Santa Baby, slip a sable under the tree, for me.
Been an awful good girl, Santa Baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight.
"John, pass me the carrots."
She didn't expect her day to turn up like this. It was Christmas Eve, and normally, she would be back home, with her parents, sipping hot chocolate while listening to her young cousins fight over who gets to cut the cake. It was something to expect every year. But this year, her parents were out of the country in an extended business summit. They had agreed for her to follow them to Germany and spend Christmas there, but she declined, not really feeling the yuletide season.
Oliver proposed to Mai last week. She had been sulking ever since.
She accepted long ago that Oliver wouldn't reciprocate her feelings, and she tried her best to forget about him. It's funny, how now that she thought of it, Naru never did anything to make him deserve her love. He wasn't kind to her, he never acknowledged her for herself. It wasn't like he saved her life or something. It wasn't as if he made an effort to get to know her.
Love sucks. There is no greater paradox than love. It can make you happy and sad, reassured and fearful, complete and broken. And to Masako, it was all the latter. She felt sad that he wouldn't return her feelings. She was afraid he might hate her or fall for someone else. She was broken when it dawned on her that he didn't love her. Not one bit.
And she accepted that. She tried her best to move on, and for a few days, weeks, months, she felt happier than she ever was. She felt free of burden, as if doors have opened from all directions. She felt herself love her more.
Until last week, that is. Everything came crashing right back. How she loved him dearly, how jealous she became of Mai when Naru showed even the slightest inkling of attention towards her. And it hurt her, and what was worse was she wasn't ready. She wasn't prepared, it caught her off guard because all this time, she thought she moved on.
No matter how festive the season is, no amount of blinking lights and winter melodies can lift her spirits. She didn't want to go to Germany, where her parents might notice her and question why she's down. She wanted to be far from the interrogation for as long as possible.
She stumbled upon John while she was out to buy herself some emergency desserts and Christmas delicacies. She supposed she could just call one of their maids in and have her buy, but she was getting suffocated by the solitude.
He was the one who saw her. After a bit of casual greeting, the subject of what they were going to do for the day came up, and John, horrified by the thought of her spending Christmas Eve alone, asked her to come help him in the orphanage. Masako had second thoughts, not really wanting to spend a whole day with children. It wasn't that she disliked them, she just didn't feel comfortable around kids. She wasn't John, or Bou-san. She wasn't Mai.
But then John mentioned kitchen duty, and that convinced her a little. And the next thing she knew, here she was, in the kitchen, cutting up vegetables with him, preparing Christmas dinner for orphans. Eartha Kitt's voice flittered in the cold December air.
As a child, she spent a lot of her mornings in the kitchen with her mom. It was a habit that progressed over the years. They had servants and cooks to serve them now, but she still dropped by the counter every now and then.
She cut the carrots up into little slices, going after the onions next. John was separating little chunks of chicken for the stew.
She smiled as she watched him work out of the corner of her eye. John was an admirable man. Handsome, compassionate, thoughtful... It was a good thing he was a priest.
He had a very angelic look about him, and it's not just because of his profession. From the way he looks to the way he carries himself, he seems such a saint. But then he does something so human that would surprise all of them.
Like that one time someone insulted Mai for commenting on a piece of painting. It was a famous art museum they were investigating, and Masako had laughed inwardly at Mai's ignorance. But even she had to admit that the remark was way out of line.
John told him off with one sentence. He didn't even raise his voice or anything. His tone was so calm. It was not very loud, and yet, the person looked as if he had been yelled at.
The group was a little afraid and wary of John after that. But John acted as if nothing happened.
Masako admired him for his control. Had she felt so strongly for Mai, she would've insulted the man right back. John and Mai were almost like siblings, and yet, John had the self-control and decency not to wring the guy in the neck.
And then there was his sweetness. Masako knew he was probably very innocent when he came up to her with a white Japanese wildflower. It was a suhamasou, and one of the simplest and prettiest flowers she had ever seen.
She probably shouldn't refer to it as "sweetness". John wasn't that naive to give a girl flowers when he wasn't allowed to court one. He must have just been too ecstatic to see a pretty flower that he had to show someone, and she just happened to be the closest by. That must be it.
But there were also other things that made him so admirable. There was also his confidence. Sure, some may not describe John as a confident, outgoing person. He won't exactly step on a stage one day and just sing and dance. No, he wasn't that kind of person. But he exudes a confidence on his beliefs, on his morals, and on his faith. He's very outspoken about his God, and about what he thinks is proper and right. He doesn't voice out his opinions on trivial issues much, but he does have a say on important matters, and he doesn't hesitate to share it. Quite honestly, she admires that trait.
He's also very well-read. He can keep up with what Oliver is talking about most of the time, and he knows how to keep a decent conversation. She'd also seen his collection of books. It happened when they dropped by his apartment on their way to a case when he forgot to bring his exorcism tools. She expected a lot of Bibles, devotionals, and other spiritual themes. She was surprised to find he also read Hemingway, Dickens, Plath, Machiavelli, Shikibu and many other notable authors. He apparently knows a lot more than he lets on.
And of course, there was the cooking and good with children thing. Most women find that to be very attractive.
He wasn't too bad to look at either. His golden hair shone, and so did his eyes. There weren't that many blue-eyed people in Japan, and his were very beautiful and fresh and interesting, and overall very striking. Much like he is in general. He was shorter than the other guys in the group, but Masako didn't mind. He was appealing, not in a Naru-beautiful sort of way, or even the Norio charisma. He was handsome in his own way, in his own adorable way.
He caught her staring, and he smiled at her, before resuming his work. Masako had to keep herself from blushing.
She was embarrassed to be caught in the act. That was certainly the only reason why she blushed.
Good thing indeed that he was a priest.
If he wasn't, Masako could swear she would've fallen in deep trouble.
Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing,
A ring.
I don't mean on the phone,
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.
A/N: I find myself writing a lot these past few days. Which is funny, since I must be writing for university papers, and I haven't done (nor started, as a matter of fact) a single one of them.
Anyhow, thanks for reading! :) I don't think I'll ever get enough of writing about these two. I hope you don't mind reading about them either. Drop a review, if you can. I'd appreciate it a lot. And notify me of corrections, haven't really proofread. Too excited to post, forgive meeee.