this was written for polka-san for a buddyfight secret santa! thought i could share this here too, so enjoy :9

1 Mistletoe

Gao's head rises when he hears the sound of footsteps. He recognizes those steps; it's not hard to memorize the way someone walks, especially when you've been living with that person for years.

Before long the door to the room opens and Tasuku walks in.

"Hey." Gao greets with a smile.

"Hey. How's the search going on your side?" Tasuku asks, closing the door behind him.

Gao shrugs a little and turns around to look at the clutter on the floor around him. "I've emptied a lot of the boxes and now there's dust everywhere. Maybe I should've worn a mask… Do we really need those Halloween decorations though? Can't we just buy new ones?"

He can hear Tasuku chuckle. "Don't be silly. We can still use some of the ones from last year, it'll save us money. Besides, look at what I found in the other room."

Gao looks back at Tasuku, and was about to ask what the other found, when he sees it dangling over their heads pinched between Tasuku's fingers.

It's mistletoe.

An amused grin appears on his face. He touches the fake mistletoe and locks eyes with the other. He says, "Christmas is still months away, Tasuku."

"Oh, really?" Tasuku says, as if doubting Gao's words, and inches closer to the other man with a playful smile. "Surely something like that doesn't matter, right?"

Gao takes the mistletoe away and smirks. "Not one bit."

He gives Tasuku a deep kiss.

2 Hot Chocolate

Tasuku wakes up to find himself on the desk in his office room.

Oh, he fell asleep working again.

The man yawns and stretches. Something slips off his shoulders and he realizes its Gao's jacket. He smiles softly and picks the garment up, noting from the digital clock on his desk that it's entering nighttime. Seems like today is about to get colder.

He rubs his eyes as he leaves his office in search of his lover. Tasuku hears some noise coming from the kitchen and he makes his way there.

"Gao—" he starts as he enters the kitchen but stops immediately at the sight. "…Are you making hot chocolate?"

The redhead grins at him. "Good morning to you too, Sleeping Beauty. Would you like marshmallows in yours?"

Tasuku feels his cheeks burn at the nickname and wills himself to calm down. He nods his head and slowly takes a seat at the kitchen counter.

"I thought you didn't like hot chocolate," Tasuku says. He notices one of the mugs have chocolate stains around the rim—a clear sign that Gao must've drank his already.

Gao shrugs as he takes out the bag containing the marshmallows from the cupboard. "I felt like having some," he says and begins to plop the marshmallows into the second untouched mug of hot chocolate.

Tasuku starts counting.

"…Did you just put ten marshmallows into mine?"

Gao laughs. "I know you love them so you can't complain."

Tasuku shakes his head but he laughs too.

3 Snow

Damn it, he's cold.

Gao shivers under his coat. It should not be this cold. It should be illegal to be this cold. What kind of weather is this? Why did Tasuku even want to go out on a day like this? Why can't they just snuggle inside under blankets? He can feel himself basically turning into an ice lolly.

He stops walking at the entrance of the park and turns his head around, looking for a familiar tuft of sky blue hair. He's supposed to meet him here for their date. And he's determined to find him soon because the sooner he finds him the sooner he can cuddle with him for warmth.

He sees Tasuku sitting on a frozen bench, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Gao feels his lips tug into a smile and he breaks into an eager run towards his boyfriend.

Big mistake.

"Tasuku!" he calls out. But just as Tasuku raises his head and waves at him with a smile, Gao's feet decides to slip.

He falls forward and gets a mouthful of snow.

"Gao, are you okay?!" he hears the other teenager from above him, no doubt surprised and worried. Gao pushes himself up and shivers again. Damn, not only did that hurt and it was embarrassing, his clothes got wet too.

"I-I'm f-fine," he stutters and tries to put up a grin.

"We can't go into town with you like this," Tasuku sighs, obviously not buying it, and dusts some snow off his boyfriend's hair. "Come on, let's go to my place. I don't want you catching a cold."

Gao's face lit up like Christmas lights.

