The Warmest of Laughter

by koyukis

In which Chuutarou questions Santa's existence, Soramaru firmly denies it and Tenka is out to prove Soramaru wrong, by dressing up as Santa and getting Soramaru to help him. Or in which Soramaru and Tenka act like the huge dorks they are, Chuutarou is the precious little cinnamon roll he is and everyone gets presents and laughs, like they should be.

Originally uploaded on my AO3 and my DNW Secret Santa gift for tumblr user naokopo. Enjoy!

---

"TEN-NIIII!"

The tiredness on Tenka's face all but dissolved as he saw Chuutarou come running down the hall towards him.

"Yo, Chuuta - oof!"

No sooner had he raised a hand and opened his mouth to respond then Chuutarou ran right into him, barreling into his stomach and wrapping his arms around his waist. Tenka stumbled backwards on impact but managed to keep his balance. Chuutarou meanwhile had buried his face into the front of his shirt.

"Hey, hey." Tenka chuckled and continued in a soothing tone. "What's the matter?"

Chuutarou looked up at his older brother with large, teary eyes. "Ten-nii!" He bawled. "S-Sora-nii says Santa Claus isn't real!"

"HE WHAT?!"

Tenka practically tossed Chuutarou aside and was down the hallway in the blink of an eye.

"Soramaru!" His voice was full of rage as he turned into the open doorway and into the living room, where Soramaru was reclining on the couch. The second son froze at the sight of his older brother, staring with wide eyes. "Wh-What the-"

Tenka was right in front of him in seconds, his face only inches from his. Soramaru could see the outrage clear on his face. "What kind of lies have you been telling our Chuutarou?!"

Soramaru's momentary fear was immediately replaced with confusion then irritation. "Haaa?! Lies?! What do you mean, Aniki?!"

Tenka inched closer. "Santa isn't real?" He said in a dangerously low voice, an eyebrow raised.

Soramaru was stunned into silence before he let out a loud noise of exasperation and rolled his eyes at his brother, shaking his head. "Aniki, Santa Claus doesn't exist-"

"Sshh!" Tenka immediately hushed him, clamping a rough hand over his mouth. "Do you want to die?! Not in front of Chuutarou!"

"Ten-nii?" Chuutarou entered the room, looking on at the scene in confusion.

"Ah, Chuutarou!" Tenka turned his head swiftly to look at the youngest brother, a huge grin plastered on his face while Soramaru was attempting to pry his hand off his mouth. "You don't have to worry anymore, Soramaru won't keep these lies up any longer!"

Soramaru finally managed to pull Tenka's hand away and gasped for air. "A-Aniki!" He glared. "Santa really doesn't exist-"

The hand smothered him once again as Tenka forced a laugh. "Hahaha, Soramaru, what are you talking about, of course Santa's real! Right, Chuutarou?"

"T-Ten-nii!" Chuutarou said in alarm and pointed at Soramaru. "Y-You're suffocating Sora-nii!"

"Is that right?" Tenka laughed, his overly-enthusiastic tone unchanged. "Well then, I hope Sora-nii has learned his lesson or I'm never letting go."

Soramaru said something in what seemed to be frustration, glaring at Tenka.

"Oh I'm sorry, what was that?" Tenka said in a mocking tone, leaning towards Soramaru, who seemed to be cursing at him.

"Ten-nii, stop that!" Chuutarou ran forward and began pulling at Tenka's arm.

Tenka hesitated before sighing and allowing Chuutarou to pull his hand away from Soramaru's mouth. The second brother gasped for air and heaved a deep sigh. Then he turned to Tenka, glaring.

Before Soramaru could say anything, Tenka leaned forward and whispered, "Not another lie about Santa Claus, are we clear?"

Soramaru could only stare at his brother before shaking his head. "Whatever. If you want to believe in some stupid fairy tale, go ahead."

"Sora-nii…" Chuutarou looked teary-eyed again. "Santa is real though…right?"

Before Soramaru could answer, Tenka did it for him, "Of course he's real, Chuutarou! Don't listen to Soramaru, he's never right about anything!"

The last statement earned him a punch at the back of his head from a disgruntled Soramaru, who muttered, "Stupid Aniki."

