let it go. But Kyoya had known Tamaki long enough to know that not even a high powered drill could do that job.
"I don't get it," Tamaki said as he and the others surrounded him. "We've had Christmas parties before and you enjoyed yourself. Why are you being so grouchy."
Kyoya ground his teeth together, unable to contain a scowl as he stared into Tamaki's violet eyes. This time, he didn't move under Kyoya's intense gaze.
"For one thing, we are unable to have a dance this year," he said slowly. "For another, my father has charged me with some extra work that needs to be finished as soon as possible. And finally, I hate to break it to you, Tamaki, but Christmas isn't as big a Holiday around here as it is in France. I don't have time for this right now."
A soft ringing interrupted him right there. Kyoya recognized it immediately and stood, his bag in hand and his face set in cold indifference.
"I have to get home now. You can keep a few of the wreaths if you absolutely must, but I want the rest of this stuff taken down by tomorrow. It's just in the way."
Kyoya walked out without another word, or even a glance in his friend's direction to see how he'd react to that. As he exited, the door shut firmly behind him, with a finality that so greatly mirrored Kyoya's.
Tamaki had gone rigid as his eyes burned holes in the door. His mirth was fading fast, replaced by discouragement and hurt at Kyoya's cold rejection. He clutched the remaining tinsel in his hand tighter than ever, and barely heard it when Hikaru's voice rang out.
"Well, he's certainly irritable today."
"I know," Kaoru agreed. "Must be overworking himself again."
"It's not right," Tamaki shook his head, not knowing when his voice had come back. "I don't want Kyoya to be unhappy, not on Christmas."
"Well, he seemed pretty sure of his decision," Haruhi said gently. "Maybe you should just let it go, Senpai."
"Yeah, Tama-chan," cried Hunny-senpai, his loud motions making the bells ring. "I bet Kyo-chan wouldn't really make you take away the decorations. I already painted my stocking with cakes and bunnies!"
"Yeah."
Tamaki listened to the kind words of his friends, taking them all in and feeling a little better now. He knew though, that he couldn't truly be happy without all of them together and celebrating. The row of stockings wouldn't be complete with only six. He sighed sadly.
"I still wish there was a way to give Kyoya some Christmas cheer," he said to himself. "I don't get it. Why does he have to be such a Scrooge?"
It wasn't long after the words rolled off his tongue that Tamaki's mind clicked. It was as if a literal light bulb had been hanging over his head, waiting to turn on as the idea hit him. Tamaki's face brightened up so fast that it made everyone watching him start. As the plan formulated in his mind, only Haruhi had the nerve to ask the question all of them wanted asked.
"Tamaki, what are you thinking about doing?"
There was a underlying nervousness in her tone. All of them knew well that when Tamaki got that look in his eye, it always meant something crazy was about to happen, and that he would drag them into it kicking and screaming if he had to. Indeed, Tamaki drew himself to full height, sliding into 'Leader Mode' with shocking ease. He grinned, all his white teeth visible.
"Everyone," he announced in a booming voice. "I have the perfect plan for getting our friend Kyoya into the holiday spirit!"
"This will not end well," Kaoru whispered to Hikaru.
Kyoya groaned, closing and opening his eyes several times to stave off the drowsiness slowly taking hold. The only other sound in his large, spacious room was that of the keyboard as he typed away furiously, determined to finish this essay by the hour and not let Tamaki's puppy dog face from earlier permeate his thoughts. The last thing he needed right now was Tamaki's voice in his head proclaiming the extols of the Christmas season. He was far too busy to worry about his best friend's feelings getting hurt.
He leaned forward as far as he could go, completely focused on the task at hand. Anything outside the bubble he had created had no hope of penetrating his ears. Whether it be loud music, or the maid vacuuming, or footsteps and hushed whispers outside his door, Kyoya heard none of it.
He finished another paragraph, slamming the enter key twice and getting right to work on the next one. His hands moved in a flurry, unseen by the naked eye. The words on the monitor were reflected in his glasses, leaving his eyes invisible.
