** Disclaimer: Still dun own 'em.
Gifts
December 25. Although Christmas wasn't really celebrated as a holiday in Japan, many people still got into the Christmas frenzy and bought gifts for their loved ones. Like in any other country, citizens could be seen hurrying out for some very last minute grocery and gift shopping. Everything was all hustle and bustle until-
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!"
The whole of Kanagawa reeled from the impact of the scream from a very frustrated and quite irritated redhead boy standing in the middle of a huge mall. Said boy had hair sticking out in all places, one arm supporting a bag of grocery while the other was clenched into a fist where a strip of paper could be seen poking out. He was practically glowing with enough ki to blast anyone to smithereens. That was one reason why shoppers gave him a wide berth despite the fact that there wasn't much elbowroom in the place. He was also cursing up a storm while his eyes roamed the windows of the shops within his vicinity, which might account for people avoiding him even more.
"What am I gonna get the kitsune.?"
He'd been walking the damn mall since it had opened and he still hadn't found the perfect present for his special someone and he needed to give the groceries to his mom and it was getting late and he was running out of time because dinner was in an hour and he had found presents for everyone except for that one particular gift that he couldn't decide on and he'd been to all other malls in the area since the week before and he still hadn't found anything that he'd wanted to give to the kitsune and he didn't have much money anyway and he didn't know what to do anymore!
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!"
Out of sheer desperation, the boy decided to just walk around the mall's ground floor level for the ninth time that day.
He mused as he walked how easy it had been to buy his others friends their gifts. Well.his gang mates were a pretty easy bunch to give gifts to. They liked anything given to them. He'd even managed to get a perfect plant for his mom on the second day of his outing. But the kitsune.granted the boy was extra special being his boyfriend and all but still.
He had almost walked past the display window before the bright colors of a picture book caught his eye. He retraced his steps and pressed his face on the glass panel. His eyes widened and a silly grin spread over his face. It was perfect!
He quickly left the mall and ran to his house. He frantically pushed the doorbell while stomping his boots impatiently.
"Hanamichi! What took you so long?"
Mrs. Sakuragi exclaimed when she opened the door and dragged her son into the warm living room.
"I was about to call the police!" she said as she took the grocery bag from his cold arm. "Good thing these things are just garnishes. Have you bought that gift for Rukawa?"
By that time Hanamichi had taken off his jacket and rubbed some life back into his hands.
"Ak! Yeah! Wait! I have to prepare it!" he answered incoherently as he dashed to the laundry room.
"Better clean up too! Rukawa's coming in 15 minutes!" his mother called after him.
Hanamichi didn't bother to answer as he dashed all over the house in a blur of red and blue. He was panting when the doorbell rang again.
"I'll get it mom!" he hollered as he thundered from the stairs to the door. "Hey Kaede!"
He plastered a huge smile as he ushered the pale and silent boy in. He had been surprised that Kaede had accepted the invitation for the small dinner that his mom had cooked for that day. Then again it was just a small dinner not an actual party with lots of people, something Kaede hated as much as losing a game.
Actually that fact that it had been his mother's idea to invite Kaede in the first place had been an even bigger surprise. Then again, his mother knew that Kaede lived alone and, it being a holiday and all, would be quite lonely in his house. So she had suggested inviting the pale boy for dinner and a sleepover. Usually it would be the redhead who would go over to Kaede's house. They still didn't know what Hanamichi's mother thought about her son's sudden close friendship with Kaede. She probably just thought it was something akin to what he and Youhei had. That must was why her maternal instincts were on overdrive.
"I bought this," Kaede thrust a small package into Hanamichi's hands. "It's for dessert, d'aho."
"Hey thanks!" Hanamichi happily said, his sweet tooth acting up. "Sit down anywhere. I'll just give this to mom and see if the food's ready."
He turned to leave but met his mother at the door to the dining area.
"Gyah! Oh, mom! Kaede bought this."
Mrs. Sakuragi beamed at Kaede who had risen and bowed to her. Hanamichi wondered if it was because the pale boy could be so damn polite that his mother liked him enough to cook for him. Hmp! That just showed how manipulative the kitsune could be.
"This is for you," Kaede whispered as he handed her a small package. "Merry Christmas."
Mrs. Sakuragi's smile mirrored her son's.
"Thank you Rukawa," she said. "I'll open it later. Dinner's done so let's all go and eat."
Supper went smoothly. Hanamichi scarfed his food down. Kaede ate little bit more than usual, which surprised him, but he still talked less. Mrs. Sakuragi tried to keep up some small talk but and her son answered as much as he could in between chomps.
When they had finished the creamy dessert Kaede had bought, Mrs. Sakuragi insisted that Hanamichi just help Kaede unpack his things but the two boys beat her down. She had done the cooking, now it was time for them to do the cleaning. She bowed down to their logic, especially after Hanamichi practically dumped all the dishes into Kaede's arms and marched him into the kitchen.