"B-But…he's really real? And he's really going to come here tonight and leave presents under the tree for us?" Chuutarou continued, his voice hopeful.

Tenka smiled and crouched down in front of Chuutarou so they were eye-level with each other. "Of course, Chuutarou. Santa's going to sneak in tonight and he's going to leave lots of presents under the Christmas tree for you, for me and even for our grumpy little Soramaru over there!" Here, he jerked his thumb at Soramaru over his shoulder who continued glaring at him.

"So don't worry about a thing." Tenka said reassuringly, ruffling Chuutarou's hair. "He'll come, I promise."

The teary expression on Chuutarou's face disappeared and was replaced with a large grin. "Okay!"

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Tenka returned his youngest brother's grin with one of his own. "Where's that sweater you wanted to give him? And weren't you planning to make mochi for Santa with Shirasu? Hurry, he could be arriving any minute now! Better go next door to Shirasu's quickly!"

"Yes, sir!" Chuutarou gave a salute, his usual enthusiasm restored, and ran out of the room, humming a happy tune.

"Oh and why don't you decorate the tree more while you're at it!" Tenka called out to him as he exited.

The moment he was gone, Soramaru turned to look at Tenka, brows furrowed. "You don't actually believe in Santa Claus, do you?"

"Why, Soramaru!" Tenka replied in mock surprise, a hand over his heart. "How dare you even suggest the notion!"

Soramaru rolled his eyes. "Come on, Aniki, face it. Santa isn't real and you're only raising Chuutarou's hopes up for nothing."

"Oh but Soramaru!" Tenka smirked. "Santa is real!"

The younger male raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes!" Tenka nodded his head vigorously. "And he's going to arrive tonight and he's going to deliver presents for you, for me, for Chuutarou, for all of us!"

Soramaru sighed in defeat and shook his head. "Fine, whatever. Just leave me out of your dumb delusions."

"But I can't do that, Soramaru."

Soramaru looked puzzled. "And why is that?"

The moment he took a look at Tenka's face however, he had a feeling he didn't want to know what it was. On the oldest brother's face was a malicious grin that Soramaru had never seen before. His expression had grown dark and he seemed to be chuckling. Soramaru tensed. "Wh-what's with that look?"

"Silly Soramaru…" Tenka said in an intentionally low voice, eyeing his younger brother. "How is Santa going to deliver the presents without your help?"

"What the-" Before Soramaru even had the chance to react, Tenka had clamped a hand over his mouth once again and the other over his eyes. Whatever protest the younger had uttered was lost as Tenka hit him at the back of his neck, knocking him out before dragging him away. By the time Chuutarou returned with a red and green wool sweater over his shoulder, saying that he was going to go over to Shirasu's now, both his brothers were gone.

---

"No way. Absolutely no way in hell!"

"Aww, but Soramaru, I think you'd definitely look cute in-"

The rest of Tenka's sentence was lost as Soramaru punched him hard in the jaw, sending the oldest Kumou stumbling backwards into the wall before crumpling down to the floor.

"No, and that's final!" Soramaru cried, cheeks flushed and expression furious. "Find somebody else to do it for you!"

"Ow…that actually hurt a lot, Soramaru…" Tenka chuckled as he slowly sat up from the floor, rubbing his aching jaw. He grinned at the look on his brother's face. "Come on Soramaru, it's Christmas! And anyway, I promised Chuutarou that Santa would come! You don't want to disappoint him now, do you?" He raised his eyebrows at Soramaru, who threw a headband with deer antlers at him, effectively hitting him square on the forehead.

"What part of N-O do you not understand?!" He cried. "I'm not doing it, Aniki! And maybe you shouldn't have lied to Chuutarou about Santa being real in the first place!"

"But that wasn't a lie." Tenka protested. "Santa's real and he's right here!" He grinned as he pointed a thumb at himself, dressed in a bright red Santa Claus costume, the hat slightly askew on his head. Lying a few feet away was a fake white beard, matching Santa boots and a large sack made out of an old grey bedsheet, full of wrapped presents that Soramaru had no idea how Tenka got the money for.

Or maybe they were just empty boxes wrapped to look like presents and only meant for decoration. There was just no way Tenka would have the money to buy that many presents, Soramaru of all people would know.

