Hi there, everyone!

Since I got the impression that some people liked my last Ao no Exorcist story, I decided to go again for the fandom. This is a one-shot I wrote some time ago in my mother language and I translated it in English! No angst or tragic moment this time, I was trying to do some fluff when I wrote it back then!

I hope you will like it! Every comment and review is welcome! Please, pardon me eventual mistakes, English is not my mother language!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Ao no Exorcist or its characters!

Rin sighed, resting his chin on his folded arms, pouting. For once he had done his best to organize everything, and what was the result? All his efforts had been in vain because the person concerned wouldn't be present. He had tried hard to keep it a secret, inventing thousands excuses, persuading his friends to cover up for him, and he had sacrificed part of the time that he would have to use to buy Christmas gifts. He had even moved forwards with his homework, something he had never thought of doing before. And all that for what? To be told, on the eve of the event, that his twin would be spending all day away from home because he was required elsewhere for an urgent mission. Damn him, damn his work as an exorcist and especially damn Mephisto, who had given his brother that job not caring about the fact that they were talking about their birthday. For once, the clown could have pretended to be generous, especially since lately he had done nothing but drown Yukio with work. But the headmaster had been adamant. Not even going in person in his office to complain had helped. The demon had apologized, looking more amused than sorry, and had kindly thrown him out, stating that he had more important business to attend to. Which were, as Rin had discovered eavesdropping from behind the door that had just been closed in his face, where and how he and Amaimon would spend New Year's Eve. Needless to say, the boy had left the building with smoke shooting out of his ears.

Yukio had been a little more sympathetic. He was sorry as well for not being able to celebrate their birthday, but he had patiently explained that his mission was too important to be delayed and that it required obligatorily its presence. He had also promised that they would make up for it the next day if they felt like to, then he had smiled and picked up his bag, hugging him before leaving. An unusual show of affection from the younger's part, but it had to be another way to apologize for the inconvenient.

That was why the half-demon had found himself sat at a table in the kitchen of the abandoned dormitory, all alone on his birthday. Kuro had to be out hunting or hidden somewhere, getting drunk, and Ukobach was nowhere to be seen. That morning his friends had give him their best wishes, but everyone seemed to have urgent chores that had prevented them to spend the day with him. He sighed. It was true that they had already had a common birthday party, but Shima had promised him that they would also celebrate the twenty-seven to make up for the lost Christmas. In fact they had spent the festivity because of a sudden invasion of the perimeter of the Academy by an army of low-level demons. The attack had looked like a farce, perhaps a late Halloween prank planned by the headmaster, as Shura had wryly commented, since she had been forced to watch on the Esquires along with Yukio during the operation. Remembering that, Rin had also sought the company of swordswoman, out of despair, but even she seemed to have disappeared and hadn't answered to his emails.

Rin sighed, feeling more depressed than ever. That was supposed to be his and Yukio's special day, but instead it was proving to be a boring crap. He had been cursed by a series of unfortunate events. If he hadn't known better he would have been tempted to think that it was all planned.

The worst thing was that the time never passed. It was only two in the afternoon and he had finished lunch a little more than forty minutes before, yet he seemed to have been sitting there doing nothing for hours. He sighed again. He had better to find something to prevent depression and boredom from taking over. Maybe he could have a walk around to look at the Christmas stalls that were still scattered in the city centre and buy something to cheer himself up. Or he could take a bus and go off by himself for a ride in the mountains. He decided that he liked the last option more. It held more chances of finding a good distraction. And then the idea of wandering among people who were enjoying the holidays with their family and friends didn't make him happy. With another sigh he got up from the table and left the room, going down the hallway.

However, he had had only the time to walk a few meters when something suddenly caught his attention. A light but clear tinkling of a bell reached his sensitive ears. Rin raised an eyebrow, surprised. He had thought that he was alone in the dorms. Could it be that a demon had somehow got there? Without giving it a second thought, he followed the sound, careful not to make any noise, and he soon found himself walking in the wing of the building opposite to the one that he and Yukio normally used. The ringing kept on getting louder and louder until the boy turned a corner and his eyes met the slender silhouette of Kuro, who was waving a bell with his mouth. The half-demon's astonishment grew. What the heck did that mean?

