Ring, ring, ring… Jingle, jingle, jingle…
Hiruma sighed, his jaws stretching in a wide, toothy yawn. After closing his mouth and muttering a few things under his breath, he turned around and looked at Sena, who was sipping hot chocolate in the backseat.
"Aye, hey you friggin' shrimp… you sure this is the right way?" Even though the words came out harsh and slightly snappy, Hiruma was still grinning. It was Christmas Eve, after all.
Sena blinked and nodded. "Yeah, we should be there in a few minutes… Did you see the old blue house by Mills Street?"
"Yes," Hiruma said impatiently, his grin beginning to slip. "I also saw the big rock, the red water mill, and the effin' snowy snow man in the effin' yard of that freaking inn."
"Oh… Sorry…" Sena buried his face in a large red and green cookie then took another sip of his hot chocolate.
For a while there was no sound except for the radio, which was playing soft Christmas songs rather than Hiruma's usual screamo. The blond heard a few he recognized, like Jingle Bells and Silent Night. But others… he had never even heard of. His apartment seemed to be a gathering place for carolers, but somehow, there were Christmas songs he had never heard… and quite a lot of them too.
Silver bells… Silver…bells… Its Christmas time in…the…city…
"Silver bells… What the heck do bells have to do with Christmas anyway?" Hiruma scowled.
"Well," said Sena. "The reindeer that pull Santa's sleigh have bells on their collars. That might be it. And they sound nice."
Hiruma raised an eyebrow. "But why silver bells and gold bells? Why not blue bells or white bells?"
"Well, silver and gold are a bit…fancier?" Sena smiled softly and took a large bite on his cookie.
Hiruma huffed, his sharp nails digging into the steering wheel. While he did like the feel of Christmas, there were parts that he didn't quite understand. Yeah, it was nice to give things to others…but why bother? What was so special about Christmas? Decorations came out months before, and as soon as Thanksgiving had passed, people stepped on the pedal and sped towards Christmas at top speed.
Hiruma liked having a fire, seeing it snow, and so on. But, he didn't like… No, he hated most of the other things that went with Christmas. The crowded stores, the traffic, the carolers, ugh… In time he got so fired up that Sena yelped at the sight of his raged expression. But rather than acting scared or hiding like normal, Sena let the fear wash away and smiled, eyes closing and mouth opening happily.
"Hiruma, I know driving me out to look at lights in all this traffic wasn't your idea of a good night, but please try to have at least a little fun. It's Christmas…" His voice trailed off when a bright sign came into view. "Hiruma," Sena hummed. "You've found it!"
Ah, yes. Mamori was going to take Sena out to look at Christmas lights, but at the last minute she and her family were invited to a dinner by some of their old friends and that event outweighed some measly lights. So, Sena dared to call Hiruma and asked for a ride. And surprisingly, the blond said yes. He even stopped to get Sena a cup of hot chocolate. The whole situation was odd. Considering how Hiruma, the vicious demonic quarterback of the Deimon Devil Bats, actually agreed to take part in something so…cheery.
Sena looked around with an amazed expression. The first display to pop up was a field of lights in the shape of candies. But to Sena's dismay, he could only see the top half of the lights.
Hiruma smirked, eyes full of amusement. After watching Sena squirm in the backseat for about five minutes, he decided to give the boy an extra Christmas gift. "Aye friggin' chibi, you can come up here. Trust me, the view is a lot better from the front."
"But…"
"This line isn't going anywhere, at least not yet… So hurry it up, effin' chibi!"
"A-alright!" Sena scrambled up to the passenger's seat, cookie in hand. After getting himself situated, he looked at Hiruma and smiled. "Uh… Thanks… It does look a lot better up here."
"Yup…" Hiruma tapped his nails on the window, the corners of his mouth swirling in an oddly shaped smile. "Well would you look at that…" He pointed to a small white dot. "It's starting to snow, friggin' shrimp."