Sighing in exasperation, Soramaru began to hastily take off the reindeer suit Tenka had forced him into while he had been unconscious. "Just forget it, Aniki. You can play this charade yourself, just leave me out of it."

"Wait, Soramaru, please!" Tenka pleaded, rising from the floor and appearing in front of Soramaru in seconds. He gripped Soramaru's wrist tightly, forcing him to stop.

"Let go, Aniki!" Soramaru protested, twisting his wrist.

"Please Soramaru, there's no one else I can ask to do this for me!" The older male whined, eyes beginning to look comically teary. "Come on, you're Chuutarou's older brother too! And you're also my little brother! This is the least you could do for me!"

Soramaru raised his eyebrows. "Oh so I'm doing this for you now, and not for Chuutarou like you had told me?"

"For the both of us!" Tenka cried, voice beginning to sound shrill. "It's the least you can do for both me and Chuutarou! Now please just put the costume back on and let me put those antlers on you! Oh and this too!"

The moment he held up the shiny red ball, Soramaru knew that he definitely did not want a part in all this.

"No." He said with a tone of absolute finality before fully stepping out of the reindeer costume and tossing it to Tenka as he made his way to the door.

"W-Wait! No, Soramaruuuu!" Tenka cried, reaching out towards his brother.

Soramaru seemed not to hear as he turned the doorknob and opened the door. He was about to step outside when he suddenly froze and stared wide-eyed out at the landing.

"Sora-nii." Chuutarou said in surprise, standing on the landing with a pile of tinsel in his arms, about to go down the stairs.

"Chuutarou." Soramaru replied, stunned. "W-What are you doing here, I thought you went next door to Shirasu-san to make mochi."

"Yeah, he's doing that right now and he'll bring them over when he's done." Chuutarou answered. "Ten-nii told me to decorate the tree." He gestured to the tinsel in arms before looking curiously up at his brother. "What are you doing in Ten-nii's room?"

For a long moment, all the two brothers could do was stand there and stare at each other in surprise, before Soramaru slammed the door and leaned back against it, a look of shock still on his face.

"What, what is it?" Tenka asked, alarmed.

There was a knock at the door, followed by a few more. "Sora-nii? Ten-nii?" Chuutarou called out from outside. "Are you guys in there?"

The two elder brothers both fell silent and exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"Ten-nii? Sora-nii?" The knocking continued from outside the door before it eventually stopped and they heard Chuutarou's shuffling footsteps getting fainter as he walked away from the door and went down the stairs.

Soramaru hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath until he heard Tenka release a long sigh. "That was close…" his older brother said in a low voice, meeting Soramaru's eyes.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Soramaru finally sighed and said quickly, "Okay fine, I'll do it."

Tenka looked genuinely stunned. "What?"

"I said I'll do it." Soramaru muttered gruffly, looking away with flushed cheeks. "Just don't make me do anything too embarrassing…"

"Really?" The surprise on Tenka's face turned into joy as he practically threw himself at Soramaru, wrapping his arms around his neck and rubbing his cheek against his. "Oh I knew I could depend on you, Soramaru, you're the greatest little brother ever!"

"Okay okay, now please stop, or Chuutarou's going to hear!" Soramaru hissed, attempting to pry Tenka off of him.

Tenka laughed and let go of Soramaru. "Okay then, let's get you back into your costume first and then we can discuss our plans."

Soramaru sighed exasperatedly and ran a hand through his dark hair. "You sure Chuutarou won't suspect a thing after he saw me go out of your room?"

"Oh don't worry!" Tenka said enthusiastically, picking up the reindeer antlers from the floor and plopping them unto Soramaru's head with an excited grin. "Chuutarou won't even know what hit him."

---

"Aniki, hurry up and move already!"

"Patience Rudolph, you don't rush Santa like that - ow!"

"I'm pushing you off if you don't go down there this instant!"

"Okay okay, jeez!" Tenka grumbled, crouching down by the chimney's edge, dressed completely in his Santa costume with the sack of presents slung over a shoulder. Soramaru stood behind him in his reindeer costume, a large bright red ball attached to his nose and reindeer antlers on his head. Tenka had suggested adding reins around his shoulders and maybe even a sleigh but Soramaru had vehemently refused. It was hard (and embarrassing) enough to climb out of Tenka's bedroom window and up to the roof in a reindeer costume, risking being seen by the neighbors, much more if he had done it with a sleigh attached to him.