4 Candy Canes

Tasuku blinks.

"Gao, what are you doing?"

He had been reading a novel on the living room couch, when Gao suddenly took the book out of his hands. This prompted Tasuku to look at him, and he found Gao holding a candy cane.

Gao grins. "I want to play the pocky game, Christmas style!"

"…It'd take us forever to finish that."

"Yeah, and?" Gao says, still grinning like a little child.

Tasuku sighs with a small smile on his face. "There's no stopping you, is there?"

5 Christmas Tree

Gao can't believe they're arguing over a tree.

He looks over at Tasuku who's sitting at the kitchen island with his head propped up, noting the almost invisible (and cute) pout on his annoyed face. Damn, even when he's mad his husband is good-looking.

Gao almost cuts his finger.

He refocuses on chopping the vegetables, preparing the meals in their house like he always does. He's learnt a number of things or two from his mom and grandmother. Unsurprisingly, Tasuku can't cook to save his life.

The fight began when Gao brought up the Christmas tree as he started on making dinner.

He wanted to have the Christmas tree by the TV, and he was about to talk decorations when Tasuku said he wanted the tree near the balcony doors.

It all went downhill from there.

Their opinions and thoughts clashed and continued for a long while. Thankfully no shouting was involved. It'd be embarrassing if the neighbours heard them. Fighting over the Christmas tree, who does that?

Gao was almost done with the carrots when he feels a pair of arms snake around his waist. He almost jumps out of his skin.

"Tasuku…?"

Gao feels the other rest his chin on his shoulder.

"God, what do I do with you?" Tasuku whispers. "This year we'll have it your way. The tree is mine next year. We'll take turns until we grow old and wrinkly, okay?"

The redhead can't help a laugh. That plan, in his opinion, is perfect.

6 Angel

"Hey Gao?"

"Hm?"

"Did you know that on the 25th of December every year, the gates of Heaven open and the angels come down to Earth for the entire day?"

"For the entire day, huh? What do they do down here?"

"I'm not sure… But it's interesting, isn't it?"

"You bet. Do you think one of them will visit us this Christmas?"

"Who knows…?"

All I know, Tasuku thinks, is that I have my own angel with me all the time.

7 Pie

There's a quaint little café a bit uptown that Gao likes to frequent.

Curious as to why their best friend likes that café a lot, Kuguru and Baku agree to do a little investigation. Because each time they ask Gao directly, he answers, "The pies there are awesome!" and they don't buy that at all.

So on that one winter day, when Gao says he's too busy to hang out with them (again), they throw on disguises (Baku found himself a fake moustache and beard while Kuguru was left with a big wig) and head off towards the café in hopes of finally breaking the mystery to Gao's mild obsession.

When they get there, Gao is nowhere to be seen and they have no choice but to wait inside for him. A waiter comes by their table—sky blue hair, red eyes and a charming smile. He welcomes them to their humble coffeehouse and hands them their menus.

If he notices that Baku's beard is falling off or that Kuguru's wig is in a weird angle, he doesn't let on.

They each order their own drinks and wait while sipping the warm beverages. There are not a lot of people in the premises; in fact it's like another lazy day. The number of current customers can be counted with one hand.

The Christmas decorations are not too heavy or suffocating, just the right amount of holiday cheer to accompany the place's English country style. Baku and Kuguru can see the appeal in the place, but they still can't see why Gao would come here a little too often.

It doesn't feel like it suits his style.

Speak of the devil, the door jingles open and Gao walks in with a mighty grin on his face. They scramble for the newspaper they brought with them and hide between the big pages, just in case Gao recognizes them. When they're sure they're safe, they take a peek.

Gao is talking to the waiter from earlier by the counter and from the looks of it, they're intimate with one another. The waiter takes hold of Gao's hand, says something with a wink and Gao instantly turns bright red.

Ooooh, so that's why.

8 Tinsel

Tasuku wonders what he's gotten himself into.

"G-Gao, p-p-please s-stop!" he squeaks in between laughs and attempts at breathing.