The cat demon noticed him almost immediately and stopped shaking the bell. The two stared at each other for a moment, then Kuro turned around and ran away.

Rin was remained still for a second, then recovered from the shock, feeling irritated by that absurd behaviour. "Kuro! Where are you going?! What the hell is going on?" he yelled, chasing after the creature. Had the cat gone crazy or something? Or perhaps was he drunk? "Come back here!"

Kuro ran along the corridors at full speed, making sure that his friend didn't lose sight of him, and in the end turned a corner and disappear inside a door that closed behind him. Rin arrived there just to see the door closing, panting slightly. That damn pet was too fast for his likings at times. He wondered why he had taken him right there, in that place all dusty and deserted. He had had to be really drunk. The boy approached the threshold, mentally taking note not to allow the demon to drink for at least a month after that, and he opened the door to reveal a large, completely dark room. He took a few uncertain and suspicious steps inside, feeling hid confusion grew even more, but he didn't have time to ask questions because, without notice, someone flung the blinds open, allowing the winter sun to light up the surrounding space while a cheerful chorus of "Happy Birthday, Rin!" exploded.

The boy blinked to get used to the blinding light and when he was able to see again he couldn't help gaping in surprise. The room had been cleaned and decorated in Christmas style, with a big tree standing in a corner, and in the centre there was a huge table laden with food and drink of any kind, on which towered a beautiful cake made with red berries that had to be Ukobach's and, most likely, Konekomaru's work. In front of the table there were all the people who had let him down that day. He hadn't been so wrong when he had thought that the whole thing seemed almost planned! He had been completely fooled.

He opened his mouth to complain but he couldn't say a word because Shiemi, Shura and Shima threw themselves on him, embracing him and giving him their best wishes over and over. A few steps away his other classmates from the exorcism course were smiling at him, apart from Izumo, who, however, wore an expression that was less sullen than her usual. Mephisto waved to him from near the tree, while he held Amaimon's shoulders with his other arm to keep him from throwing himself on the sweets. Rin felt horrified at the sight, wondering who had had the awful idea of inviting the green-haired demon at his party, but he decided that the best thing to do was to completely ignore that unwelcome presence.

The half-demon freed himself from his three friend's smothering embrace, thanking all those present almost moved, even if he didn't avoid scolding them, still laughing, for having left him alone and depressed for the whole morning. "Damn! I thought you had abandoned me on my birthday! But you have been preparing for this stupid surprise party instead!" he exclaimed, pretending to be offended. "You bastards."

"Ah, Okumura! You are never happy!" Bon commented, rolling his eyes. "All you can do is whining!"

"Oh, come on, Bon!" Shima laughed encircling his childhood friend's shoulders with an arm. "Why don't you just relax? It's a party, mate!"

"Shima is right! You're too serious!" Konekomaru nodded, patting Rin's shoulder.

The latter chuckled at the murderous glare that Ryuji shot the other two, then his gaze shifted to the last occupant of the room that he had not noticed yet. Yukio was standing a few feet away from him, with Kuro in his arms and Ukobach on his shoulder. As their gaze locked the young exorcist smiled at him, amused.

"Hey, four eyes, all this chaos is your own work, isn't it? You ruined my plans for the day, you know?" the half-demon said approaching his brother. "So this was the "urgent mission that obligatorily required your presence"?". He returned the smile sincerely. "You know, this is the first time I'm happy to know that you were on a job."

"Yeah, the idea was mine. I was inspired by Shiemi's idea for Kamiki's birthday and others have agreed to help me. Hiding things from you is too easy, Rin, there wasn't the slightest chance that you would find out!" he teased, letting the cat demon slipping away from his arms. "I know that you had something in mind for today, but for once I wanted to be the one to surprise you."