'Almost done,' he told himself several pages later. 'This should just about do it, as long as I have no dis-'
BANG
BANG
BANG
Kyoya was turned around and on his feet before he realized what he was doing. His guard shot up as he stared at the door, listening to the steadily growing whispers behind it, a male voice hissing to some other male voices for silence. They rapped on the door two more times, and Kyoya was just thinking about what on his desk could be used as a weapon against a possible intruder when the door burst open, and a figure all in white made his entrance.
They stared into each other's eyes, one with surprise and one searching. It was a long minute, the ticking of the clock making it seem even longer, and then the white figure slower raised an arm, index finger extending towards Kyoya.
"Kyoya," he said low and hauntingly. "I have come for you."
His finger shook threateningly, an over-the-top blast of organ music would not have been out of place. Kyoya ran his eyes up the man's arm and studied his face, an analytical and unfazed expression that he imagined wasn't what the visitor had had in mind. He gave a loud sigh.
"Tamaki, what are you doing here?" Kyoya asked. "And why are you covered in flour?"
Tamaki faltered, his arm drooping and his attempted scary face marred by a frown. He picked himself back up immediately, clearly unwilling to give up whatever game he was playing so easily.
"I am not Tamaki!" he declared, raising his arm into the air and letting more of the flour fall off onto the rug. "I am the ghost of your partner, Jacob Marley, I am here-"
"I never knew anyone named Jacob Marley," Kyoya flatly interrupted.
An awkward pause followed.
"Uh…" Tamaki muttered, and Kyoya noted he hadn't even lowered his arms yet. "I am uh… I am the ghost of your… old…"
"…butler?" Kyoya eventually supplied.
"YES!" Tamaki instantly perked back up. "I was your butler, uh… A-Akira! Akira Fudo!"
Kyoya raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms over his chest and dropped back into his chair, relaxing against the cushion. "Interesting. I didn't know you watched Devilman."
"I saw an episode by accident a few years ago, it gave me nightmares and…" Tamaki trailed off, while Kyoya had to fight back a smirk. "I- I mean YOU DO NOT KNOW THE TRUE MEANING CHRISTMAS! THEREFORE, I HAVE BEEN SENT TO YOU, KYOYA OOTORI, TO-"
"Oh I see," Kyoya said, shaking his head. "Tamaki, I've already explained to you that-"
"I AM NOT TAMAKI, AND STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" Tamaki shouted.
Kyoya wondered if the servants had heard that from their quarters on the other side of the house. Aside, of course, from the ones who had likely been dispatched to clean up the flour Tamaki was trailing everywhere. They had probably jumped in place.
"KYOYA," 'Not-Tamaki' went on. "YOU WILL BE VISITED BY THREE GHOSTS! EXPECT THE FIRST ONE TONIGHT, WHEN THE BELL TOLLS ONE! EXPECT THE SECOND ON THE NEXT HOUR, AND THE THIRD TOMMOROW NIGHT AT TWELVE!"
Pursing his lips, Kyoya glanced away from his fried at the large clock on the opposite wall.
"It's 1:08," he said.
Tamaki's face dropped for the second time, and this time, it didn't reappear at all.
"What?" he asked dumbly.
Kyoya pointed at the clock before answering.
"It's eight minutes past one in the morning," he elaborated. "Your ghost is late."
There was a split second where everything was frozen in place. Kyoya leaned his chair back all the way, staring expectantly at Tamaki. The so-called ghost's eyes widened, and that was the last Kyoya saw before Tamaki whirled around and raced out the door, flour trailing behind him. Kyoya eyed the mess and pinched the bridge of his nose.
'That's going to take the maids forever to clean.'
He turned the chair back around to his desk. With a few clicks and buttons pressed, his work was saved and his laptop powered down. Kyoya had a striking suspicion he wouldn't be getting any more work down tonight. Indeed, he could just make out disjointed bits of conversation from just outside his room.
"…behind schedule… don't forget…"
"…boss, we… kind of stupid."