Gao doesn't stop. He's more than likely enjoying himself. He continues with his assault of tickles, attacking the areas he knows are ticklish as he sits on Tasuku's legs to prevent escape.

By then, Tasuku is laughing so hard he's beginning to cry.

Tasuku continues to beg, trying to get Gao to listen to him and stop, but for some reason Gao is really stubborn today and is adamant on making Tasuku laugh as much as he can, even if it's by tickling.

"P-Please, I c-can't breathe!"

Gao reduces the effort he puts into the attack and chuckles. Tasuku can feel the weight in his legs disappear as Gao scoots away from him, giving him space to breathe and regain his composure.

But it doesn't take long for Tasuku to recover.

He throws himself up and against Gao, catching him by surprise that they both tumble onto the sofa. A box they left on the headrest loses its balance and drops multicoloured tinsel on them.

Covered from head to toe in shiny tinsel, it's safe to say they look ready for the holidays.

9 Ice skating

You think he'd be good at this.

Gao can't even remember whose idea it was—probably his own, or Drum's—but here they are, at the frozen lake and trying to skate.

Keyword: trying.

At least, to his guilty pleasure, Tasuku is just as bad at it as he is. You'd think flying with Jack's Buddy Skill would give him ice skating abilities.

They're both clinging onto each other's arms and attempting smooth sailing but nothing they do seems to work. From start till now they've been doing nothing but land on top of each other.

If this is Drum's and Jack's idea of trying to get them closer to each other, it's working—in a literal way.

The two teens have only begun dating when Gao entered junior high school. They haven't done much yet—just the occasional hand holding in public. Their relationship is pretty known throughout their respective schools by now but because they haven't done much more than that, there are still admirers running around hoping they'd call it off.

They can continue hoping for as long as they like, Gao thinks.

Gao lets himself wander in his thoughts for a little too long, because suddenly he loses his balance. His arms flail around in search of Tasuku and he doesn't know if he did grab Tasuku but he holds on tight anyway. But he still falls and he's dragging whatever he's held onto with him.

When he's sure the ice isn't cracking under him, he opens his eyes and see that Tasuku is doing the same. The blue haired teen is above him, trapping him in between his arms.

At least, this scene isn't so unfamiliar anymore.

They both laugh and Tasuku joins their foreheads. He sighs and says, "We suck at this."

Gao agrees.

10 Frost

When he wakes that morning, it's freezing.

Tasuku shivers visibly. This is beyond cold, it's unbelievable. He pulls back the curtain covering the window by his bed and sees the ice accumulating most of everywhere.

The teen covers himself with his blanket again. He fumbles around his bed for his phone, and finds it under his pillow. He dials a number and the other end answers not too long after.

"Good morning, Tasuku."

He can hear the smile in Gao's voice.

"Mornin'," he says, a bit slurred thanks to his drowsiness. "It's a cold day…"

Gao says, "Yeah, it is, huh? I wish I was there with you right now, snuggled up under blankets and sleeping in."

Tasuku gets out of bed, dragging the blanket with him. He laughs. The warmth in his chest from those words feels better than any jacket.

11 Eggnog

Gao is appalled.

"You never tried eggnog before?" he asks, sounding much surprised.

He watches as Tasuku slowly nods his head, a look of confusion on his face. "Is it that big of a deal…?" he asks.

Gao dramatically pretends he's faint. "Yes, it is! You need to try it man! It's like, really good!" he exclaims overenthusiastically and grabs the other's hands. "Come on, I know a place that makes them taste magical!"

He's hyperbolizing it, yeah, but he can't help it. He needs to show Tasuku the world.

12 Cider

This is his favourite drink.

Tasuku likes it. He likes how it tastes sweet and fizzy. He also likes how energetic it tastes, the rush of sparkle and the intensity of the apple flavour.

It all brings him back to Gao.

Gao is energetic. When he comes at you he's like an impact card. His presence is just as strong as your first sip of the drink, surprising and lasting. Tasuku remembers how he couldn't get Gao out of his mind after their first Buddyfight match against one another.