The two stood there in silence, Tenka staring down into the darkness of the chimney. "Well?" Soramaru crossed his arms over his chest impatiently. "Are you going down there or what?"

Slowly, Tenka turned his head to look at Soramaru and the younger brother was surprised at the frozen terror he saw on his face. "Actually…Soramaru, can you go down before me?"

"Stupid Aniki!" Soramaru struck him across the face. "This was your idea in the first place! We didn't have to go down through the chimney but no, you just had to-!"

"But it's just right for the reindeer to go down before Santa, right?" Tenka whined, suddenly grabbing Soramaru by the shoulders and beginning to shake him. "After all, I'm the one in the sled, the reindeer come before-!"

"Stupid Aniki, get a hold of yourself!" Soramaru raised his voice and his fist, threatening to hit Tenka again. "Dammit, I'm not letting you drag me all the way here just for you to chicken out in the end! Think of Chuutarou or something!"

Tenka stopped and his frightened expression suddenly dissolved to be replaced by one of sheer determination and seriousness. "You're right, Soramaru." He said in a grave voice. "I must be brave. I must conquer my fears. For Chuutarou."

Soramaru was a little irritated at how overly-dramatic his older brother was being but he sighed and started pushing him towards the chimney's edge. "Come on, let's just get this over with."

"O-Oh but Soramaru!" Tenka said hastily, sidestepping out of Soramaru's way and appearing behind his little brother's back. "I still think you should go first, don't you think?"

"What?!" Soramaru turned to look at Tenka, outraged. "What do you mean I should go first?! This was your idea, you go first, stupid Aniki!"

"Ah but you should go first to check if the chimney isn't blocked or something!"

"What does it matter who checks if the chimney is blocked, you go first!"

"No, you, Soramaru!"

"Stupid Aniki, you go first!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"YOU!"

"YOU!"

"Y-!" The rest of the word died on Tenka's lips, his face suddenly paling and a look of pure horror appearing there as he realized that one of his feet was standing over nothing but thin air, the other foot just barely holding on to the chimney's edge.

"S-S-S-SORAMARUUU!" Tenka cried, arms flailing around wildly as he teetered dangerously over the edge. "H-H-H-HELP MEEEE!"

"STUPID ANIKI!" Soramaru cursed as he grabbed for his brother's hand, missing by just a few inches and tripping over his own feet.

The second Kumou brother stumbled forward, bumping into Tenka and pushing him right off the edge. The two had but a split second to realize what had just happened before they both tumbled down the chimney shaft, screaming.

Just as fast as it had happened, it ended, with both brothers landing in a pile in the fireplace, sore and soot-covered. For a moment, the ash-covered pile remained unmoving. Then the one on top began to twitch. Soramaru groaned as he sat up, rubbing his aching arms. Looking down, he was aware of a pile of ash in the vague shape of his older brother, which seemed to be twitching faintly.

"So…ra…ma…ru…" The Tenka-shaped pile of ash whispered faintly. "P-Please…"

"STUPID ANIKI!" He raged, hitting the soot-covered Tenka on the back of his head. "YOU AND YOUR STUPID IDEAS! I'M NEVER GOING TO-"

"Shh!" Tenka hissed, his hand flying to Soramaru's mouth to silence him while he held up a finger to his lips.

"What…" Soramaru faced his brother's wide-eyed gaze with one of confusion before he heard it. Footsteps hurriedly making their way to the living room.

The two immediately jumped into action. "Quick!" Tenka hissed, taking his position beside the Christmas tree, sack of presents slung over a shoulder, while Soramaru went down on all-fours beside him. "Just do it like we practiced!"

The second son had no time to respond before the footsteps were right outside the living room. Just when he realized that it sounded like there were more than one person, three people entered the room.

"What was that noise?" Shirasu said before he noticed Tenka and Soramaru and stopped in his tracks, purple eyes growing wide in surprise as he took in the bizarre sight. Nishiki and Chuutarou were right behind him, both about to ask something before falling silent at the sight that met them.