"…argue with me! Get in… now… move it!"
The door swung open again, revealing Tamaki as he threw a pair of redhead inside. They fell into a heap while Tamaki hid behind a wall, whispering to whoever else he'd dragged into this nonsense to be quiet. Kyoya watched, bored, as Hikaru and Kaoru picked themselves up, muttering to themselves about ways they could get back at Tamaki for this. Kyoya found he couldn't blame them, both of them had been forced into long white gowns with gold flames painted on the collars. As the sons of a fashion mogul, this was probably not their first choice of costume.
They took a moment to glance at each other, possibly communicating in a way only they could understand, then stared right back into the gray eyes of Kyoya.
"Hello, Kyoya," they said in unison. Grins formed on their faces, not unlike those of the troublemakers Kyoya knew they could be. Despite this, he got the distinct sense that they weren't as into this silly game as Tamaki was. The fact that Tamaki was peeking very non-discreetly out through the doorway and directing them with a wave of his hands didn't help much. "We are the Ghosts of Christmas Past, and we are here to show you what Christmas was like for you when you were a child!"
They maintained the act for a second longer before falling into a huddle and whispering loudly.
"That sounded kind of awkward," one said to the other. "Think we should say it again?"
"Maybe if we put in a dramatic pause," the other said. "Right after we say the name, we can just stop for a few seconds and-"
"Hey!"
They (and Kyoya) turned their heads to the doorway, where Tamaki's directions had become furious gestures at Kyoya, his body language clearly telling them to get on with it. The twins narrowed their eyes, but nodded in understanding anyway and went back into character.
"Come, Kyoya," they said, holding out their arms with a synchronicity Kyoya refused to believe wasn't practiced. "It's time for us to fly!"
Kyoya glanced at each twin in quick succession.
"How exactly did he put you two up to this?"
The one on the right, Kaoru, he believed, shrugged. "You know how the Boss gets. Once he has an idea in his head, it's never coming out until we just go along with it."
"Hey, Boss," Hikaru called out to Tamaki. "You know we can't actually fly, right?"
Tamaki groaned and slammed his head gently against the doorpost.
"Just stand by the window and pretend, make sure he can't see us setting up the next scene, and for the love of God, STOP BREAKING CHARACTER!"
His outburst achieved nothing but more flat looks, particularly from Kyoya.
"I can hear everything you're saying."
Tamaki's eyes snapped to Kyoya, as is only now realizing he hadn't left his spot.
"Uh… BEWARE!" Tamaki shouted. He then pulled himself back out of view while Hikaru and Kaoru approached Kyoya.
"Alright, let's go to the past," they said.
Without waiting for a response or even giving Kyoya a minute to prepare, they came up on either side of his chair and hoisted him to his feet. Holding one arm each, they marched the Shadow King over to the large window and stopped in front of it.
They stood completely still, the reflective glass giving Kyoya a perfect view of Tamaki reentering the room, followed closely by Hunny-senpai, who appeared to also be dressed up. Kyoya squinted his eyes, but he couldn't tell who the small senior was supposed to be.
"So are we just going to stand here?" he muttered to the twins.
"We're not just standing here," Hikaru shot back.
"Yeah," Kaoru continued. "You uh… we just used our magic to make it seem like we're just standing here. You know, so you don't get freaked out by our awesome flying skills!"
The glass showed Tamaki looking up from his pep talk for Hunny-senpai to give the twins a thumbs-up. Kyoya could feel his head starting to throb. Tamaki's thumbs-up then became a gesture Kyoya didn't recognize, but the twins apparently did.
"Okay, we're here!" they cried.
Kyoya allowed them to spin him around, he didn't really care to ask questions anymore and figured the best thing to do was just grin and bear it until Tamaki's stupid game was finished. Upon turning around, Kyoya sought out Hunny-senpai and felt that pain in his head grow three times worse as he took in the smiling Hunny's black wig and fake glasses.
