Disclaimer: Festively not mine.
A/N: This started out life in 2004 when I heard the song after which it is titled – the B-Side, Miss You Most at Christmastime, from Mariah Carey's eponymous All I Wants For Christmas Is You single. I'd recently written A Ship Sailing Over the Edge of the World and this fic-idea was born as the lovechild of fic and song. It took until 2009 for me to actually start writing it, however, and until now to finish it. This has been a long time in the making. That said, don't expect miracles over the next twelve chapters, save the Christmas kind.
Miss You Most at Christmastime
© Scribbler, December 2010.
1.
On the first day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me,
A partridge in a pear tree.
There was nothing like a white Christmas, and this was nothing like a white Christmas. It wasn't like any Christmas, white or otherwise.
"Yuugi?"
"Gah!" Yuugi's head jerked up. It also made sharp contact with the underside of the shelf. "Yowch!"
"Aibou, are you all right?"
"Peachy." He winced, partly from the bump, partly because he had bitten his tongue. The taste of blood filled his mouth. "Jutht peachy."
"Why are you talking like that?"
"Tradition."
"Excuse me?"
Feeling a bit mean despite the pain, Yuugi let it drop before a glib reply turned into one of those cultural clashes that sometimes sprang up between he and Yami. They were small and infrequent these days, but when they did occur Yami's fearsome pride could get in the way and then there would be hurt feelings all round.
To prevent further injury, Yuugi backed out of the under-stairs cubbyhole on his hands and knees. His backside hit something that prevented him going any further. Nothing fell on him, which was a good sign. Things were stacked so haphazardly in here that was a real possibility. Leaning all his weight on one hand, he reached back with the other to feel what was in his way.
"Yuugi, that's my kneecap. And that's my other kneecap."
"Would you mind moving them someplace else so I can get out of here? Otherwise I'm going to spend Christmas staring at these piles of junk."
"What junk? I thought you were looking for Christmas decorations."
"I was. I mean, I am."
"Why are you picking through 'junk' then?" Yami pronounced the word as other people might say 'dog turd' or 'lime-scale'. He hatred messiness, having an ordered mind designed for strategising and thinking up winning card combos under pressure.
"Apparently Grandpa's idea of putting stuff away isn't the same as everyone else's. I knew I should've taken over after Christmas, but he got all independent and wouldn't let me. Now I can't find anything."
"A state of affairs I would think you were used to."
"Not helping."
The kneecaps disappeared. Yuugi gratefully emerged. "Is he home?"
Yami looked down with arms folded. "No."
Yuugi bit back his irritation. Brevity was good in its place, but sometimes answers needed to be longer than a single word. He needed to know where Grandpa had stashed stuff. Being a packrat of the highest order, what he wanted could be anywhere. "Where is he?"
"He said something about –" Yami wrinkled his nose. "- out-of-date Christmas cake at the senior centre?"
Yuugi sighed. On the whole you couldn't tell most of Yami's knowledge of modern culture came from sharing Yuugi's own memories, but sometimes things still blindsided him. "It's an old joke. Christmas used to be compared with a woman's age. Cake shops always try to sell all their Christmas cakes before Christmas Eve, and any cakes left after that are considered old and disgusting. Women over twenty-five used to be called 'unsold Christmas cake' if they got to Christmas Eve and still didn't have a date for the holidays."
"Why twenty-five?"
"That used to be when it was weird for them not to be married already."
Yami looked sceptical.
Yuugi shrugged. "Like it said, it's an old joke. Things are different now. People don't use the phrase anymore."
"Why?"
"The average age for marriage has gone up, and it's not so unacceptable now for women not to marry at all."
"But Grandpa said –"
"Out-of-date Christmas cake. I know." Yuugi got to his feet and brushed bits of tinsel from his jeans. He had found a few decorations under the stairs, but not what he actually wanted. He picked up the box and began sorting through as he talked: red baubles, blue baubles, green baubles, a broken gold bauble and a silver one someone had drawn a smiley face on. He stared at it for a moment. "Grandpa's not exactly known for his political-correctness, Yami."
Yami didn't bother to deny it. He did, however, frown at the words themselves. "But you said the phrase is 'unsold Christmas cake' whereas Grandpa said –"
"Yami, how old are the women at the senior centre?"
His eyes registered comprehension. "I see."
Yuugi nodded. "Exactly. Grandpa is –"
"Gramps is cruising for chicks!"
Yami's head snapped around.
Yuugi sighed again. "Hello Jounouchi."
"Yo, dude."
"Come on in, why don't you?" Yuugi waved a hand that could have been dismissive, resigned, or both. He nearly dropped the box of baubles as a result. A few spilled onto the floor. Along with them went some novelty robins with real feathers stuck on their tails, plastic fruit covered in glitter and a little brown bird with only one eye. When had their decorations gotten so threadbare and kitsch? "Make yourself comfortable. Don't let the locked front door stop you."
"Thanks," Jounouchi said shamelessly. "Hey, you guys got any eggnog?" He was en route to the kitchen even as he asked.
"You know we do," Yuugi called after him. Yami had developed a love of the ready-made stuff. It was almost charming, the way he stalked supermarket aisles on grocery day, grumbling at the affront of being made to go, but sidle up close to Yuugi at the end and slide as many packets of eggnog as possible into the trolley before he was noticed.
"Cool. In the refrigerator, right?"
The front door shut. Jounouchi hadn't arrived alone.
Moments later a slightly pink face appeared around the doorframe. "Hey guys," Shizuka said breathlessly. "Merry Christmas."
Yuugi immediately broke into a smile – which faltered only slightly as a mass of blonde hair, long legs and attitude marched past, also towards the kitchen.
"Jounouchi! Get your ass back here and help with these bags!"
Shizuka winced. Yuugi winced. Yami just looked amused and went to rescue his eggnog while Jounouchi was otherwise engaged.
To Be Continued …
.