Sena nodded, sipping his drink quietly and waiting for the car to move. The candy-shaped lights glowed gently. The brunette closed his eyes and hummed softly. They were nice to look at, with their bright but still somehow soft colors.
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire… Jack Frost…nipping…at your nose…
Hiruma chuckled at the sight of a hiccupping, swaying Sena. "Hey, didja drink it too fast…little elf?"
Sena's eyes snapped open as his face turned red at his new title. Friggin' shrimp and effin' chibi were bad enough… Why little elf? He pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, if anything, you look a lot more like an elf than me!" He gave a snooty nod to compliment the statement.
Rather than exploding or yelling, Hiruma merely blinked in surprise and took a second to feel his pointed ears.
Realizing that he hurt Hiruma's feeling, Sena gulped. "Uh, sorry… I didn't mean to…"
"Its fine," Hiruma said abruptly. "Just don't say it again effin' chibi."
"Okay…" Sena gazed out the window and watched the lights slowly fly by. With half-open eyes and mouth, he placed a gloved hand on the window and sighed tenderly. The snow floated down carefully, making the lights appear even more beautiful. "So many snowflakes…" Sena closed his eyes. "Hey Hiruma…"
"Aye…Sena?"
"Do you think there are over a hundred snowflakes here…"
Hiruma smiled at the childish question. "I don't know chibi. There has to be at least a thousand." He placed one of his nails on the window and traced the outline of a snowflake. "Maybe there are millions…"
"I don't think there are that many…" Sena laughed quietly, savoring the rare opportunity to joke around with the normally dangerous Hiruma.
After a while the lights had thinned out and Sena finished his cookie. Hiruma continued to tap the steering wheel and stare up at the sky. Both teens were deeply caught in the moment with the snow and lights and soft music in the background.
Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away… This year, to save me from tears… I'll give it to someone special…
"Hey friggin' shrimp… Wake up!"
"What…?" Sena groaned, rubbing one of his eyes. He straightened himself out and looked at Hiruma wearily, his brown eyes asking for an explanation.
"You fell asleep, effin' chibi…" Hiruma helped Sena up and gave him a pat on the back. "Go on, your parents are probably waiting. It is past eleven after all."
"Past eleven!" exclaimed Sena, now fully awake.
Hiruma nodded and smirked. "Yeah, we got lost on the way back and then ran into some bad traffic. Don't you remember?"
"I don't…" Sena frowned and gathered his things together. "Uh, thanks for the ride Hiruma-san…"
Hiruma waved and grinned. "No problem, effin' chibi! M-merry Christmas!"
"Right… It's Christmas eve…" Sena padded through the snow-covered ground and entered his home, soaking in the warmth. He greeted his mom with a sad smile. "Uh, eh, mom… About me staying out so light, I can explain…"
"No problem."
"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih!"
"I said no problem." She smiled devilishly. "So, how was your date with Mamori?"
Sena turned bright, bright red, from head to toe. "M-mom, first of all we're just fiends! And second of all, someone else went with me!"
"Oh, sorry…" She laughed nervously and offered him a cookie.
"No, it's okay he already bought me one…"
"Who's he?"
Sena froze. How would explain this? Hiruma was his sort-of friend and teammate and maybe… "Well, he's a boy from my school named Hiruma…"
"Oh, he seems nice. Whats he like?"
"Well, he…" Sena chuckled softly to himself. "There really isn't a way to describe him."
At that very moment, Hiruma reached up and felt the tips of his ears while smiling. Maybe Christmas wasn't that bad after all. Maybe, at the very least, it was...amusing.
A/N: Hi guys. I really should be working on my other fanfics right now, but I just had to write something for Christmas! About this, I pretty much just wanted to write something fluffy with Eyeshield 21 and I just so happened to have gone and looked at lights a few hours ago...so, there you have it. Merry Christmas to all!~Love, TeenageNeko.