And because Yohji can't leave well enough alone, he vigorously pointed out I hadn't given him anything twisted to do – with Aya, of course. So with much nudging from Yohji-muse (who now owes me as I have now crossed another "I will never write a" line), I give you –

Weiss and Son of Cheesy Christmas Special: The Song Fic!!!

The following morning saw Yohji and Aya alone in the Koneko shop, doing a little cleaning and preparing arrangements for delivery later in the day by Ken. Normal day. Boring day. But a bored Yohji is not a good Yohji, no; in fact it was a devilish Yohji. And this one recalled more of the Christmases of his childhood and one of his more favorite traditions: mangling Christmas songs. With Aya here and that damn TV show still running through his head, he had both target and weapon. So the singing began.

.....Aya the red-haired florist

"Kudooooh," came the growl.

Yohji just ignored it and kept on singing. As long as Aya's hands were busy with that arrangement, they couldn't go around his throat.

.....Had a very shiny sword

"Kudoh! Shut up! We're in the shop, remember?"

.....And if you ever saw it

"I'd have to kill you, because it meant you were in my bedroom, uninvited. Which is what you will be, Kudoh, if you don't shut up soon."

.....You might even say it grows

"'It grows?' Kudoh, please!"

He stopped singing – but only for a moment – to reply. "Who says I'm taking about your katana?" And he smirked.

"Kudoh!" came out of the strangled laugh. "You're shameless!"

.....All of the other florists
.....Used to laugh and call him names

"Not where I could hear them."

"Don't you remember your 'Ice Queen' title? I think that counts."

"Names, yes. Laugh at, no."

.....They never let poor Aya

Sotto voice, "At least he's not so poor any more."

"Yes. It's good to have Aya-chan out of the hospital."

"And more money to spend on clothes! Or you'd better, before I burn that orange sweater!"

It appeared Aya could smirk as well. "You seemed to like it fine last month."

He paused in preparation for the next line. "Yes, but only because that and a pair of briefs were the only clothes you were wearing at the time."

.....Join in all their florist games

"I wish you would join in and make some of the arrangements."

"But awwww, Aya! No one makes ikebana arrangements like you!"

That got a crocus thrown at him. "Not everything we sell is ikebana, Kudoh. And you're not giving yourself enough credit. You don't do half bad with the wedding bouquets. And your centerpieces are always coordinated but balanced."

He blinked. Did Aya just compliment his flower arranging skills? Never mind; he could follow up on that later. He had a song to mangle.

.....Then one foggy Christmas Eve

"Do you even know when that is?"

"Um... No, but I'm sure I can ask Aya-chan and Omi when they return from school."

Aya threw a petunia.

.....Santa came to say
.....'Aya with your sword so bright

"Do I even want to know how it's 'so bright'?"

"Lube and candlelight reflecting off it, how else?"

A yellow tulip flew across the table, but of course he was able to dodge it.

.....Won't you go down on Yohji tonight?'

"KUDOH! What if a customer came in, RIGHT NOW?"

As a threat, it was a hollow one. The laughter gave him away. Yohji only smirked a reply and continued singing.

.....Then how the florist loved him

"Notice that's 'florist,' singular. Better only be me."

"Better make it worth my while, then." Damn! No one could give that "cat in the cream" smile like Aya could. Maybe he was more susceptible to it than everyone else. Nah. Aya could seduce a rock if he wanted to. It was a deadly mix of looks, coyness, and knowing just how attractive Yohji – er, others – found him. Not that Aya believed himself to be beautiful; he only knew others thought him so.

.....As he shouted out with glee

"Forget the shouting. I don't need everyone else to know what we're doing."

"Each other, you mean? No," he laughed, "I know, it's our secret. But that doesn't mean I can't whisk you away to a hotel some day and make you scream all I want there."

"Is that a promise?" Damn, again with coyness. This time the flower stayed in Aya's hand, but he did stroke the white violet against Yohji's cheek.