"Look at me!" he shouted, cheerful and bubbly as ever. "I'm little Kyo-chan and it's Christmas, and that means CAKE! Hooraaa-"
He was cut off by more of Tamaki's frenzied waving. He was also mouthing something furiously as Hunny, who watched intently as if he could actually make out what Tamaki was trying to say (Kyoya doubted that) and then nodded.
"Oh, okay," Hunny said before clearing his throat and scowling deeply. "I mean, grrr! I'm little Kyo-chan and I hate Christmas. And I also hate cakes and bunnies and smiling, that's why I'm Kyo-chan!"
"Should I be offended by this?" Kyoya thought aloud.
"I think Christmas is silly," Hunny went on as he began to march around the room. "I have too much work to do, so I'm not going to have any fun today. I'm just going to work and work and work and work and work!"
"Kyoya!"
The new voice drew everyone's attention. It's owner, a dark haired woman in her mid twenties, entered the room with an apron over her clothes and a warm smile. Kyoya's jaw almost fell when he saw her.
"Fuyumi," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Matsu-san and I were in town and decided to drop in for a surprise visit," his sister explained. "I ran into your little friends and they asked me to help with their show. Is it true you refused to let them decorate your club room for Christmas? That's not very nice of you, Kyoya."
'Psst' "Fuyumi-san," Tamaki came up behind her and began whispering in her ear. Fuyumi suddenly went red with embarrassment.
"Oh, sorry," she muttered back, earning a forgiving nod from Tamaki. "Sorry, Kyoya, we can't talk right now, I have to stay in character."
Like Hunny-senpai, she took a moment to clear her throat before getting back into the performance.
"Kyoya, sweetie," she said to the tiny 'Kyoya,' who was still walking around the room with his nose in the air like he was the owner of everything and everyone present. "It's almost Christmas, aren't you excited about celebrating?"
"No!" Hunny shouted back. "I do not like Christmas because I am Kyoya!"
He then left the room with incredibly stiff steps that reminded the actual Kyoya of an army recruit.
"There, see?" the twins asked.
"See what?" Kyoya responded.
"See how miserable you were on Christmas day?" they explained. "Doesn't it make you want to change your ways and embrace the Holiday season?"
"No."
"…okay," they collectively shrugged. "Then you'll just have to meet the next ghost!"
They let go of Kyoya's arms, much to his relief, and slowly left the room. Walking backwards, they let out low moans and waved their arms in a ghostly fashion. Kyoya was unfazed, and the desire to call security was growing at an alarming rate. Hunny-senpai and Fuyumi left as well, the latter stopping briefly to smile at her younger brother. Once they were gone, Kyoya could hear more talking, mostly Tamaki and yet another familiar female voice.
Moments later, Tamaki reappeared, pushing and extremely unhappy looking Haruhi Fujioka inside. Like Hikaru and Kaoru, she had been forced into a poorly made costume, this time a green bathrobe with a tangled mess of flowers atop her head, likely meant to be a crown. She was close to setting the room on fire with the intensity of her glare, Kyoya's only wish was that she would direct at a certain blonde idiot rather than himself.
"So, he dragged you into this too, huh, Haruhi?"
"Let's just get this over with," she answered in a low, dangerous voice. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Present, and-"
"Haruhi, that's not right," Tamaki's head poked out into the room again. "You're supposed to be joyful and happy. Come on, give us a laugh! HO HO HO!"
Haruhi glared out the corner of her eye at him, then back at Kyoya. She ground her teeth, a hissing sound releasing from her mouth as a single word fell past her lips.
"Ho."
In an instant, Tamaki had gasped dramatically, sprinted into the room, and grabbed Haruhi into a hug, spinning her around and ignoring her cries of protest.
"OH, HARUHI, THAT WAS AMAZING," he screamed. "YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD LITTLE ACTRESS! THEY SHOULD GIVE YOU AND OSCAR! THEY SHOULD GIVE YOU TWELVE OSCARS! DADDY IS SO PROUD OF YOU!"
