1. Deck the halls with boughs of holly

"Fa la la la la, la la la la," Tsuzuki hummed under his breath. He gazed contentedly around the hallway at his decorations.

"Tsuzuki!"

Tsuzuki jumped and automatically backed up a step—forgetting that on a stepladder, there was no step behind him. He crashed to the ground, sending baskets of green and red vegetation into the air.

"Gah!" Hisoka ducked a flying basket. Then he turned to the half-buried shinigami.

Tsuzuki grinned. "Hi, Hisoka."

"Tsuzuki! Why is there a tree in the break room?" Hisoka demanded.

"A tree?" Tsuzuki cocked his head for a moment, thinking. "Oh, that. Did you like the cookies I hung from it? I couldn't find ornaments, so I..."

"And why are you hanging spiky plants on the walls?"

"Oh! You mean the holly?"

"That what?"

"The spiky plant," Tsuzuki clarified. He stood up and shoved a bough of it in Hisoka's face. "See? It's a Christmas decoration. And it's almost Christmas so I decided to start decorating the Department."

"It is?" Oh, wait. Hisoka thought for a moment. It was December 24th, the eve of the Western holiday of Christmas, or something. He'd once read about it in a book. "You can't even tell it's Christmas! It's spring all year here." Through the window at the end of the hallway, he could see the branches of sakura trees waving, as if agreeing with him.

"Yeah, but it's such a fun holiday. I tried to get Tatsumi to give us a day off, but he threatened to cut my pay check again." Tsuzuki scowled, remembering. "That guy has no holiday spirit whatsoever."

"And yet he let you take a break from work and cover the hallway with holly?"

"No," Tsuzuki admitted. "But I have Watari helping me, so we could hopefully finish before he notices."

Before he notices? Green and red everywhere isn't exactly what Hisoka would call subtle. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Tsuzuki peered at Hisoka. "You don't seem very happy."

Hisoka snorted, looking away. "Why should I?"

"What? Don't you like Christmas?"

"For me, Christmas is just like any other time of the year." He shrugged. Outside, the sakura branches waved, nodded.

Tsuzuki gasped. "What? How can you not care about Christmas?"

Watari poked his head around the bend, a Santa hat resting on his blonde hair. "What? Who doesn't care about what?" He caught sight of Hisoka. "No way!"

"This needs to be fixed!" Tsuzuki agreed.

"What's this?" Tatsumi rounded the bend, a stack of papers in his arms. "Why isn't anyone working? And what's with all the green?"

2. You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town

"What's this?" Chief Konoe looked up from his desk to see a blithely beaming Tsuzuki and a darkly glowering Hisoka.

"Merry day-before-Christmas!" Tsuzuki greeted. He picked up a mug from the top of the brightly-decorated basket in Hisoka's arms. "This is for you."

"Ah…" Konoe picked up the red mug. On it were several scribbles made in green and yellow paint. He could almost see an evergreen and a star…if he exercised his imagination, at least.

Tsuzuki smiled sheepishly. "Watari helped," he said, as way of explanation.

"I still don't get why I had to help," Hisoka mumbled.

"Because you wanted to, of course!"

"I don't remember saying that." He paused. "Well, at least I didn't have to wear those stupid reindeer antlers."

"Well, I thought they were cute!"

Konoe rubbed his eyes. "And who's working while you're doing all this, Tsuzuki?"

"Hey, it's the spirit of Christmas! Give us a break!"

3. Silent night…

Or not.

"Tsuzuki! Listen—how about I cook?"

Hisoka hurried to grab the cooking ingredients and utensils from a protesting Tsuzuki's hands, wondering for perhaps the tenth time that night why he was at Tsuzuki's apartment in the first place.

"But…"

"Not buts," Hisoka repeated. He pushed him out of the kitchen, into a chair. "And don't even think about touching the food until I'm done."

Why was he here, and not curling up in his own home with a book? Well, he'll only say that Tsuzuki's puppy eyes were very persuasive. He sighed.

