Joshua followed the redhead into the house. He was introduced to Neku's paternal grandmother for the first time, and stood in the dining room while Neku got them drinks, still running around like a hyperactive 3-year old. Joshua couldn't help but stare a little, then turned to Neku's mother.

"What'd he have?" he giggled "Alcohol or caffeine?"

Mrs. Sakuraba brought a hand to her mouth and laughed too.

"He had a little of the mulled wine. But he always gets like this on Christmas."

"…wow." was all Joshua could come out with, as both watched Neku decorating the drinks with cream and holly leaves in the manner of an expert flower arranger on amphetamines.

He felt their eyes on him, and turned like a startled rabbit. "What?" he questioned innocently, sending both his mother and friend into fits of giggles again.

"Whatever." Neku said, his tone a little returned to his normal sulky one, but he was still smiling as he passed Joshua one of the drinks.

"Let's go watch TV until lunch." he suggested, and practically skipped past, leading the way into the main front room.

Neku's house was double-fronted, so one of the front rooms was the living room, the other the dining room, but also had a TV, so doubled as another. Joshua often wondered how rich Neku's family was.

Neku flipped on the TV, turning it to his favourite music channel, only to find it dominated by a cheesy Christmas song countdown. He shrugged at this and seated himself on the sofa, Joshua followed his lead.

They were a little at odds for what to say as they watched the cheesy videos on the screen. Thus was unusual, they rarely ran out of things to talk about. Perhaps it was the strange switch in personalities brought on by this day. The grumpy and apathetic Neku had been replaced unexplainably with a lively, excited one, whereas Joshua's flirting and humorous outlook had been somewhat drained by the occasion. Joshua found it difficult to start a conversation by saying something amusing, so he came out with a neutral statement.

"Your gran seems nice." he ventured.

Neku actually looked a little uncomfortable, and shot a glance towards the other room, perhaps assessing if the TV would adequately block out the conversation from those across the hallway.

"I guess." he said in a low tone, shrugging.

Joshua dropped the volume of his voice too. "You don't like her?"

Neku shrugged again. "She's nice to me, but she sometimes says things…" he sighed.

"She can be a little… you know… racist and… homophobic and all that shit. I mean, I know she can't help it, generation gap and all that but… you know."

Joshua nodded. "Sorry." he said reservedly. That sentence was an opportunity to make clear what might not be. The one that just hadn't come up yet.

"She… didn't seem to mind me." he said quietly. The remark was ambiguous as ever, and could've been referring to his heritage being not fully Japanese, but was more than likely to make it obvious what he meant.

Neku didn't respond for a second. "She probably can't tell." he finally came out with.

IWell…/I thought Joshua, I…He definitely knows now…/I "Could you?" he responded, not quite looking the other boy in the eye.

Neku paused again, fixing his eyes on the screen. "I… thought…" he stopped and took a large gulp of his drink. "I didn't really want to…"

"Mention it?" Joshua suggested.

Neku nodded, and looked over, appearing to be smiling a little. Joshua felt the half-familiar sensation of nervousness rise in his chest. It was much like school plays and shows he'd participated in- for reasons unknown, Josh only ever got nervous after the anticipated event had passes. Perhaps that was because the reception of the performance, the reaction of your audience, was the part to be worried about. Kids can be so cruel- but so can love.

He preoccupied himself with staring at the tree and the ornaments glittering upon it. Silver and purple- the family had considerable taste. Neku appeared to have also made his exit from the conversation, his eyes glued to the screen again, taking another sip of the ridiculously Christmassy-looking cocktail.

"Tin pin?" the redhead suggested offhandedly.

"Uh… mayb-… I'm not sure…" Joshua mused, not keen on the idea for one reason or another. Neku's adorable mock pout probably would have swayed him, had the other boy not chosen to take out his hyperactive energy by getting up and disappearing off into the kitchen with a cheery "B.r.b."

He actually said it out loud… Joshua chuckled internally. But despite the light humour, he couldn't help but hope Neku returned soon. Being alone in anyone's house, no matter how close, often gave him a slightly creeped-out feeling of not belonging. Or perhaps it was the departure of company on his most fragile day that shook him. He contemplated following, then took another sip of his drink. The alcohol was at a bare minimum, far-flunk from the clear bottles sneaked in brown paper bags which he'd experienced when there were still older boys than himself at the children's home. Just fourteen, it hadn't taken much to intoxicate him, and they'd laughed at him in their mock sophistication, and still he'd considered them 'cooler' than himself. Now there was a level of pity for how pathetic they'd been, realised after their inevitable departure at eighteen.

Weird the slightly uneasy memories a sip of something so sweet could surface. He considered standing again, but footsteps neared the door and his friend was back.

"Satsuma!" Neku yelled, giving Josh mere seconds to react to the orange ball hurtling towards him. He caught it, but did so clumsily enough to amuse the thrower. The other boy's giggle was a beautiful sound, and Joshua couldn't help but giggle too as he looked down at the small orange fruit in his hand.

"Just… why, dear?

Neku shrugged, and wandered over to also drop some chocolate coins into Joshua's lap. "Om nom nom." he said jokily, sitting down beside Josh again.

The silver-haired teen looked to the orange-haired one, who was ripping open his own bag of coins.

"Got double in my stocking." he explained "So they're for you."

"That's… thoughtful of you." Joshua smiled, turning the gifts over and smiling.

"Or of Santa?" Neku suggested.

"…You don't… I mean… surely…" Joshua trailed off, incredulous.

Neku smirked at his friend's shock. "Nope." he laughed. "I told my parents when I was about eight that I didn't believe in father Christmas anymore, but it didn't stop them."

"That's sweet." Joshua smiled. "Probably because you're so cute on Christmas."

He thought he saw Neku visibly swallow, but it was in a blink and hard to determine. He gave an indignant look and mumbled "Shut up." but his face was a little more pink than it had been previously.

If you have to deal with Christmas… Joshua considered, Might as well spend it with the most unintentionally adorable person you know...