Kuro climbed on Rin's shoulder. 'So, are you happy? I'm sorry I left you alone today, but Ukobach and I had to help to prepare the party' he explained touching his friend's face with his muzzle. 'But it was worth it, wasn't it?'

"Yes, Kuro, it was worth the waiting" he murmured, caressing the head of demonic companion. "You guys couldn't have given me a better gift."

"Well, now that we are all happy and content, I'd sgift hat it's time to get the party started! And especially to pour the drinks!" Shura claimed, raising her glass, already filled with something that was anything but a non-alcoholic cocktail. "Cheers, everyone! We had the permission to party until late night! And be sure that I won't let anyone get bored!"

There was a general laugh and then everyone followed the woman's example, raising their glasses to exchange Christmas greetings and to wish happy birthday to the twins.

A few hours after Rin finally managed to find refuge on the balcony, away from the loud music and the guests who began to be very drunk. It was already dark and the snow had begun to fall slowly, colouring the landscape in white.

Shura had kept her word. For almost four hours none of them had had time to get bored. The woman had prepared a long schedule of activities and she hadn't allowed anyone to skip them. It had been mostly fun at the beginning, but the whole thing had turned into a mess with the last three games, which had involved a conspicuous dose of alcohol. The swordswoman had to have enjoyed a lot watching how little the presents could hold their drink. Shiemi had fainted after the fourth glass, forcing Paku and Izumo, who were already staggering in turn, to take her to the bathroom to revive her. Konekomaru had followed the girl's example shortly after and he had been left with his back against the wall next to the Christmas tree, where he had got lost staring at the artificial lights, completely enraptured and little aware of what was going on around him. Kuro and Ukobach were lying under the table, surrounded by bottles of catnip liquor, while a heavy stoned Shima had forced a reluctant Bon, whose face was red for alcohol as much as for the embarrassment, to dance with him in the middle of the room. Mephisto was struggling with Amaimon who, despite being a demon, was drunk in turn and was running around, trying to grab sweets that were not there. Shura was sitting on the floor, double up with laughter at that pitiful sight, holding another can of beer.

Rin took a deep breath, waiting for the world to stop turning, and tried to focus on the landscape that stretched before him. The colours seemed more vivid to his blurred eyes and they held an unnatural hue that made the world more fascinating.

"You got some problem with alcohol too, Nii-san?" a voice not far from him asked.

The boy turned around. "Yukio!" he exclaimed while his twin brother approached. "I dare to say that Shura has knocked out everyone today."

"I totally agree" the younger nodded, running a hand over his eyes and leaning on the railing with his elbows, his stare lost among the falling snowflakes. "When I sober up I'll give her a little speech about the fact that it's illegal to offer alcohol to minors."

"I doubt that she would listen" the other chuckled. "You know how she is. And it was fun, in spite of everything. Even if I had an heart attack when Shiemi fell to the ground without warning."

"Never mind." The young exorcist shook his head. "Poor her. She's not used at all to this sort of thing. Not that the others are."

"I am, for once, grateful for being half demon, because apparently it helps a lot with hangover! Otherwise I think I would have been in the same state as Konekomaru". Rin glanced at his friend through the window. "He doesn't even know in what world he is in right now."

"I have already had…such incidents with Shura in the past years, so I developed a bit of resistance. But, believe me, there was nothing funny about having to take her home when she and Dad were completely stoned…"

"You went and got drunk with the old man and you never told me?!" the elder exploded in disbelief. "Wasn't he a fucking priest?! What about that stuff on moderation and so on that he was supposed to follow?"

"When was Dad moderate in something? From that point of view he was a bad priest and you know that too" Yukio said with and exasperated sigh. "And, anyway, I didn't go and get drunk with him. He took me with him to be sure that he had someone who was able to bring him back to bed, that's all. The fact that he had forced me to drink from time to time is another story. But it usually happened only after the most important missions. I got drunk only once, when we went to celebrate my entry into the Order as an exorcist."