"Whoa! This is good!" Tsuzuki dug into the food with his typical enthusiasm. He finished it, leaned back, then noticed Hisoka was only picking at his food. "What's wrong?"

Silence.

"Helllo? Hisoka?" Tsuzuki waved his hand before Hisoka's face. Hisoka's eyes focused and he jerked away.

"Tsuzuki! Don't do that!"

"Sorry!" Tsuzuki let his hand drop, satisfied that the younger shinigami had snapped out of whatever reverie he had been in. "Is there a problem?"

Hisoka shrugged. "Whatever." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a green-and-blue wrapped packaged placed against the wall. Surprisingly, that was the only Christmas-like thing in the house. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.

"Nothing, nothing! Just a Christmas present for a friend," Tsuzuki waved his hand dismissively. Then he turned and sneezed. "S'cuse me. Man, it's cold. Anyway, what do you want to do tomorrow? Give out presents again? Bake cookies? I used up all of mine decorating the Christmas tree…"

Hisoka was drifting off again, his eyes staring at something just off to the right of Tsuzuki's shoulder. Tsuzuki checked behind him to make sure nothing was wrong with the wall.

Finally, Hisoka sighed. "I never liked the holidays."

"Uh…what?"

"Too many parties…too many people getting drunk…too much of the so-called holiday spirit. It gives me a headache." There were many times where Hisoka wished he wasn't empathic, and Christmas was one of them.

"…Oh," Tsuzuki said. He felt guilty for not realizing it before. Still, at least Hisoka was opening up to him. That had to count for something, right?

Another pause, the silence stretching out for longer than the first time.

"Do you know why I like Christmas so much? Even though it's a Western holiday and all." Tsuzuki said finally.

"Why?" Hisoka's skin was still tinged a faint pink. Why did he have to say so much before?

"Because everyone's so happy!" Tsuzuki replied, smiling. "It's impossible to feel sad on Christmas."

"…Oh. Yeah, I guess." Hisoka stood up. "Well, I guess I should go."

"Hmm? Why so soon?"

"'Cause I need to sleep, baka."

"I'll walk you home."

Hisoka coughed. "I think I'm perfectly able to walk home myself." He slipped on his jacket and shoes. "Bye."

"Merry Christmas eve!" Tsuzuki waved from the doorway as Hisoka walked away.

Once he left, Tsuzuki turned his gaze onto the green-and-blue-wrapped present sitting against the wall.

4. Said the night wind to the little lamb—do you see what I see? Way up in the sky, little lamb—do you see what I see?

What Hisoka saw out his window just as he fell asleep: sakura branches, waving in the night breeze.

What Hisoka heard in the morning just as he woke up: his doorbell, ringing.

What Hisoka saw when he opened his door on Christmas day: green and blue. A package.

The one he saw in Tsuzuki's home yesterday night. He stared at it lying on his doorstep, then picked it up and brought it inside.

What was scrawled (in easily recognizable messy handwriting) on the card:

To Hisoka,

I know you don't really like Christmas, but I wanted to give you a present anyway. Merry Christmas Hisoka!

Tsuzuki.

Hisoka frowned. It was a long way from Tsuzuki's house to his, and Tsuzuki didn't even own a bicycle. Did he walk all the way over here in the cold air? Come to think of it, Tsuzuki sounded like he had a cold yesterday…

This present was heavy. Hisoka dropped it onto the table.

He carefully peeled off the wrapping paper, revealing a pile of several books, many of them hardcover. He read the spines, noting that they were all by his favorite authors. For Tsuzuki, a shinigami perpetually on the brink of being broke, this must have cost a fortune.

And Hisoka didn't think to get him a gift in return.

Gah. Now what?

5. Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose

"Achoo!" Tsuzuki sneezed. He grabbed a tissue from a nearby box and blew his nose.

Unfortunately for him (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Tatsumi's box was the closest. Tatsumi looked up from his paperwork and frowned.