Soramaru had never wanted to disappear as much as he wanted to now.

It was one thing to be seen like this by Chuutarou. That he could live down. But being seen like this by not only Chuutarou, but by Shirasu and even Nishiki, now that was something it would take a lot of time for him to get over. His face began to burn as his eyes met Nishiki's and he quickly looked away, wanting nothing more than to be out of this stupid costume.

Tenka didn't seem to be as embarrassed as Soramaru. The man has no shame, Soramaru thought bitterly. The eldest Kumou stood there confidently, feet apart and back straight, one hand clutching the sack, the other on his hip. He was grinning through his fake beard and his voice was loud and jovial as he greeted the others, "Yo, merry Christmas, everyone! It's me, Santa Claus!"

Stupid Aniki! Soramaru wanted to punch him again. Like anyone's going to believe you when you say it like that!

And for a moment, there was only silence as Shirasu and Nishiki exchanged looks while Tenka and Soramaru were completely frozen. Shirasu laughed, bringing a hand up to his mouth. "Tenka, what are you-"

Then, much to Soramaru's surprise, Chuutarou stepped forward and looked hopefully up at Tenka. "Santa? Is that really you?" He asked in a voice that was full of wonder.

"Why, yes, Chuutarou, it is me!" Tenka bent down to Chuutarou's eye-level. "And look! I've brought you all presents, just as promised!" He shook the sack in his hand before placing it down on the floor between them.

Chuutarou's eyes began to shine as a large grin spread across his face. "Wow, presents!" He turned to Shirasu and Nishiki excitedly, "Shira-nii, Nishiki-nee, look, presents!"

The blank, calculating look on Shirasu's face turned into a kind smile as he went over to Chuutarou's side. "Wow, there are certainly a lot of them. Do you think there's one for me?" He asked Chuutarou.

"Of course there's one for you!" Tenka answered for him, laughing. He dug around the sack for a moment before producing a present wrapped in silver with a large red bow. "Here 'ya go!" The eldest Kumou handed Shirasu the present with a flourish. "Merry Christmas!"

Shirasu chuckled and took the present with a small nod of his head. "Thank you, Santa." He eyed Tenka for a moment before shaking his head and turning to Nishiki. "Nishiki, come over. I'm sure there's a present for you too."

The half-haired girl hesitated before slowly walking forward to stand in front of Tenka with Shirasu and Chuutarou. She caught Soramaru's eye and looked away, a smile playing at the edges of her lips while her cheeks flushed pink. Soramaru himself was trying his hardest to fight down the embarrassed blush on his face.

"Let's see, Nishiki, Nishiki, Nishiki..." Tenka murmured as he searched through the sack. "Ah, here it is!" He pulled out a purple-wrapped present and gave it to Nishiki, grinning. "Merry Christmas!"

Nishiki accepted the gift with a small smile. "Thank you." She paused, looking uncertain, before chuckling and bringing a hand up to cover her mouth slightly. "Santa."

"Santa, Santa!" Chuutarou was hopping giddily from foot to foot, making circles around Tenka. "Do I get a present too?"

"Why of course!" Tenka cried. In one swift, sudden motion, he grabbed the bottom of the sack and turned it upside down, letting all the presents inside spill onto the floor. He then began to sort through the pile, searching for Chuutarous's gift, before bringing out a red-and-green wrapped present. "Here's your present!" He ruffled the youngest brother's hair playfully. "Merry Christmas!"

Chuutarou beamed as he took the present from Tenka's hands. "Thank you so much, Santa!" The present still in his hand, he threw his arms around Tenka's neck and hugged him tightly. Tenka laughed and returned the hug. "You're welcome!"

"Oh, Santa wait!" Chuutarou ran outside the living room, returning a few seconds later with a sweater in his hands. "Here, this is for you!" He held it up for Tenka to see, grinning proudly. "Do you like it?"

"Like it?" Tenka laughed as he took the sweater. "I love it! Thank you!"

Chuutarou looked happier than ever. "Y-You're welcome!"

