"Feeling it?"
"No."
"And you're sure about that?" Rin leaned forward. "Take me out to your front yard again?"
"Shut up or I'll disconnect." Nitori placed his hand on the top of the laptop, threatening to close it on him.
"Hey – let's not get violent." Rin gave a half apology. But soon enough his face broke into a grin again. "Come on, at least let me see the hallway again."
"Stop!'
"Okay, okay."
Rin was being a jerk, but really, Nitori had set himself up for teasing. When the boy had gotten home, he'd texted some photos of his house to his roommate. Because the Nitori family was that family. They were the ones with a yard full of reindeer and Santa Claus. Elves everywhere, lights lining the entire house. He reached his home the next night, so the lighting was in full swing. Half of the block was gathered at his house, marveling at the display.
His family hadn't slacked on the inside either. Why was everything red. Red and green, everywhere. There was wallpaper that looked like gift wrap, stockings hanging from every corner of the room. There were three people in this family. Why were there so many stockings. They had even put the Christmas tree in the atrium by the stairs where the ceiling was its absolute highest. This tree. Was so tall. They had decorated it from the top of the stairs, all the way down. There was one thing missing.
He sent another photo to Rin.
"So? Did your parents let Baby Aiichirou top the tree, yet?"
Nitori groaned, folding his arms as he bounced on his bed a bit. "No, we don't do that until midnight."
"On Christmas Eve's Eve."
"Did you call me just to make fun of everything we do?" Nitori shrugged, rolling his eyes. "I don't need this from you."
Rin laughed on his end, leaning back into his chair. "This would explain why you hate Christmas."
"I don't hate it." Nitori nodded his head side to side. "It's just, being special on Christmas isn't that special anymore."
"That is such a sad life." Rin shook his head. "I'm going to fix you, if it's the last thing I do."
"And what's your mystic plan for that?" Nitori asked, picking up his computer so he could lay on his stomach. "Lay it on me."
"We're gonna... Obviously we'll..." Rin looked around his room, clawing for an answer. "Okay, I don't know yet."
"Genius."
"But when I do think of it, it's gonna work. And it's gonna work damn good."
"You better think of something soon." Nitori rose from his bed, swinging toward his closet.
"Why? What's wrong?"
Nitori scuffled back to his bed, plopping down and holding up what he had just retrieved. "We're going caroling in a couple of hours. Can't miss that."
Oh god the sweater. The sweater. It was red with white lines crossing through it, as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer hopped over snow piles with an enormously oversized head.
"This is amazing." Rin was trying his hardest not to laugh. "Please send me pictures of you in that sweater."
"Only the sweater?" Nitori joked, wiggling an eyebrow.
Rin dropped his head in his hands, finally laughing. "I was thinking more a family photo, but that works too."
"I'll bring you some cookies when we get back to school." Nitori dropped to his stomach again, cradling the sweater under his arm. "Mom's sugar cookies are to die for."
"Yeah but one more thing."
"What?"
"Tell me you don't have antlers."
At that exact moment, Nitori pulled the headband from behind his back, displaying them to his webcam in all of their brown felted glory.
"This is amazing." Rin gasped covering his mouth.
"Again, shut up."
