"I don't know, sometimes I feel like the break is longer than it needs to be." Nitori plopped another jacket into his bag before climbing down the ladder to reach the dresser.

"That's because most people enjoy the winter holidays." Rin zipped the main section of his suitcase. "Especially Christmas."

Nitori nodded, pulling out a pair of sweatpants that he hadn't worn all year. "I get it, I get it. But come on, senpai." Nitori tossed the pants into his bag anyway, just in case. "Don't you celebrate it like, every year?"

"Obviously." Rin dropped into the seat at his desk. "But don't you celebrate your birthday every year? Do you get sick of that?"

Nitori paused to stare at Rin. "You don't get sick of people buying you cake and singing to you while you look around the room uncomfortably? People who hardly know you trying to make you feel special all day by doing things that they think you like, but you definitely don't?" Nitori returned to his dresser, snagging a single sock. "I mean – you don't even get to eat the cake for yourself! Your family eats most of it."

Despite how offputting this was, Rin couldn't help grinning a bit. "You are surprisingly morbid, you know that?"

"Yes."

"Get in the Christmas spirit!" Rin shouted. "You get presents, and you can hang out with family, and you get presents. Also, it might snow!"

"Uh huh." Nitori nodded, sitting on Rin's bed. "I mean, maybe it's better for you. You live here."

"What?" Rin asked, suddenly piping up.

Nitori huffed. "I don't exactly live nearby." Nitori looked up to Rin. "But you knew that, right?"

Rin stared at Nitori, nodding slowly out of self defense. "Uh, duh. I totally knew that. I knew that completely."

"Of course you did." Nitori smiled, standing as he walked to his desk, staring at the mess he had accumulated over the year. "I love the people back home and all, but you guys are my friends now."

"Then you should stay with us over the break." Rin just kind of blurted that out.

Nitori raised a brow, leaning against his desk chair. "And skip out on my family?"

"Tell them to come here!"

"Senpai." Nitori chuckled, going back to his dresser. "It's a bit short notice for that, and I highly doubt it would happen anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Rin stood up, dragging his suitcase over to the front door. "I'll get you, Nitori. You'll feel the Christmas spirit if it's the last thing I do."

"My flight is already booked, there is nothing we can do."

"You don't have to be here to enjoy Christmas."

"If you say so." Nitori gathered a mass of tshirts into his arms, hauling them over to the base of the ladder where he dropped them. He did not know how to get them up the ladder. "How do we make this happen?"

Rin shook his head, leaning against the wall. "This is just break, Nitori. You don't have to take your entire wardrobe with you."

"But I don't know what's in style back home!"

"It's freezing outside; I assure that you will not be in need of any tshirts, much less a thousand."

"But I might-"

"No!'

"Senpai." Nitori whined, dramatically dropping to his knees and faceplanting in the pile of shirts. "I need it."

"No, you do not." Rin pushed of of the wall, hefting Nitori up before he mounted the ladder. "You're sixteen years old. I should not have to do this for you."

"Senpai, what are you-" Nitori's complaints were met with a mass of shorts, tshirts, and sandals to the face. He could not believe this.

"I am helping you." Rin muttered, continuing to sort through his roommate's bag.

In retaliation, Nitori dashed to the front door, slamming into the wall as he grabbed Rin's suitcase and threw it open. "Then allow me to help you too!"

"Hey – hey what-" Rin span around on the top bunk to face the younger boy. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING."

All of the lycra. Nitori was holding all of the lycra in his hands. He was throwing it everywhere. It was raining lycra. "Eight swimsuits? What? One for each day of the week – plus one in case you go twice one day?"

"THAT IS NOT FAIR."

"IT'S TOO COLD TO GO SWIMMING."

"INDOOR POOLS EXIST!"

Nitori zipped the bag shut. "Huh, if only I had considered that before."

"That's it." Rin jumped form the top bunk with a grace of a spidermonkey, and charged at his roommate.

"Senpai, no. No." Nitori tried to get to his feet and scramble away, screaming. "NO NO NO NO NO DON'T-'

Too late. Rin took him down. Nitori was a mass of flailing limbs, and confused whimpering. Rin pinned the boys arms down, straddling him.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Rin grinned, staring into Nitori's very soul.

"Am I supposed to say I'm sorry?" Nitori kicked his legs, trying to worm away from Rin. "I would if I WAS."

"You're asking for this." Rin smirked, leaning his face down to Nitori's.

"Begging for it." Nitori snarked, refusing to back down.

The door swung open. Seijuuro stood there in a pair of sweatpants and a Santa hat, brandishing a manual toothbrush.

"I don't know what this is, nor do I want to." The captain narrowed his eyes at the two roommates.

"No, there's nothing to worry about here." Rin cleared his throat, trying to explain.

Seijuuro shook his head, stopping him. "I didn't say I was worried. Do not try to tell me what this is, because I don't want to know."

"Right." Rin looked down, finally feeling slightly embarrassed.

"What I do know, is that that kid's flight leaves in a couple of hours." Seijuuro gestured to Nitori with his toothbrush. "I need him alive, or else I'll have to explain whatever you do."

"Naturally." Rin nodded.

"So," Seijuuro began backing out of the door. "However far you go, make sure that he likes what you're doing."

Nitori had been silent the whole time, but he finally mumbled out an, "Oh."

"That is not the direction that we were going in." Rin defended himself, his tone even.

Seijuuro shrugged. "It sure looks like it." He turned to look at Nitori. "Ai – remember the safe word."

"Of course." Nitori nodded. "See you, Sei. Happy holidays."

"Thanks, kid." Seijuuro replied, closing the door as he slipped from the room.

The roommates sat in an uncomfortable silence.

"So..." Nitori shrugged, still pinned to the ground. "Yuletide spirit."

"Yeah." Rin nodded. "I'm gonna get you in that."