Tenka ruffled Chuutarou's hair as he laughed and for a moment, Soramaru forgot about his embarrassment and managed to smile a little. Then, suddenly, the beard fell right off Tenka's face, landing at the eldest brother's feet. There was silence as everyone's eyes turned to the fluffy white mass on the floor then up at Tenka, who was as stiff and frozen as a statue, the laugh dying on his lips but the bright smile still plastered on his face.

"...Santa?" Chuutarou began uncertainly.

"Well would you look at the time!" Tenka suddenly blurted. "Sorry folks but it looks like me and Rudolph have to go now, you know, delivering presents and all, hope you all like your presents, bye!" Without another word, Tenka dashed out of the room, the sack and pile of presents forgotten on the floor.

"H-Hey, wait!" Soramaru said through gritted teeth, realizing that Tenka had left him behind. He glanced at the others for a brief second before following Tenka out the living room and out the front door.

About a minute later, Tenka and Soramaru re-entered the room, looking haggard, out of their costumes and dressed in large winter coats. (Though the bottom of Tenka's red Santa pants still showed.) Soramaru realized that he was still wearing the red ball on his nose and quickly swiped it off, face reddening.

"Whew!" Tenka laughed breathlessly, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Is the weather crazy or what! Me and Soramaru nearly got stuck in a snow drift out there! Right, Soramaru?" He looked pointedly at his younger brother.

"Uh, yeah!" Soramaru forced a laugh. "Really crazy weather we're having!" Idiot, what are you saying?!

"Ten-nii! Sora-nii!" Chuutarou came running to meet them, grinning from ear to ear. "You won't believe what just happened!"

"Really?" Tenka bent down to Chuutarou's level. "What just happened?"

Chuutarou took a huge breath before blurting out, "Santa just came down the chimney with his reindeer and he gave us all presents! Look!" He held up his own present, waving it around in front of Tenka's face. "Shira-nii and Nishiki-nee got one too!" He pointed to where Nishiki and Shirasu were still standing, their presents in their hands.

Shirasu chuckled as he walked over to join Chuutarou. "Yes, it was certainly a...memorable event." He gave Tenka a look. "And where have you two been? Chuutarou told me that he saw Soramaru in Tenka's room."

"Oh, uh..." Tenka scratched the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "We just, uh, went out for a walk, you know." He shrugged. "Couldn't find anything better to do, I suppose."

Shirasu raised his eyebrows at Tenka before chuckling and shaking his head. "Well, I suppose we can talk about this later. Come on, we made mochi."

"Aww, we forgot to give some to Santa!" Chuutarou whined as he followed Shirasu back to the living room. Tenka gave Soramaru a sideways smile and a wink before entering the living room himself. Soramaru was about to follow when he noticed Nishiki standing awkwardly off to the side, hands behind her back.

"Nishiki." He said. "Are you coming?"

"Um, yes." Nishiki nodded uncertainly, glancing up at Soramaru for the briefest second before casting her eyes back down to the floor. "It's just...Soramaru, can-can I have a moment?"

Soramaru raised his eyebrows but nodded. "What is it?"

Nishiki turned her head sideways, her cheeks starting to redden, before she took her hands from behind her back and pressed a badly-wrapped present against Soramaru's chest. "Th-This is for you..." she muttered, ducking her head so her bangs hid her eyes. "M-Merry Christmas..."

Soramaru stared down at the present before taking it into his own hands. "Really?" He said, stunned. "For me?"

Nishiki gave the smallest of nods, still not looking up at him. Soramaru stared down at the present for a while before beginning to unwrap it, carefully ripping off the red Christmas wrapper to reveal a black jacket with red trim, the Kumou family crest sewn into the back. The second son's eyes widened as he let the wrapper fall to the floor and held the jacket up.

Nishiki lifted her head shyly. "D-Do you like it?"

Soramaru smiled kindly back at her. "It's great, I love it. Thanks, Nishiki." Nishiki blushed before returning his smile with a small nod. "You're welcome."

"A-Actually!" Soramaru added, remembering. "I have something for you too! Wait here!" He ran up the stairs to his room and returned seconds later with some presents in his arms. Halting in front of Nishiki, he grinned as he held out a small square box to her. "Here you go. Merry Christmas."

