DISCLAIMER: If it were mine, it so wouldn't be posted here, and would be chock full of yaoilicious fluffiness.

Warnings: Boy-kissing, lethal amounts of fluff, overuse of the words 'stocking,' 'eyes,' and 'decided.'

For Tatsumi Seiichirou, December was the worst month of the year. Paperwork appeared from every direction, what with dangerous roads and increased crime rates. Every time someone came back to the office from the other world, he would have to have the puddles mopped from the floor. When he was at home, normally he liked to have the radio on in the background while he worked, but at this time of year four out of a set of five songs would have 'Christmas' in the title and be so overplayed on every station that he would get the uncharacteristic urge to throw the radio at the wall. Mostly though, Tatsumi hated December because everyone was so annoyingly happy.

It wasn't that Tatsumi was particularly unhappy during the Christmas season; he just didn't see any reason to be overly giddy. His family had never celebrated Christmas when he was alive, and the habit had carried over into his afterlife. Unfortunately for him, Tsuzuki felt it necessary to adopt any holiday that could be associated with sweets, and had eventually (through much begging, whining, and refusals to do work) persuaded the division to celebrate the holiday. Thus, Tatsumi would be force tomorrow, Christmas Eve, to stand around the office lunchroom for two hours, thoroughly bored, before teleporting home to start on the work he'd brought with him in preparation for their day off on Christmas Day. They would be on-call, naturally, but they were not to report to the office, nor could any paperwork be assigned.

In the midst of his paperwork and pointless musings, Tatsumi realized that it was nearly noon and he had yet to hear or feel an explosion from the lab. Finishing the document in front of him, he set down his pen and walked over to where Kurosaki Hisoka and Tsuzuki Asato were sitting, finishing up the report on a recent case. Hisoka looked up when Tatsumi stood in front of the boy's desk, puzzled. "You didn't need this report until tomorrow, right? We still have time?"

Tatsumi shook his head. "I wasn't here for the paperwork. How is it coming, though?"

"It's fine. Cut-and-dry case. The roads were bad, two cars collided, the woman just hadn't quite realized she was dead."

"It was sad," Tsuzuki added, a slight frown taking the place of his normal energetic smile. "She asked us to make sure her grandson got his gifts and knew that she loved him. Even in death, she wanted to make sure her loved ones were happy…"

Hisoka nodded, looking to Tsuzuki and using his empathy to make sure his partner would be all right, only to find the man looking straight back at him. Quickly he turned back to his work and Tatsumi, obviously trying to fight the blush slowly spreading across his cheeks. Tatsumi gave Tsuzuki a quick sympathetic smile before returning to the purpose of his visit. "Watari did come in today, did he not?"

"I think so…" Tsuzuki cocked his head to one side, trying to remember if he had seen the overactive scientist that day.

"I'll just go by the lab," Tatsumi sighed. He'd been hoping that the pair would save him the trip, as it could be particularly hazardous to his health, shinigami or no. Waving absently behind him, he made his way down the hall to the lab. He glanced into the lunchroom as he passed it, but saw only the gaudy red, white, and green stockings that Tsuzuki had also insisted upon years ago. There was one for each employee, hung at the beginning of the month, and they all put an item in everyone's stocking before Christmas. They were quite full, but Tatsumi didn't particularly care at the moment, too busy worrying about the state of the resident (sometimes literally) scientist as well as his own health. Arriving at the large metal lab doors, he rapped sharply with his knuckles and paused for a moment before entering. His only reaction to the sight that greeted him was to blink repeatedly.

Watari Yutaka sat at his desk, the computer off and nothing bubbling on any of the burners. One foot tapped to the awful music from a radio buried somewhere in Watari's mess as he supervised 003, who was hanging a piece of garland over one of the lab windows. He smiled brightly when he saw Tatsumi and greeted him just as energetically. "Merry almost-Christmas, Tatsumi!"

Ignoring the blond man, he glanced around the room, taking in the other various decorations the scientist and his owl had now doubt been working on since this morning. "Watari, what is going on here?"

"I've decided that today, I don't want to be a shinigami." His smile grew even wider, almost daring the man to ask.

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow and cut Watari off when he opened his mouth to continue. "Tell me that you want to be a dentist, and I swear by every power imaginable that you will see neither pay nor project funding for many, many years."