Through the barrage of 'fatherly' love, Haruhi somehow managed to free herself and stumble away from Tamaki, brushing off flour that now conspicuously stained her robe. Hikaru and Kaoru took care drag Tamaki away screaming, before he could do anything else. Haruhi was unable, in the end, to remove all the flour, but gave up early anyway and sighed loud and long.
"Alright, here's your Christmas present," she droned on and dimissively waved at the doorway. Hunny-senpai, still dressed in his ridiculous Kyoya costume ran back in.
"I'm Kyo-chan," he announced, this time in a deep voice that was several octave lower than Hunny should have been able to manage. "It's Christmas, but I don't care! I'm just going to sit in my room all alone and do work while all my friends open presents and eat cake and sing songs and eat cake and build snowmen and eat cake without me, because I'm Kyo-chan!"
He struck a pose upon finishing, for some strange reason. Nobody besides the two of them were even watching at the moment. Kyoya dimly wondered where Mori-senpai was right now.
"And that's your present," Haruhi surmised with a curt nod. "Now I'm going home."
"Do you need a ride?" Kyoya asked as she wordlessly bypassed Hunny-senpai on her way to the door.
"Nah, I'll be fine," she answered. "Hikaru and Kaoru already offered to take me."
Kyoya nodded back. Haruhi swiftly exited the room, her footsteps echoing as she walked further down the tiled floors of the hallway. They were drowned out when a blur of white shot past Kyoya's line of sight and ran after her.
"HARUHI, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? YOU CAN'T LEAVE YET, YOUR PART'S NOT FINISHED!"
Haruhi gave an answer, but she was too far away at this point for Kyoya to hear it. Whatever it was, it did nothing to appease Tamaki as the flour covered idiot began to scream louder. Kyoya massaged his temples, though it did little to dull the ever increasing pain he was experiencing. Odds were that it wouldn't until another major pain was finally taken care of.
One that note, Kyoya's room was again invaded, this time by a tall figure wearing a black cloak that covered his face and body completely. What would have frightened to death a lesser man, merely made Kyoya raise an eyebrow.
"Mori-senpai, I presume?"
"Yeah," the flat voice of Mori took away much of his outfit's intimidation, as well as alerting Hunny-senpai to his presence.
"Oh, are we doing the future now?" he asked himself more than her fellow Hosts. "Okay, give me a second!"
Hunny turned away from them, covering his face with his hands for further protection. He took a few deep breaths, and ever so slowly straightened back up, revealing… the exact same face he'd been wearing for the 'present.'
"I'm future Kyo-chan!" he all but shouted this time. "I never ever celebrated Christmas with my friends, and now I'm all alone for the holiday with nothing to do! But it's okay, because I still have my work to do, and that's all I need because I'm Kyo-chan."
Kyoya pursed his lips as Hunny-senpai finished his speech.
"So, basically," he said. "My future is exactly the same as my present."
Hunny-senpai relaxed, going back to his usual, chipper demeanor, which was only slightly hurt by his exaggerated sad face.
"Well, you don't really want to be alone for Christmas, do you, Kyo-chan?"
Kyoya eyeballed him, briefly turning his gaze to Mori and finding him standing very still with his arms at his sides and generally looking as unthreatening as possible without outright removing the hood. He exhaled hard.
"Alright," he said. "I've had enough. I'm going to use the bathroom, and I ask that you and the others please go home. Thank you for your concern, but I'm just fine."
He exited out into the hall before any response could be given. He doubted there was any way Hunny or Mori-senpai could answer that. Kyoya's ears picked up talking somewhere down further, but he ignored it and entered the bathroom, closing and locking the door tight behind him.
Several minutes later, Kyoya was rinsing his hands of lavender scented soap and drying them on a nearby washcloth. The murmur of voices were becoming louder all of a sudden, but he was loathe to leave the bathroom and deal with more of Tamaki's little play.
'What is he trying to accomplish with all this anyway?' Kyoya thought to himself, his inner voice carrying a great deal of bite.
He was still pondering this when the voices of his sister and fellow hosts came fully into earshot.