Nishiki glanced between the present and Soramaru in stunned silence before taking the box from Soramaru's hand and slowly lifting the lid. She gasped softly as she saw what was inside and carefully took out a jeweled hairpin with bright white and purple gems creating large flower petals around a golden center. Nishiki was speechless, eyes blinking rapidly before she stared up at Soramaru.

"Do you like it?" Soramaru chuckled, hand scratching at the back of his neck as a light reddish tint crept up onto his cheeks. "I saw it one day and thought it would really suit you."

"Soramaru..." Nishiki said softly before a bright smile appeared on her lips. "I-I love it, thank you so much!"

Soramaru blushed and quickly glanced away. "I-I'm glad you do!"

Nishiki chuckled, glanced down at the hairpin then started to attach it to her hair, carefully threading it through the white strands to make sure they stay there securely. When she was finished, she turned to look at Soramaru, smiling softly. "How do I look?" she asked.

Soramaru smiled back. "I was right. It does look good on you."

Nishiki blushed and opened her mouth, about to say something, when there was a sudden loud cry and somebody slammed into Soramaru, knocking them down to the floor.

"Ow - what the hell!" Soramaru disentangled himself from whoever had knocked into him and got to his feet. "What was that for?!"

"Shut up!" Takeda yelled at him from his position sprawled on the floor. "It's your fault for blocking the hallway like that!"

"And whose hallway is this?!" Soramaru countered. "I didn't hear you knock!"

"My apologies." Sousei spoke up in his perpetually cold voice, stepping past Soramaru and Takeda and making his way to the living room. "Please pardon the intrusion."

Takamine grabbed Takeda by the top of his head and dragged him up to his feet. "Sorry 'bout this guy, he's just a little jealous."

Takeda bristled. "I am not!" He protested angrily.

Sasaki laughed, appearing beside Takamine. "How cute." Takeda blushed and looked away, glaring.

"Kiiko-san, Takamine-san." Soramaru addressed each of them with a smile. Looking past them, he saw Inukai, Ashiya and Shii just making their way through the door. "What are you guys doing here?"

Sasaki smiled. "We thought we'd pay you guys a little visit. It is Christmas after all."

"Merry Christmas!" Inukai boomed in his loud voice as he finally squeezed through the door. "Now where are those brothers of yours?" He asked Soramaru.

"Guuuys!" Tenka exclaimed from right behind Soramaru, arms spread out in front of him. "Long time no see! Merry Christmas, how are you all!"

"Tenka!" Inukai laughed and slapped the eldest Kumou on the back. "How have you been!"

"Fine, thank you!" Tenka replied, grinning. "Kiiko, Ashiya, Shii, Takamine!" The eldest Kumou was grinning manically as he greeted each one of his colleagues in turn. "Welcome, welcome! Come right in, we have mochi! And best of all, sake!" He held up the half-empty sake bottle in his hand before turning and leading the way to the living room, swaying slightly.

"Aniki!" Soramaru began to scold his older brother as he followed him to the living room, Nishiki close behind. "I told you you're not allowed to drink any alcohol tonight!"

"Aw come on Soramaru! It's Christmas, so it's okay!" Tenka laughed, settling himself down on a kotatsu set up in the middle of the room as the rest filed in. (The pile of presents that Tenka had emptied out of the sack earlier had been cleared away. Whether they really had something inside them or if they had just been empty wrapped boxes, Soramaru would have to ask Shirasu later.) Soramaru rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, sitting down on the couch beside Shirasu, who offered him a plate of mochi. "Here, Soramaru. Have some."

Soramaru smiled, taking one and biting into it. "Thank you, it's good."

Shirasu chuckled. "I'm glad you like it."

"Oh, Shirasu-san!" Soramaru said, suddenly remembering the presents in his arms. Shirasu eyed him curiously as he grabbed a neatly-wrapped present with Shirasu's name on it and handed it to him. "Here, for you!" Soramaru grinned. "Merry Christmas!"

Shirasu's eyes widened before they eased into a smile. "Thank you, Soramaru." He said, accepting the gift. "You're too kind."

"Oh it's nothing!" Soramaru shook his head. "I hope you like it!"

Shirasu chuckled and nodded his head. "I'm sure I will, whatever it is."