The blond merely laughed in response, picking up a silver piece of garland from the pile near his feet and walking toward Tatsumi. "Don't be such a grinch! It's nearly Christmas. You could at least be a bit cheerier."

"I've seen many Christmases, and they have all bored me, not to mention hindered productive activity."

Watari laughed again, leaning in close to the secretary as he draped the decoration around the man's neck. "Maybe this year will be different."

The secretary stepped away, turing at the same time to hide the blush he must have had from the proximity of the scientist's face and body. I'm no better than Kurosaki, he berated himself, mumbling a farewell to Watari as he walked back to the sanctuary of his own desk and his paperwork. He set the garland in a corner of his desk and glared at it for a moment before picking up his pen and resuming his paperwork. He didn't notice that his left hand strayed to fiddle with the shiny ornamentation as he wrote.

Hisoka was currently in a dilemma. It was late December 23rd, every shop and sidewalk was crowded with people and, more importantly, their emotions, and he had no present for Tsuzuki. Of course, he'd put a present in the man's stocking, but he wanted to do something more. He'd given up years ago denying to himself that he felt something more than friendship for his partner, and now he'd decided to stop denying it to everyone else. There were times when he was almost sure that Tsuzuki returned his feelings, but the man's emotional barriers were a bit too good to be broken. There was also Tatsumi to consider, but Hisoka had also decided he no longer cared about the possibility of the secretary getting in his way. It was unclear as to why exactly he'd decided all this now, but he had made up his mind, and refused to back out of it. This thought brought him back to the problem at hand: what to get Tsuzuki, and where to find it. His first thought had been chocolate, but that was rejected quickly because everbody got Tsuzuki chocolate (he was pretty sure the violet-eyed man's stocking was filled solely with the sugary treat). He spotted a chocolate cookbook in the window of a bakery, but reject that idea as well, since he knew his partner would insist on "improving" the recipes with his own touch.

The boy hovered above a shop-lined street, simultaneously attempting to find relief from the jumbled mass of emotions below and view as many shops as possible in the hopes of one sparking an idea. A sign in one window advertised an array of scented bath salts, causing Hisoka to blush a deep red as his mind strayed to the possible message behind a gift of chocolate-scented bath salts. Looking desperately for a distraction for his imagination, which had moved by its own accord on to chocolate-scented lotion and oil, he spotted a small, lonely-looking jewellery shop near the end of the block. As he stood before the entrance he noticed that the building was crumbling in many places. The sign revealed that the business was a small, family-run affair, and there were no fancy displays in the single window that looked out onto the street.

Stepping inside, Hisoka saw long, narrow cases lining the walls to his left and right. A slightly musty smell was in the air, but it was simply an old smell rather than an offensive one. As he moved around, taking in the place bit by bit, he noticed many chips and dents in the case frames and a few of the screws were slightly stripped. Though the glass was spotless from careful cleaning, he could see a thin film of dust on the fabric inside and wondered when they had last made a sale.

"I'll be right with you," a muffled female voice called from the back room, the door to which was ajar behind the chipped counter directly opposite the entrance.

Hisoka made a non-committal noise as he continued to browse the shop. The jewellery itself was gorgeous, boasting time and care, whereas fancy, well-known jewellery store items with their attention-grabbing displays boasted only mass production and unoriginality. Not seeing anything for Tsuzuki in the first case (he wasn't sure why he was looking here, exactly, but something had drawn him to the store, so he'd at least look around), he moved to the second. Partway down, he froze immediately, eyes glued to a watch sitting on a small fabric-covered block. Hisoka knew that Tsuzuki always wore a watch, not so much to tell the time as to hide the scars on his wrist. He also knew that the man was prone to fiddling with the watch when he was feeling particularly distressed. Perhaps this gift would serve as a reminder to Tsuzuki that he was loved and that Hisoka would always be there. This watch was simple yet elegant, and reminded him very much of Tsuzuki. The band was plain, chocolate-brown leather with a gold buckle, which led up to a gold face; embedded in the face in the place of the twelve, three, six, and nine were tiny amethysts winking in the light.

"Sorry about that," the young woman said as she closed the storeroom door and made her way over to Hisoka. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Can I get that watch, please" he asked immediately, pointing to the watch he had yet to take his eyes off of.