The teen takes another sip of his cider.

Yep, he's still thinking about Gao.

13 Peppermint

Gao doesn't know what to do with all this candy.

He's won some kind of contest at the mall earlier and now he's got at least three large packets of peppermints.

Drum called dibs on one packet and he's already halfway through eating the peppermints in there, apparently loving it just as much as he loves Suzumi's pudding—calls it a Christmas miracle, or something.

Gao is still pondering on what to do with the other two packets—maybe he can share one packet with his friends and family—when he spots someone familiar in the corner of his eyes.

He turns, and there he is in his school uniform glory, Tasuku.

Gao grins widely. He runs up to the other, not noticing whether Drum is following him or not.

"Hey, Tasuku!" he calls out.

Tasuku turns around and his eyes widen for a moment. But then he smiles too and raises his hand in greeting. "Hey Gao! What a pleasure seeing you here," he says. "Were you out shopping?"

He must've noticed the grocery bags Gao's carrying.

With a sheepish smile, Gao nods. "Yeah, it's for dinner tonight. So what are you up to?"

"Oh, I'm just on my way to pick up some things before I go back to duty," Tasuku says. Just as he's about to say more, Drum comes walking up to them, still chewing on the peppermints. Tasuku's eyes gleam. "Are those… peppermints?" he asks.

Gao notices the shine in Tasuku's eyes. He grins and takes out one of the packets he got. "Yeah, I won a contest earlier and got these as a prize. Here, you can have one!"

Tasuku almost looks hesitant but he takes it. There's a childish light in his excited face. "Wow… Thank you, Gao! These are my favourite!"

That's enough to make Gao's day.

14 Gingerbread

Tasuku's not much of a baker.

He knows that. So when Gao invites him over to the Mikado house to bake Christmas cookies, he's not entirely sure how it'd turn out.

But it'd also be rude if he turned down the invitation, he thinks.

Gao's mom guides them through the steps, with Drum occasionally stealing some cookies or two and Jack not so silently doing the same. Hanako wants to help them and, to their misfortune, creates quite a chaos in the kitchen.

By the end of it, a number of cookies are burned, and the rest turns out good—despite the horrific appearances. At least their gingerbread men look like men.

Needless to say, this becomes a treasured memory for Tasuku.

15 Presents

This is the first time they're exchanging Christmas presents with one another.

And Gao almost loses his head.

He's not entirely sure what to get Tasuku; he feels like nothing is good enough or will put a smile on Tasuku's face.

Drum scowls at him. "Just get it over with already! How hard can it be to get a present for the guy in the first place?!"

"It's not that easy!"

He wants to make an impression. He wants Tasuku to really appreciate the gift and not just pretending he does. Gao can't just walk into the mall and chooses the first thing he sees. It's not right. It's not something he would do, because, really?

Tasuku deserves better.

16 Fireplace

When they first looked at the house, Tasuku could only cave in when Gao saw the fireplace and insisted this is the place for them.

At first, Tasuku didn't see the appeal. It's just a fireplace. Bunch of red rocks put together to make a place where they could have a fire. And when winter comes, they have a kotatsu to keep them warm if needed.

Every time he brings it up, Gao just smiles like he's hiding a big secret.

Then the snow starts to fall, and instead of the kotatsu, Gao pulls him over to the fireplace with a large blanket in hand. He wraps it around them both as they sit on the sofa in front of the fireplace and they're so close together it almost feels like they're in a cocoon.

A really warm, nice, and comforting cocoon.

Tasuku wakes up with a start. He realizes he fell asleep in the warmth of Gao's arms to the sounds of the crackling fireplace.

Okay, he admits it. The fireplace was a good decision.

17 Stockings/socks

Gao can't believe this.

Tasuku got him bright red Christmas socks. The obnoxiously bright red coloured with small mistletoe sprinkled all over them and white fuzzy rims.

It almost sounds unreal, but it is happening right now, at this very moment, in their living room.