Soramaru gave him one last smile before grabbing another present with Chuutarou's name scrawled over the wrapping. He craned his neck to see all across the room, searching for his younger brother. He eventually found him by the kotatsu with Tenka, talking excitedly. It seemed like he was recounting his whole encounter with "Santa". Soramaru couldn't help but smile as he got up to give him the present.

"Chuutarou." He greeted, appearing beside him.

"Sora-nii!" Chuutarou grinned up at him and pulled him down to sit beside him. "I was just telling Ten-nii about how Santa came down the chimney!"

Soramaru chuckled before handing the present to him. "Here."

Chuutarou blinked, glancing between the present and Soramaru. He stared at the name written across the wrapping before pointing at himself, looking puzzled. "For me?"

Soramaru chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah, for you. Merry Christmas."

For a moment, Chuutarou couldn't do anything but stare back at his brother. Then, suddenly, tears began to well in his eyes and before either of them knew it, he had thrown his arms around Soramaru's neck and was clutching him tightly. "Sora-niii! Thank you!"

Soramaru laughed as he hugged Chuutarou back. "You're welcome."

Chuutarou's happy laugh filled Soramaru's ears and there was nothing more uplifting than that. "By the way!" Chuutarou whispered. "I knew that that was you and Ten-nii earlier, but I won't tell Ten-nii. Don't tell him that I know either."

Soramaru couldn't help but laugh loudly at this as he drew back, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I won't tell him." He said in a low voice, giving Chuutaoru a reassuring smile.

Chuutarou grinned. "Thanks."

Soramaru leaned forward for another hug. "Thank you, Chuutarou." He said in a low, sincere voice before letting go of him. Chuutarou looked like he was on the verge of tears once again, returning Soramaru's smile. "No problem, sir!"

"Oh my, how festive!"

"Botan-sensei!" Chuutarou cried, jumping to his feet and running to meet his teacher, who smiled at him kindly and greeted him a merry Christmas as he hugged her. Hirari appeared beside her and ruffled Chuutarou's hair in greeting. Soramaru was about to get up to greet them when a strong arm suddenly draped itself around his shoulders and pulled him close. "Soramaruuu!" Tenka whined, his voice nearly cracking. "Don't I get a present toooo?"

"Let go of me, Aniki!"

"No." Tenka said, smiling slyly. "Not until I get a present!" He added in a sing-song voice.

Soramaru scoffed softly before throwing his present at his face. "Here!"

Tenka blinked as the present slid down to his lap. He stared at Soramaru with wide eyes, mouth hanging open. "Wait, seriously?" He glanced down at the present on his lap, picking it up with his free hand. "This is for me?"

Soramaru sighed. "Yes, it's for you, now let me go!"

Tenka sat there, frozen, before his eyes suddenly got teary and he started to bawl, covering his eyes with his sleeve and only clutching onto Soramaru tighter. "Soramaruuuu!" He sobbed. "Thank you, I-I-I'm so touched!"

"H-Hey, what do you think you're doing, let go!" Soramaru struggled against his brother's grip until Tenka finally let go of him. Soramaru gasped for air before turning to glare at his older brother.

Tenka's sobs turned into laughter as he slung his arm around Soramaru's neck and ruffled his dark hair. "Thanks a lot, little brother!" He grinned.

Soramaru smiled for the briefest second before pulling Tenka's arm away from him and getting up. "Whatever, Aniki." He said, refusing to meet his eyes before making his way back to his seat on the couch.

"Soramaru!"

The second son stopped and turned back to look at Tenka, eyebrows raised.

"Catch!"

Tenka tossed a square present towards Soramaru, who managed to catch it in his arms. Staring down at it, he saw his name scrawled messily across the wrapping, "From: Tenka-onii-chan and Chuutarou" written right underneath with a small, badly-drawn doodle of Tenka and Chuutarou beside it.

Soramaru looked up at Tenka, who grinned at him happily. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Sora-nii!" Chuutarou greeted him from over Tenka's shoulder.

Now it was Soramaru who was feeling teary quite despite himself. He ran over and threw his arms around both his brothers, holding them close. Their laughter filled his ears as his heart swelled inside his chest and as he saw everyone in the room smiling at them warmly.

"Merry Christmas." He said, drawing them closer. And as they laughed, he joined along, warmth spreading all across his body.

"Thank you."