The woman smiled at his lack of hesitation as she opened the case and withdrew the watch carefully. "Of course. My father made this piece. I always loved it, though he said he couldn't see why. I suppose it takes someone else to see the beauty of a person's work." Hisoka nodded in agreement and understanding as she boxed the watch. Glancing up at him, she asked, "Is it for someone very special to you?"

"I guess," he replied, looking intently at the worn carpet on the floor. Evidently deciding to admit feelings and actually doing so were two completely different things, and Hisoka realized he would need a lot more courage to face Tsuzuki himself tomorrow night.

The woman smiled again, knowingly. "I'm glad," she said, punching a price into the register that he knew was much lower than the piece's worth. She raised a hand to stop him before he could protest. "I wouldn't want this to go to just anyone."

An hour into the Christmas party, Tatsumi was, as he expected, bored out of his mind. He stood in a corner of the large lunchroom in which everyone had gathered and watched disinterestedly at the mingling in which others seemed to find joy. He noticed Chief Konoe downing his fifth glass of the third-rate, store-bought eggnog sitting in a punch bowl in the middle of the large lunch table, plastic cups sitting in a small stack near the ladle handle. Wakaba was in the midst of giving a gift to Terazuma, who was, as per Wakaba's request, not smoking. Tsuzuki sat on the countertop in the far corner, Hisoka on a chair between his partner and the water cooler. He saw that while the former sifter happily through his chocolate-stuffed stocking and attempted to show its contents to the boy, the latter was pointedly looking anywhere but at his partner, his leg bouncing nervously as he worried his lower lip with his teeth. Idly Tatsumi wondered what was wrong with the young shinigami. Somewhere along the action of observing the others in the room his mind registered the absence of Watari.

Sighing, Tatsumi eyed the unopened stocking lying on the small round table next to him. Deciding there was nothing better to do with the remaining forty-five minutes of his obligatory polite appearance at the party, he reached over to open it. Chocolates spilled out, obviously from Tsuzuki; a couple of pens and a mini-stapler followed a festively wrapped package of Wakaba's cookies, and a keychain calculator. Halfway down the stocking, he felt a folded bit of paper. He withdrew his hand and unfolded the note to reveal the massage "Come to the lab for your present from me." Tatsumi placed the other gifts back in the stocking before picking it up and taking it with him, note on top, down the familiar hallway.

Watari was once again seated at his desk, absently clicking at the mouse and not paying any attention to his game. The red hair ribbon sitting by his hand (to complement his jeans and green turtleneck) was evidence of his failed attempt to tame the gold hair spilling down his back. He smiled at Tatsumi when the man closed the door behind him and stepped forward. "I was beginning to wonder if you would ever open that stocking."

"What would you have done if I had waited until tomorrow?"

Watari shrugged, shutting off the monitor and turning to show that the secretary had his full attention. "Wouldn't be the first time I'd spent the night here."

Tatsumi shook his head. "The heat's being shut off tomorrow since no one's here. It's not worth paying to heat an empty building. You would've frozen."

Blond hair swished as the scientist stood, chuckling. "Ever the cheapskate, our dear Tatsumi, though I'm glad you care about my well-being. But I digress. There's the matter of your present.

I'm afraid it was too big to put in your stocking, so you had to come down here," he said, moving closer to the secretary. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow, curious, but said nothing. "Anyway, your present is… me."

Blue eyes blinked multiple times, and the only sound heard was the soft snores of 003 from her perch in the corner. "What?"

"Ehem," Watari replied unintelligently. "Perhaps I should've found a better way to say that… Or at least explained a little…" Light-coloured eyes rose to meet deep blue ones as he took a deep breath. "The thing is, I've loved you for a while now. Yes, loved, before you even question that. I tried being subtle about it, but we all know subtlety isn't my strong point, so that plan failed miserably. After that, I just sat around hoping one day you'd come to me. I realized, though, with some help from 003," he rubbed at his right ear, "that wasn't going to happen, so I decided on this. I resolved to offer my feelings to you at Christmas to do with what you will. And I also know that there was something between you and Tsuzuki a long time ago, and maybe there's still something there, but I figured I would try anyway."

Tatsumi was silent as Watari panted for breath, considering what the man had just said. "Are you finished now?"

The scientist's head was cocked to the side as he took a moment to think before nodding. "Yes."