Tasuku's holding out the socks to him, with a smile on his face that Tasuku swears is innocent. But Gao knows better. That is not the kind of smile you give to someone you're giving an honest present to.

Gao smiles back. "You can't be serious."

Tasuku pretends to contemplate. "Well, I thought they'd look good on you." His mouth twitches a little.

There. Tasuku's trying not to laugh.

Gao takes the socks. But then he picks up a pillow and hits Tasuku with it. He grins. "Yeah, they'd look real good on me!"

Tasuku laughs and he returns Gao's attack with his own pillow.

18 Cookies (milk)

When Tasuku opens the fridge, he feels his heart sink.

They're out of milk.

Oh no. That's bad.

He's sure there was still some left yesterday. He checked before going to bed. Right now, his only speculation is… Drum.

He doesn't want to point fingers but the food in the fridge does tend to mysteriously disappear right into Drum's stomach. Drum isn't exactly the best liar out there and he knows Gao knows that.

He also knows it would make a mess of the house if the two gets into another argument over food.

So Tasuku closes the fridge and makes a beeline for the front door, passing by the living room where he sees Drum passed out with cookie crumbs on him and an almost empty glass of milk on the table. He chuckles to himself, shrugs on his coat and leaves for the convenience store.

He knows Gao can't get through the day without a glass of milk in the morning.

19 Santa

Gao swears he isn't dreaming.

Here he was, sleeping in his bed, when the knocking woke him up.

At first, he thought nothing of it. He was groggy after all. He wasn't thinking straight. Who would be knocking on their door in the middle of the night, right? It's probably nothing but his imagination.

But the knocking kept coming.

And he knew it wasn't from the door.

Gao sits up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. Drum is by his feet and would probably fall off the bed. He'll pull the dragon off the edge later. For now, he needs to find out who or what is disturbing his sleep.

The glass doors to his balcony shake when the knocking comes again. Whoever it is, they sure are persistent. Wait, why are they even on the balcony?!

He pulls the curtains aside and there, standing with a gigantic white beard on his face and a Christmas hat on his head, is Tasuku Ryuenji.

Gao almost falls back in shock.

"What the hell man?" Gao mumbles to himself as he unlocks the door. "Tasuku, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night? It's freezing! Where's Jack?" he asks once the door is open and cold air is blowing in.

There's an amused glint in Tasuku's red eyes.

"Tasuku? Whoever is Tasuku? I'm Santa Claus!"

"…Say what now."

He's almost afraid Tasuku's going to take off his Buddy Police uniform to reveal a bright red Santa suit. It doesn't happen, thankfully.

"Fear not, Gao Mikado, for I come bearing a gift," the Santa-Who's-Obviously-Not-Tasuku says and conjures up a wrapped up gift from behind him. "Merry Christmas!"

"Um…" Gao blinks. He takes the present. "Thanks…?"

Well, Tasuku's not wrong. It is past midnight on the 25th of December.

That still doesn't explain what he's doing here pretending he's Santa!

But before Gao can say anything more, Tasuku leans in and kisses him on the cheek. He activates his Buddy Skill and floats off the ground. "Have a nice Christmas!" Tasuku says, winks, and flies away in the direction that Gao assumes where Jack is, if the sound of flapping wings is any indication.

Gao stands there unmoving, still trying to figure out whether this is all a dream or reality. The gift in his hands says it's the latter.

He turns bright red. Gao covers his face with his hand. "God damn it Tasuku…!"

20 Sled

Tasuku feels like a kid again.

Gao found a sled in their storeroom while they were cleaning and of course, they have to take a ride. The poor thing's been in there for ages! It deserves to be used again, at least once!

…Is what Gao said.

And, of course, the person to do the honour is Tasuku.

It wasn't like he volunteered. Gao wanted him to. And he can't really say no when Gao makes that cute excited face of his. Besides, what harm can sledding do?

It still doesn't stop Tasuku from being nervous the moment he sits on it. That hill looks steep for some reason. Gulp.