"Okay, try not to break any plates Hanamichi," she said, smiling at her son's indignant face. She bowed to Kaede. "Thank you again for your gift Rukawa."
Kaede bowed in return. "No, I should thank you for inviting me and for the delicious dinner."
Again, Hanamichi was amazed at how polite Kaede was around his mother.
"Oh it was my pleasure," Mrs. Sakuragi waved her hand a bit. "I always love cooking for my son's friends. Well, good night you two."
She walked out to her room.
The two boys looked at each other then went on to tackle the mountain of dishes in the sink. After that Hanamichi dragged Kaede into his room.
"You cleaned the place," Kaede observed as soon as he entered the place.
"Erm.yeah."
"About time," Kaede nodded, "but you should try cleaning more than once a year d'aho."
"Why you-"
Hanamichi gawked at the present Kaede suddenly shoved towards him before he gleefully took it and all but tore the wrapper into bits. Inside a box he found a silver necklace with a bright ruby fox for a pendant.
He hardly saw Kaede smile at him before taking the necklace from his lax fingers and putting it around his neck.
"D'aho, every time you put this on," he heard Kaede explain, "remember that you're mine and I'm yours. Merry Christmas."
Hanamichi turned bright red as Kaede kissed him on the cheek.
"Uhm.thanks."
He stared at the pendant for several moments before shaking his head and glomping Kaede.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
He spent several minutes showing Kaede just how thankful he was. They were both panting when they parted for air.
"Now I'm not even sure whether I should give you my gift." Hanamichi whispered into Kaede's neck. "It's not expensive or anything.heck I didn't really spend anything on it."
"D'aho. Just give it to me."
"Uhm.okay.just don't expect something like yours or something." Hanamichi warned as he urged Kaede to put on a jacket while he donned one too. He led him out to the balcony of his room.
Outside, the air was clear and crisp. There had been a slight snowfall that afternoon that had left in high definition.
Just outside the door Hanamichi bent over and gave Kaede a small bowl full of water that smelled faintly of lemon and a stick with a loop at the end. The redhead grinned at the other boy's puzzled look.
"Go on. That's my gift."
"Huh?"
Hanamichi sighed and produced another stick similar to Kaede's. He dipped the loop inside the bowl and blew through it creating a big bubble. He turned to Kaede who was watching in bubble in awe. A smile played on his lips until his companion looked back at him.
"Well? What're you waiting for? Go on. Blow one bubble. Betcha can't blow one bigger than what the genius did a while ago. Nya-ha-ha!"
Kaede frowned slightly before imitating Hanamichi's earlier movements. He blew through the loop but all that came out was a pop. Hanamichi's laugh grated on his ear. He dipped the stick again and swished the loop a bit to get the soap to mix with the water. He then blew once more. This time a psychedelic bubble came out of the end and floated lazily around.
Hanamichi didn't waste any time to outdo the size of his boyfriend's creation.
Soon large, wriggling globules of varying colors surrounded them. One drifted toward Hanamichi's nose. He looked at it cross-eyed before it popped right at his face. He heard Kaede chuckling. He scowled then giggled. Pretty soon they were both guffawing at nothing in particular.
After a while Kaede stopped and just stared at Hanamichi. The redhead fidgeted for a moment before erupting.
"Hey stop that kitsune! Why're you looking at me like that anyway," he asked, face matching the color of his hair.
"Why that gift, d'aho?"
"Oh," Hanamichi shrugged, looking at the neighboring houses. "I saw this picture of some kids blowing bubbles and I remembered you saying that you never really played those things when you were a kid so I thought you'd like something like that. I dunno. It just seemed perfect at that time."
He shrugged again then babbled on,
"I know it's not much and I didn't spend anything and I just took some soap from downstairs and-"
"You remembered that?" Kaede whispered.
"Eh?"
"What I said, you remembered it?"
"Oh you mean about the kid thing? 'Course I did!" Hanamichi puffed out his chest. "I'm the genius. I remember everything you say. 'Course you don't say much in the first place-"
He was suddenly wrapped around two tight pale arms.
"Thank you," Kaede whispered incessantly into his ears.
Hanamichi sighed and leaned into the embrace. It took a while for him to become aware of the wetness falling on his neck. It took even longer for him to realize that it was tears.
"Eh? Kitsune?"
He tried to lift Kaede's face up but the other boy tightened his hold and just burrowed deeper into the crook of his neck still whispering thanks.
"Kitsune.?"
Hanamichi began to panic, thinking that he had done something to make his boyfriend sad. He was trying to think of some way to make Kaede stop when the other boy sobbed.
"Thank you.it was perfect.the best present I've ever received.I love it.I love you."
Hanamichi stopped breathing as Kaede relaxed in his arms. Then he heaved a big sigh and tenderly wrapped his own arms around the other boy.
"I love you too. Merry Christmas Kaede."
A/N: This is dedicated to all those frustrated shoppers working against the Christmas rush. Happy Holidays everyone!