"Firstly, my relationship with Tsuzuki outside of work is in the past. Occasionally, yes, things come back to me, but it's more of a memory of a feeling than an actual feeling. He is still a dear friend to me, and that is not likely to ever change, but we have both moved on in our afterlives.

Second, and I will be honest with you, I cannot say that my own feelings toward you are strong enough to be considered love. Certainly I find you attractive, and lately I have entertained the notion of… entering a relationship with you." Watari laughed as he searched for the proper phrase, knowing full well what the man meant by it. "I'm not saying it will be easy by any means. You and I both know that I'm not particularly good at dealing with people. I had planned on simply ignoring my thoughts until they went away, however, in light of the current situation, I am willing to try."

The scientist's eyes lit up, barely believing what he had heard. Excitedly, he threw his arms around the older man's shoulders and leaned in to press his lips to Tatsumi's. He realized quickly what he was doing and backed away, smiling. "Sorry. Got a bit carried away."

Tatsumi gave a dry chuckle and a sigh of surrender, both of which Watari found uncharacteristic of the man. He shrugged it off, however, when an arm wrapped around his waist. "Merry Christmas, Watari," he whispered as he bent in for another kiss.

"Are you sure you don't want some? It's delicious!" A half-eaten box with a variety of chocolates was waved in front of Hisoka's face.

"No," he replied shortly, still trying to avoid looking directly at the brown-haired man.

Tsuzuki was sure by this point that there was something wrong with his partner. This was different from Hisoka's chronic reactions to the curse, though, and he seemed to distracted for it to be an emotional overload. Eyebrows drew together over worried amethyst eyes as he frowned and hopped off the countertop, standing in the spot on the floor to which his partner's eyes seemed to be glued. "What's wrong, Hisoka? You shouldn't be so serious. It's Christmas!"

"It's nothing, I'm fine. It's just… um…" Green eyes flickered between breathtaking violet ones and ugly ceramic tile as he struggled to gain proper control of his mind. "Can I talk to you for a second? In the hall?"

Now Tsuzuki was curious as well as worried. He had seen his younger partner flustered before (since he was generally the cause of it), but for him to be nervous took something of a fair gravity. He'd said it was nothing, which translated to 'nothing likely to end in second death or extreme pain,' but it was never actually nothing.

Once the door was closed and he'd stepped a bit away so as not to be easily overheard, Hisoka took a deep breath and reached into the pocket of his favourite sweater. He pulled out the carefully wrapped gift and handed it unceremoniously to Tsuzuki.

"For me?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you! What is it?"

"If you open it, you'll find out, idiot." Even through his nervousness, Hisoka had to roll his eyes at the moronic question.

Not needing any further prompting, the older shinigami tore through the wrapping paper. Carefully he lifted the lid of the rectangular box and gaped in awe at the watch inside. His eyes moved to his partner, who was now watching him steadily. "It's wonderful. Why?"

"I care about you. And I figured you could use a new one anyway."

"You care about me?" Tsuzuki stepped closer as Hisoka nodded the affirmative. Bending closer to look directly in his partner's eyes, he whispered, "How much?"

"…A lot," was all he could say in response. Having the eyes of the man he loved boring into his own was doing nothing to help his nerves.

Tsuzuki gave a quick nod. "Good," he said. "That means I can do this without punishment." He brought his lips to Hisoka's in a light kiss that was soon deepened as the blond brought his hands up to rest on Tsuzuki's shoulder and in his hair. He broke away, both of them grinning, to replace his old watch with the new one before returning to the task of memorizing the feel of his partner's lips.

Hisoka was relieved, to say the least. As he kissed the man he loved, he felt such extreme bliss that it had been worth the shopping hassle. He also realized that he didn't care when he heard the door open behind them and two feminine, slightly muffled giggles issued from the party room. It was Christmas, and he'd finally gotten what he'd wanted more than anything.

END

A/N: Good god, I think that's the longest one-shot I've ever written. And to think, the entire thing came from me watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and inexplicably thinking of Watari every time I saw Hermey (It's gotta be the hair. I can't think of what else it would be). I realize things got out of character at times, but I justify it with this: It's Christmas. Christmas changes people. Ever been shopping close to Christmas Eve? Same deal, only positive.

Hope you've enjoyed this. If you spot any typos let me know. I have a feeling I'd do better if I didn't type at 1:30AM with only my bedside light on, but it's a hard habit to break.

Happy Holidays!

Aindel S. Druida