"…not really a big deal, boss."
"If he doesn't want to celebrate, then leave it. It's his business, after all."
Someone, most likely Tamaki, sighed as the twins words faded away.
"I know that, but…" he paused. "I just want us all to be together for Christmas. Have fun, sing songs, exchange gifts-"
"And eat cake!"
"Right, that too. And when I say all of us, that included Kyoya. I just want him to be happy and enjoy the holidays. He works himself so hard all the time, he deserves a break every now and then. What better a time than now, when everyone is supposed to be happy with the people who love and care about them?"
As he finished his speech, female sniffling was heard.
"Oh, Tamaki-san, that was so sweet. You really are a good friend to my little brother."
"Thanks, Fuyumi-san."
If anyone spoke after that, it didn't reach Kyoya's ears. He was too focused on his reflection, and Tamaki's words dancing around his skull in an endless loop. Something dropped in the pit of his stomach, something unpleasant and worse than that headache. In fact, Kyoya didn't really feel much of it anymore. How odd.
He inhaled slowly, his head tilting of it's own violation as Tamaki's voice was joined by his face, grinning that silly grin of his and holding out a hand for him to take.
"Idiot," Kyoya muttered to himself, but the name didn't hold very much weight at the moment. He wasn't even entirely sure whom he was addressing.
Sparing not one more glance at his mirror image, Kyoya grasped the door handle and pushed it open. His friends were revealed to him immediately, standing on the other side f the hall with their backs to him. Kyoya stepped out, coming up behind them and placing a hand on Tamaki's shoulder, heedless of the flour.
"Wait," he called out needlessly. Tamaki had stopped in his tracks as soon as he felt the weight of Kyoya's hand. The others quickly followed suit, and Kyoya was momentarily surprised to see that Haruhi hadn't left yet.
Tamaki turned his head first, then the rest of his body. He looked at Kyoya expectantly, and Kyoya answered with a small smile.
"I've been thinking," he said. "And I think I understand now what you and the… spirits here were trying to teach me."
Tamaki blinked. "…really?"
"Really," Kyoya answered. "In fact, I think I will spend Christmas with my friends after all."
The look on Tamaki's face was priceless. Kyoya half-wished he had a camera handy. Their clients would probably get a kick out of Tamaki's wide-eyed, childish glee as he gave a loud cheer.
"That's wonderful, I'm so happy," Tamaki shouted. "So then, you'll open the presents we got you?"
"Yes, I will."
"And you'll have Christmas dinner and cake with us?"
"Of course."
"And you'll get us a fireplace installed in the club room so we can put our shoes next to it?"
"Don't push it."
"Right… sorry."
Tamaki rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, chuckling to himself while the rest of the club looked on in amusement and bewilderment. It was some time before Tamaki remembered the role he was supposed to be playing, but when he did, his smile was gone and his arm was done before anyone knew what had happened.
"I-I mean GOOD!" his shouted made Hunny-senpai and the twins jump, but didn't affect anyone else. "You have learned your lesson and the true meaning of Christmas! Now go, Kyoya Ootori, and spread Christmas cheer to the world!"
"I promise," Kyoya answered.
Tamaki's smile returned, if a bit softer than before. Then, with a final wave of his hand, he and the other began to take their leave. As Kyoya walked past the threshold of his bedroom door, he could hear Tamaki going on about how happy he was, and how eager he was to get out of his flour covered clothes and into the shower, as the flour was starting to get in his eyes.
"And that's why we refused to wear it, boss," the twins answered.
Kyoya listened to them go until their voice and footfalls faded completely. He closed his eyes and opened them again, letting out a sigh as he pulled the cell phone from his pocket and began dialing.
"Nice job, Tamaki," he muttered the corners of his lips tugging upwards. "Now I'm going to be up all night with this."
Kyoya sat alone in the club room the next day. His legs were cross one over the other, his notebook was in his laps and his pen was moving along the page, forming words and figures and sentences. He was the picture of an apathetic Shadow King, but on the inside, he was more excited than he ever thought he could be about something. His eyes strayed to the wide, double doors, his patience starting to wear thin. Shouldn't they have been here by now?