The half-demon pricked up his ears. His upright and very serious brother had got drunk? That was interesting. Yukio had to be a little tipsy if he was letting out such details. And of course he had to exploit the situation to tease him. "So you're not the good guy that you want everyone to believe, ne, Yukio?" he teased picking on his arm with a finger. "Even our Yukio-sensei has his dark sides."

"Don't talk nonsense, Nii-san. It was a single episode and I was forced. How could I have said no? "the vaguely annoyed reply was, but it only got more teasing from the eldest.

The young exorcist gave a slight push to his twin to silence him and the other, who because of the alcohol had a rather precarious balance in that moment, clung to him to keep himself from falling. Yukio instinctively grabbed the railing, but his hands slipped on the wet metal, sending them both on the tiles of the balcony.

"Nii-san! Are you insane?!" the younger exploded, taken aback by what had just happened.

"You pushed me, stupid four-eyes!" his brother talked back, irritated. "Now, get the hell up, you're heavy!"

Yukio hastened to obey, moving away and sitting on the cold floor, and looked at Rin, who was staring above them with an expression somewhere between surprise and horror on his face. Slowly he raised his eyes in turn and immediately guessed what was going on in his twin's head to the head. Suspended just above them was there was a sprig of mistletoe.

"Mephisto…" he growled slowly. "That's what he was doing on the balcony this morning! He knew we will have come here, or at least he would have made us. Now what?"

"What do you mean by "now what"?! Obviously we won't do anything! That clown wanted to make a prank on us and that's it!" Rin said with force studying his brother's face. "Come on, Yukio, you can't be seriously thinking about…?"

"But the tradition says…"

"I do not care about a stupid tradition! We are two dudes! And we are brothers! Or have you forgotten about that?!"

Yukio sighed, nodding. "You're right, Nii-san. My suggestion was completely inappropriate". He rose quietly. "Come on, it's better if we go back inside."

The elder took the hand that was offered to him and jumped on his feet, forgetting the alcohol still in his body, obtaining only to lose his balance for a second time and to drag them both once again down in the floor. The young exorcist found himself back on top of his twin without having the time to understand what had happened, their faces a hair's breadth away. The two stared at each other foroso me moments, their breaths mingled together and cheeks flushed with embarrassment. In the end the first to speak was the younger.

"It seems that Fate is trying in every way to help Mephisto's plan" he joked to ward off the discomfort, but he didn't move away. "I ask again, Nii-san: now what?"

Rin sighed, breaking the eye contact, but he remained still in turn. "It's more likely that our dear president is playing dirty and helping himself. The ice on which I slipped up wasn't there ten seconds ago, I swear". He let out a sigh, blushing even more. "I have the feeling that won't be allowed to leave until he is satisfied."

"So we might as well do it without struggling too much and ruin his fun as soon as possible, don't you agree?"

"We don't have many alternatives, I'm afraid."

Their eyes met again and this time the contact was much more deep and intense. To hell the laws, prejudices, religious dictates. To hell morality, ethics, and all the other human inventions. Both of them had been wanting that for far too long, even if none of them insisted had wanted to admit it. Being Satan's son they were already damned from the start, fated to drown in sin even if innocent. So why should they deny themselves the only warmth that could really give them the strength to go through that world of darkness and to struggle for their future?

"Yukio" Rin called in a faint voice.

"Rin…" Yukio muttered under his breath at the same time, before closing the short distance that still separated them.

The kiss was chaste, but sweet and full of silent promises, the quiet acceptance of emotions that had been kept hidden for so long and, at the same time, known from the very start. The rest would come later, with time. That day was their day and they had no intention to spend it worrying about hurried steps or anguishing over second thoughts. They would have all the time for that later.

They got up with caution, exchanging embarrassed smiles. The elder grabbed the mistletoe and threw it off the balcony, to make sure that no one else ended up into the headmaster's trap, and let the young exorcist intertwine their fingers.

"Happy Birthday, Rin" the latter said softly, reducing the space between them once again.

"Happy birthday to you too, Yukio" he replied, welcoming more than willingly those warm lips on his.