Disclaimer: I don't own DGM.
Pairing: Kanda/femAllen
Summary: Poor, in love, and trying to survive the festive season.
[A Yuletide Tale]
It's winter, and the fog is everywhere. The afternoon is almost over when Allen walks down an empty street—everyone is still at work and the cold glares of the streetlamps are her only companions. The Christmas decorations are up. Mistletoe wreaths dangle from shop fronts, and tiny bells glisten in brightly-lit display windows.
Allen stops right before a display window. There is a shirt on display—a white shirt, and it would be perfect for Kanda. She enters the shop, looking around at the merchandise on display. She is entirely aware of how her scuffed boots must look against the polished parquet, how the crystal-bright chandelier hanging from the high ceiling calls attention to the wrinkles and darned holes in her blouse.
The salesgirl spots her; she walks slowly to Allen's side. Not bothering to disguise her snobby smile, she cocks her head and asks, "Ma'am, how may I help you? If you're here to answer that job advertisement, I'll get the manager."
Allen forces a smile as she points to the display window. "No, I—how much does that shirt in the window cost?"
"Two hundred pounds, ma'am." The salesgirl leans her weight on one leg and turns her attention to her nails.
Allen has only thirty pounds in her wallet right now, and she has been hoping not to overdraw on her credit facilities this month. But Christmas is right around the corner, and that shirt would be a perfect complement to Kanda's new suit.
Should I get it? Allen wondered. I could always get him something cheaper. Like a huge stock of green tea sachets. But that wouldn't be special, and I want out first Christmas together to be special.
"I'll get it," Allen says. She nods, as if to reassure herself. "I'll get it."
They are poor, and they are in love.
They met at the playground in their early childhood, spent their teenage years quarrelling and fighting with each other, fell in love, and ended up getting married straight after Allen graduated from college.
Allen juggles two waitressing jobs because she can't yet find a decent job in the social work industry, while Kanda has just accepted a poorly-paid position at a non-profit legal outfit. The world has fallen on hard times, and the economists shake their head, but hope comes easily to the young.
And Allen and Kanda are two young people trying to find their way in the world.
They are poor, and they are in love.
They are poor, in love, but alas for them, it is Christmas, the time of giving (and of receiving).
Kanda is not sure what to buy for Allen. A piece of jewellery? A new dress? A great deal of food to satiate her frequent hunger pangs? A holiday, a respite from the gnawing pace of life in the great city of London?
"Get her a hair treatment voucher," Lenalee suggests. "She's getting her hair coloured, right? A hair treatment would be something nice. You should pamper Allen."
"I second that," Lavi says. "It's a good present. Easy peasy!"
Kanda nods. Of course, Lenalee and Lavi have no idea how threadbare his finances are at the moment. Everything is tight for them now. But a hair treatment voucher sounds like a good idea. He wants to make Allen happy since this would be their first Christmas together as a married couple.
A hair treatment voucher it is, then.
"Merry Christmas!" Allen says, throwing her arms around Kanda.
Kanda smiles. "Good morning."
"What's for breakfast?" Allen asks, yawning.
"Your favourite foods."
"Thanks," Allen says, watching as Kanda heaps the food on her plate. Bacon, eggs, sausages, pancakes—with a handsome husband and a warm house to round it up, what more could she ask for?
"I've got a present for you!" Allen says, presently, when she is finished with her food.
"I've got one for you too."
"Here," Allen says, pushing a beautifully wrapped box to Kanda.
Kanda accepts it and hands Allen a small folder.
"You open your present first!" Allen says, smiling widely.
Kanda carefully tears apart the wrapping paper and holds up a white cotton shirt. "Why—?"
"I thought it would look good with your new suit, especially when you have to go to court," Allen says. "Your old shirt is breaking apart. Try it on and see if it fits."
"Thanks," Kanda says. "I—"
"Pardon?"
"Nothing," Kanda says. "Open yours."
Allen flips the folder open. A thin slip of paper falls into her lap, and her eyes widen. "A hair voucher? Thanks, Kanda. This must have cost you a lot..."
"You can use it after you colour your hair."
"Kanda, I—I'm not going to get my hair coloured anymore. I could still use this, though. Thanks! It's the perfect gift."
"Why aren't you going to do the colour anymore?"
"I can't. I don't have enough money for it this month, oops."
"Have you been overspending?"
"I—"
Kanda connects the dots: the new white shirt, Allen's reluctance to elaborate. "You don't have the money because you bought me the shirt."
"No!"
"Don't think you can trick me," Kanda says.
"How did you guess?"
Kanda shrugs.
"I just wanted to make this Christmas a happy one for us," Allen says. "I can always colour my hair another time."
"You wanted it so much... You dislike your natural colour, don't you?"
"Yeah but I can live with it for a while longer," Allen says, taking Kanda's hands in her own. "Now let me see you in that shirt, Kanda. Oh, you might as well bring that suit of yours out and try them all together!"
"I can't."
"You can't what?" Allen asks.
"I don't have the suit."
"Why? Has it been delayed?"
"I cancelled the order," Kanda says.
"Why?"
"To pay for your voucher."
"Kanda, you shouldn't have!"
Kanda puts an arm around Allen's shoulders. "I want out first Christmas together to be happy too."
"I love you," Allen says, and Kanda reaches down to kiss Allen.
When they break apart, Kanda is smiling. "Merry Christmas," he says.
They are poor, in love, and very happy at Christmastime.
A/N: I thought I'd write something for Christmas. This was adapted from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.
Thank you for reading, and may you have a very Merry Christmas! (: