Shirou was awakened by Rin whom had decided to attempt to make him scrambled eggs. He took them from the small boy.
"Daddy, there's even more snow now!" Shirou took a bite out of them and swallowed even if Rin had added a bit too much salt to it. He smiled at his son to show that he appreciated the breakfast. Yukio then walked in with a cup of orange juice to go along with the meal.
"Here you go father." He handed it over to the older man. The twins crawled up onto the bed with him so they could shove their cold feet under the blankets. They both looked at each other for a split moment before they started to wiggle their toes. Shirou watched in amusement as he ate his breakfast. Usually Rin wasn't awake this early so it was strange to see him up at the same time as his brother. That boy could sleep through a bomb and it was always a struggle to get him up in the mornings. It was then that he could hear the stirrings of the other priests of the monastery. He took a swig of orange juice before he spoke.
"Boys, its time! Come on, come on! Christmas decorations!" he shouted. Yukio and Rin followed quickly as there guardian pulled down the doorway to the attic. At was then that Nagatomo was coming down the hallway half way dressed in his priest robes.
"Shirou what are you doing?" He looked up at the exorcist in wonderment who was still dressed in a t-shirt and long pants.
"Getting Christmas decorations of course." A huge smile was on his face. "Yesterday was the first snow, you know the tradition." He said it in a tone that indicated that it should be obvious. Rin and Yukio giggled like crazy.
"Whoa, you actually got Rin out of bed? What was broken this time?" Rin then gave a huff and stomped over to him, his fists curled up. He radiated irritation.
"I didn't break anything and you know it." Rin tried to put on an angry pout but Nagatomo thought he just looked like a dork. He crouched down to Rin's height and patted his head with a smile.
"You know I didn't mean it silly. You're a good boy." The look of irritation turned to one of annoyance.
"Don't pat my head I'm not a dog." This made both adults and his brother laugh. His father patted him on the head also, little Rin looked up at him with a pout.
"How about you let me and the other priests bring down the Christmas decorations," stated the younger priest. Shirou gave a snort.
"Geez, you're calling me old too?" he mumbled. Both Yukio and Nagatomo heard them, confusion on their faces while Rin had wandered off to his room. A few moments later he ran back out with several Santa hats. He handed one out to each person present and also gave Nagatomo a couple extra.
"Give these to the others!" the blue eyed boy said excitedly. He pulled his on a little bit too fast and it went over his eyes. Rin had a huge grin on his face which was contagious to everyone around. Everyone else put on the hats and went about their business. Once all the decorations were brought down everyone pitched in a hand with the hanging of lights and the steady flow of Christmas cooking that came from the kitchen. The whole monastery was alive with the smells and sounds of Christmas, the snow slowly falling outside. At each window a candle glowed, lights and ornaments glittered on their seven foot tall tree. It was when Shirou had Yukio on his shoulders to put some of the final ornaments and the star to the tree when a familiar figure with purple hair. The demon was waving at the priest with a smile on his face. The priest put his son down before going outside.
"What in the world are you doing?" he asked the principle. Mephisto continued to grin as he approached Shirou and gave him a hug. The tall gentle demon didn't have his usual choice of clothes on which had been replaced by long white pants with a matching jacket, purple gloves and a fuzzy pink scarf. He didn't have his top hat with him so the long curl stuck up. The tip of his nose and his cheeks were a rosy red colour.
"How long have you been waiting out here? You could get sick you silly fool!" he threw up his arms in exaggeration. The taller man gave a small chuckle.
"Like a little bit of snow and cold is going to make me sick." He stuck out his tongue which made him look like a small child. The grey haired priest crossed his arms and shook his head.
"But really Mephisto, why are you here? Don't you have paper work and such to do?" It didn't really bother the priest that he was there but he did wonder why he has shown up two days in a row. The other gave a huff, a cloud of warm breath showed up in the cold.
"I took a vacation and though maybe I could spend it with you. You of all people should know I wouldn't go back to Gehenna or have my little brother come stay with me; it would be a huge disaster." Shirou stood there in thought for a few moments before he spoke again.
"Well if you're going to stay then you need to get inside right now because I'm getting cold and unlike you I can get sick." He pulled the violet haired demon inside the monastery.
"Wipe off all the snow here at the doorway so you don't track it through the house. We worked hard to clean up and decorate." The principle took off his scarf and jacket to reveal a dark dress shirt. It was very odd to see the demon in such a shirt but just like his normal white top wear this shirt conformed to his body. In that moment he had a short flashback to when he was younger and they were still together. The memory of lilacs and laughter drifted through his mind. It was when he felt a tug at his priest's robe that he came back to reality.
"Daddy who's this?" a confused Rin asked. At first he wasn't sure how he was going to answer his son because technically Mephisto was his older half-brother but Rin nor even Yukio knew this and plus Shirous past connection to the demon was considered one of those sticky situations to explain.
"Um, he's a colleague and an old friend of mine. You've met him before but you were really young so you probably don't remember him. This is my son Rin." He gave Mephisto a look that said that he better play along with the conversation so that trouble was not caused. But as Shirou had looked at him he could have sworn that there was a look of hurt or pain on his face before it was hidden away by a smile.
"Hello there Rin, it's nice to see you again." Mephisto crouched down to the boys' level and stuck out his hand. The dark haired boy took his hand and gave it a little shake. The young boy didn't seem frightened at him at all, if anything he seemed curious.
"Why do you have purple hair?" he asked. He brought his hand up and touched the curl that seemed to never go away no matter what was done to it.
"Well, I was born with it, just like how you were born with black hair." Mephisto gave a small laugh before standing back up again. It was then that Rin seemed to have a look of panic.
"I forgot about the cookies!" he ran off towards the kitchen leaving the two men alone at the doorway again. Shirou sort of shuffled from step to step.
"Dinner should be ready soon so don't go off and disappear." Shirou went off to the kitchen to check on the dinner preparations while Mephisto looked around at decorations the residents of the church had been putting up all day. He gave a small chuckle he never understood the reason for decorating at such lengths for a holiday that only lasted one day. He did have to admit that the smell of food throughout the house smelled amazing. Since he already knew where everything was in the house he went to the kitchen where he found Shirou covered in flour and his two boys giggling like mad along with the other priests. He couldn't help but join in at seeing the older priest in such a state. Shirou on the other hand was trying to keep a serious face and give a light scolding but he couldn't help but laugh along with everyone else. It was then that the other priests noticed the demon.
"Oh hello there Mr Faust, it's nice to see you again." They all waved and gave him a smile which he returned.
"Oi, since you're here you should help set the table." Everyone started to move in a flurry as they pulled out food from the oven and microwave, all the food looking mouth-watering. He went to the cabinets and set them all on the table for the correct amount of silver wear and cups. He felt a tug at his pants and he looked down. Little Rin looked up at him.
"Can I call you Mephy? You're first name is too long." The purple haired man froze for a moment, his cheeks flushed with a tint of pink. That had been one of Shirous' nicknames for him years ago. It was a good thing they were in the kitchen so if anyone had asked he would have been able to say that it was from the heat in the room. He gave a nervous chuckle before he answered.
"Of course little one." He didn't want to say no in case it would cause the boy to ask questions. It was already awkward that Rin and Yukio were his little brothers even if they didn't know it so he just wanted to keep things simple. Once everything settled down and everyone had sat down at the table plates were being passed around. Dinner was joyous and full of laughter as everyone conversed amongst themselves. Mephisto had found a seat next to Shirou so he could be close. The king of chaos really did miss the priest; he really did care about him a lot. It then just hit him that Shirou was talking to him.
"Gees, you try and say that I'm old but you're the one that is zoning out on us." He laughed and his smile grew huge. Mephistos face grew red from the embarrassment of being caught drifting off and maybe even staring at the other. He hid his face behind his hands to hide the fact he was blushing.
"Shirou you can be so cruel sometimes," the house guest mumbled. That made the priest snort.
"Maybe you've just gotten soft Mephisto." Shirou stuck his tongue out at him to show he was being playful. "Well look at the time it's almost ten o'clock! It's time for you boys to get to bed now." Yukio gave a small nod before he got up with his plate and took it to the kitchen but Rin gave a little resistance. Everyone that lived within the church knew there was going to be a show down so they grabbed empty food dishes and scattered.
"But I don't want to go to bed," the oldest twin pouted. Rin had his arms crossed and was ready to fight every step of the way. It was then that Mephisto had a plan.
"Rin, if I tell you a secret will you go to bed?" Shirou looked over at him wide eyed not knowing what kind of secret the demon would reveal. Mephisto just gave the other a wink before crouching down and beckoned the boy forward. Rin hesitantly walked forward before the odd man leaned closer. "Only good boys that to as their told and go to bed will get a special gift from Santa," he whispered. The boy stepped back and looked at him in awe.
"Really?" he asked. Mephisto gave a nod and Rin turned on his heels and ran upstairs to his room. Shirou looked at him in confusion.
"What did you tell him? It better not have been something weird." The pale demon chuckled.
"Sorry Shirou, I can't tell you. I told Rin it was a secret." He made a childish face, his tongue stuck out of his mouth. It was then that he realized something. "Shirou, where will I be sleeping while I'm here?" he asked curiously.
"The guest room obviously since you are a guest." Mephisto looked a little crest fallen but Shirou had already turned around and was heading up the stairs so he didn't see it. The purple haired man followed him to where the room was located. The priest showed the other where everything was and just before he went to leave Mephisto grabbed his wrist to pull him back. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Shirous lips. It lasted only a moment longer than the one from the night before but it was long enough for Shirou to get flustered and red faced.
"You just can't do that Mephisto!" His hands were clenched at his sides and his ears and cheeks were bright red. His friend laughed.
"Oh but why not?" he asked teasingly. This really flustered Shirou.
"Because you just can't! Just shouldn't! Erg!" He stomped out of the room to his bedroom where he got ready for bed where he took his frustration out on his blankets as he roughly yanked them forward and crawled into bed. Mephisto gave a small giggle before he snapped his fingers and changed into a pair of pink boxers with polka dots and got in bed.
It wasn't till the next morning that Shirou had realized Mephisto had waited for him to fall asleep before he had snuck into his room and had crawled into his bed with him. He had woken with the feeling of warm breath on the back of his neck and long arms wrapped around his waist which ended up with Shirou pushing the other out of the bed in protest.
Blarg sorry it took so long to write this. Dx But hopefully it's not to shitty. Review to tell me what I could do better? Or just what you think. Thank you for reading! Also happy holidays!