He can't remember the last time he went sledding. Or has he ever been on a sled before at all? He can't remember. Is he supposed to hold the reins? Does the course change if he pulls on them? What exactly is he supposed to do? He should've watched some videos on this or something.

And why is Gao getting on too?!

"Isn't this a little too small for the both of us?!" Tasuku nearly shouts.

"Oh come on, it'll be fine! Scooch forward a bit."

"Gao, I really don't think this is a good idea—AAAAH!"

One way or another the sled got out of balance. And now they're going down the hill at top speed.

21 Snowman

Gao can tell Tasuku has no control over the sled.

When they had an unexpected kickoff earlier (which was entirely not Gao's fault, he swears), both he and Tasuku had yelled. Two adult men, riding a small sleigh and yelling. Real smooth of them.

He's surprised he hasn't fallen yet, but considering he's latched himself onto Tasuku tightly, he'd be more surprised if he did fall.

Their sleigh wobbles left and right, going down the hill at a blurring speed. The cold wind bites at their faces and snow flies everywhere. Why did he decide it'd be fun to do this from the top of the tallest hill in the park?!

"We're gonna crash!" he hears Tasuku shout and he opens his eyes (when did he close them?!) just in time to see the snowman up ahead.

The impact launches them forward and before he knows it, they're both buried in snow. Gao groans and he hears Tasuku groan in pain beside him too.

This is not how he wanted the day to turn out.

22 Jingle Bells/Sleigh Bells

The chimes he hears are calming.

Tasuku knows, that for some people, these bells sound annoying. But to him, he'd rather hear nothing else on Christmas than these bells.

They make Tasuku feel cheerful, for one thing. It's like he gets energy from the bells. He gets energy to do things. It also eases his mind and calms his nerves. And Gao is always more than willing to help him make noise in the early morning when the day of the holidays comes.

Do their neighbours appreciate it? Maybe.

23 Carols

They'll sing to their hearts' content.

Gao likes that, how he can excitedly belt out Jingle Bells and Tasuku won't get mad at him. In fact, sometimes the older one of them would join in the parade of celebrations, just not as often or as enthusiastic as his partner.

Sometimes, when they were still kids, they'd go from house to house and sing carols for others. Gao's friends would drop by and join them on occasions (especially Tetsuya, but he raps new Christmas beats instead) and it's all fun and good times.

Now they just randomly sing off-key and it's still the same fun.

24 Chestnuts

He feels like a king.

Not that Tasuku minds. Being able to rest his head on Gao's lap is a rare opportunity. Having Gao feed him roasted chestnuts while they're at it? Oh, the joy.

Gao pops another chestnut into Tasuku's mouth. He chuckles and Gao gives him a look. "Why are you laughing?" he asks.

Tasuku smiles as he plays with a strand of Gao's hair, staring right into the other's golden eyes. "…Nothing. I'm just admiring the view."

Gao says nothing in return but there's pink on his cheeks.

Yep, Tasuku definitely likes the view.

25 Christmas Music/Movies

Lady Suzuha likes holding Christmas parties.

She's having one right now, in her private floating castle. Everyone that's here today was invited privately and quite a number of them are famous people.

Or, just the people that she likes in general.

'Baby It's Cold Outside' echo gently throughout the ballroom as Lady Suzuha looks around at how well her party is going. The food is marvellous, the guests are wonderful and everyone is having a good time. That's good, that's exactly what she wished to give.

As she reaches the dancing area, she sees two men in the centre of the crowd's attention.

It's Tasuku and Gao, both of them looking stunningly handsome in formal attire.

A smile appears on her face as she watches them dance, standing close to each other with their arms around one another. Tasuku seems to be leading the dance as he guides Gao from one side to the other.

They're both staring into each other's eyes as if they don't even notice the number of people watching them. Gao leans up to whisper something and Tasuku laughs before he kisses him on the lips.

They're engrossed in their own little world.

"My, my, those lovebirds." Lady Suzuha says. "Honestly, if they don't get married soon I might just start a riot."