"Sorry," Tsuzuki said, somewhat nasally.

Tatsumi just nodded, then asked, "Where's Hisoka?" It was unlike the younger boy to be late for work…though the older partner held no such reputation. Strangely enough, Tsuzuki was actually on time today.

Next thing you'll know, there'll be pigs flying outside his window.

"I don't know," Tsuzuki replied, brow furrowing. "I hope he's okay." Then he sneezed again.

"Are you sick? If so, you should go home."

"Shinigami don't get sick!"

"You will go home," Tatsumi replied sternly. He glared at the protesting Tsuzuki. "Or would you rather have everyone else in the building catch whatever you have?"

"But…no. Fine, I'll go home. Would you—?"

"Yes, yes. I'll give out the presents in your place." Not that he really wanted to. Maybe he could hand them off to Watari…though that might not be a particularly smart thing to do.

"Okay, then." Tsuzuki smiled, and closed the door behind him. "Bye!"

A couple seconds later: "Oh wait."

The door cracked open just enough for Tsuzuki to grab his trademark black coat off the rack next to the door. "I forgot this."

The door slammed shut again.

Tatsumi put down his pen and sighed. Honestly, dealing with that shinigami was like talking to a child. He gazed at the pile of gifts and cards Tsuzuki left in the room, dreading what he would have to do later. Why, for goodness sake, did Tsuzuki have to be so generous?

He picked up the pen and continued his work.

And all was quiet through the office again.

"Tatsumi!"

He looked upwards, fully expecting to see sheepish violet-eyes saying he'd left something-or-another - and do you know where it is? He wasn't expecting…

"Hisoka?"

"Hi, Tatsumi." Hisoka was holding a package in his arms. "Sorry I'm late. Do you know where Tsuzuki is?"

"Tsuzuki? I just sent him home. He has a cold."

"Oh." Hisoka shifted around, trying to find a more comfortable way to hold the box. "Do you mind if I come back later today? I've got something I need to do."

Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. "You can."

"Thanks, Tatsumi."

For the third time that day, the door slammed shut.

Tatsumi sighed. He knew better than to ask.

6. On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…a partridge in a pear tree

Tsuzuki sipped the hot water, burning his tongue. He wished it was hot chocolate.

Maybe he could make some…

But even he knew better than to drink that when he was sick.

Being sick was no fun.

He was sitting in a chair, the same one Hisoka had been sitting in last night. Speaking of Hisoka, he wondered if he liked the present he got for him. He left it on the front step of Hisoka's house, knowing the boy probably preferred opening his present by himself, in his own house, than say, in the break room with everyone watching.

Tsuzuki took another sip of water, more carefully this time.

Now what? It was Christmas, and he was stuck inside with a cold. What did he have to do—

There was a knock on the door, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hey, Tsuzuki? Can I come in?"

Well, there was the answer.

"Hisoka!" Tsuzuki opened his door as Hisoka stepped inside.

Hisoka held out the present out to Tsuzuki. "Here," he said stiffly.

"Hmm?" Tsuzuki took it from him and opened it. He smile. "Thanks, 'soka!"

"Sorry it's not much…"

"What do you mean? I love it!" In the box lay a freshly-baked, warm apple pie. "But I thought you didn't celebrate Christmas."

Hisoka looked away, still a little embarrassed by the talk last night. "Well, I had to give you something, right?" He paused, then reached inside his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. "For your cold. Hey…do you mind if I stay here for a while?" He had to admit, he didn't really want to go back to work. Not on this day.

Tsuzuki's grin widened. "Of course. It's Christmas!"

Outside, the sakura branches waved, pink petals falling to the ground like snow.

I hoped you had as much fun reading that as I did writing it. I'm a little rusty writing Yami no Matsuei, but I hope you liked it anyway. And yes, all the numbered, bolded lines are lines from popular Christmas carols. I'm sure you know most of them, at least :)

7. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays! :)