Predictably, he heard a tell-tale creak seconds after thinking this. Kyoya calmly sat up in his chair and closed the notebook, storing it away for future use. He remained in place, wanting to look cool and collected when the others walked in and saw the club room.
Tamaki was the first to enter. He was laughing at something Hunny-senpai had said and didn't fully take in what he was seeing until almost everyone else had. When his jaw dropped and his eyes bugged out, Kyoya couldn't resist a knowing smile.
"Good afternoon, everyone," he greeted them casually. "How do you like our Christmas tree?"
Smile still in place, Kyoya's eyes wandered to the decorated fir tree precariously placed in the center of the room. Sculpted angel babies and happy red and green stars adorned it's many branches. Figurines depicted various incarnations of Santa Claus from around the world, and rested beside snowmen and candy canes and any other holiday items Kyoya's many contacts had been able to gather together. A star shined at the very top, perfectly completing the picture.
Kyoya stood and did a side step, so that he was directly beside Tamaki as the latter continued to gawk at the tree.
"Wha- wha-" Tamaki was mumbling.
"How did you get this?" Haruhi spoke up.
Kyoya felt the weight of his barely three hour sleep at hearing this, but shook it off.
"I made some calls," he answered vaguely. "It's not too hard if you know the right people."
"And of course you do," the twins said together under their breath.
"Kyoya," Tamaki, it seemed, had regained his ability to speak, and directed his shocked look to his best friend. "You- you didn't have to-"
"Yes, I did," Kyoya interrupted, his voice hard and leaving no room for arguments. He could have followed that up with a long speech about how sorry he was and how he knew he'd been wrong to act so cold and indifferent and how much he looked forward to a nice Christmas with his very best friends, but one look at Tamaki's face and Kyoya knew he didn't have to.
They shared a smile, speaking volumes without even opening their mouths. Then Tamaki turned away and gave and exaggerated yawn.
"This sure is great of you, Kyoya," he said while walking around the width of the tree, admiring the top notch decorating job. "It's almost like some supernatural force taught you the true meaning of the holiday season. Not that we'd know anything about that, right guys?"
Kyoya's smile became a smirk as the rest of the club either rolled their eyes or stifled back laughter. For his part, Kyoya just shook his head and went to sit back down and get back to his figuring. He'd have to get it done fast if he wanted to give everyone their presents before the girls arrived.
"Kyoya was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more! And to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old city knew, or any good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them, his own heart laughed, and that was enough for-"
"Hey, boss," Hikaru said, coming up behind Tamaki alongside Kaoru. "What are you doing?"
"And who are you talking to?" Kaoru asked, searching for some invisible audience Tamaki might be addressing.
"I'm trying to do the closing narration," the miffed Tamaki answered. "It's traditional! And it would be great if you two doppelgangers didn't get in the way."
"Well, I don't really see how any of that stuff fits in this story," Hikaru shrugged. "For one thing, we didn't have a Tiny Time character."
"Hunny-senpai is pretty tiny for his age," Kaoru said to himself. "But otherwise, he doesn't really fit."
"Plus, nobody besides us knows about any of this, so how could anyone laugh or notice a difference or anything like that?"
"I mean, we've already pretty much butchered the whole story, why start being faithful now?"
"Also, I think you may have skipped a section."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Tamaki exploded, the twin's criticisms finally pushing him over the edge.
He proceeded to scream at them, figurative fire streaming from his mouth. The twins were both unfazed and eager to goad him on, responded to his shouts and accusations with cool sarcasm and indirect insults that all achieved their goal of further enraging Tamaki.
Watching the spectacle was Haruhi, leaning against a pillar and slowly eating a tiny sliver of cake. She brought the fork to her mouth, but paused to sigh and shake her head at the ridiculous boys she called her friends. With an ironic smile, she looked away, and spoke to the air with dripping sarcasm.
"God bless us, Everyone."