.....'Aya the red haired florist

Yohji found a red rose on the table, and brushed it down Aya's arm.

.....You'll go down on good old me!'

Yohji didn't think Aya would have laughed quite so hard if he knew Mrs. Himura was entering the shop. Oh well. He'd pay for that later.

Later:

As Aya opened Yohji's bedroom door, Yohji turned off the reading light as they had agreed long ago. He was halted with a whispered, "No, wait. Leave it on. And close your eyes."

He was curious, but Aya's surprises were good ones, so he obliged. He heard the lock snick, smelled a match strike, and possibly heard Aya walk about the room. While Aya was quiet, the floor was a bit cluttered. A moment later the lamp clicked off and a kiss was placed on his forehead. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

The room was now softly lit by several candles, but that's not what held his attention. That was centered on Aya in a tee shirt and pajama pants, with a curious bit of greenery tied to his waist over his stomach, and a tentative look on his face. "Yohji?"

He started to rise, but was halted. "Wait. Don't you recognize it?"

"What, cat?"

Aya pointed to the greenery, so Yohji took a closer look. It was a little branch of moss-green oval leaves with white berries. "I found some real ones, but decided on plastic when I found out they were poisonous."

Yohji looked up. "You'll have to tell me what it is, Aya. I don't recognize them."

Aya dug his toes in the carpet. Oh fuck. He hoped Aya didn't know how irresistible he was when was shy like this.

"It's mistletoe, Yohji. Yesterday you said you'd show me the tradition with it. Do I have it right?"

He felt a large grin grow on his face. "Close enough, cat. I'd say you have a pretty good idea what it is already."

That got him an small, shy smile in response, with the reply, "Aya-chan and Omi aren't the only ones who know how to use an internet search engine, you know. Now, kiss me. And make it good; you owe me for that damn song today."

With a prompt like that, how could he refuse? He rose and took Aya in his arms and gave him his best toe-curling kiss. Aya melted against him. As he pulled back to begin on Aya's neck came the soft voice, "Nice. But the mistletoe isn't over my lips. And I think 'going down on good old me' will make up nicely for today's embarrassment, yes?"

He grinned. Should have known Aya wouldn't let it go that easily. Besides, the customer is always right, right? So he obliged.

-end-

Notes:

(1) The song and Christmas special of the previous fic are both "Ruldolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." To get a taste of the TV special, read the reviews at Amazon (dot) com, especially the one from a "cousinpaco", who lists the wackier characters and gives a rough plot outline.

(2) If you want to hear the music and read the lyrics, see www(dot)northern-pine(dot)com(slash)songs(slash)rudolph(dot)html. It includes the optional opening stanza listing all the reindeer and also has the common echos, along with the song's history.

(3)And yes, Aya is sending mixed messages with the flowers and Yohji knows it. I used the meanings found at www(dot)victorianbazaar(dot)com(slash)meanings(dot)html but did try to stick to flowers commonly used by florists, since we don't know what type of arrangement Aya is making.

crocus: cheerfulness, abuse not, gladness

petunia: your presence soothes me

yellow tulip: there's sunshine in your smile

white violet: let's take a chance on happiness

red rose: love, I love you, respect, beauty

(4) A possibly-OOC Aya is explained by 1) Aya-chan is not only out of her coma, she's living with her brother - and do you think she'd put up with all his starch?! (See the manga!) They are siblings and so likely equally stubborn. And 2) the two of them are alone in the shop, and in a semi-relationship. Though I suspect Yohji will pay for that "cat" nickname.

(5) Thanks to Kaoru of Rurouni Kenshin for the not-quite-a-cameo. I brought her forward to present day as I think she'd enjoy the sight of a red-head laughing as much as I do, though Aya doesn't know that.

(6) Mistletoe traditions can be found at www(dot)gardenersnet(dot)com(slash)flower(slash)mistle(dot)htm, and its darker roots are explained at mi (dot)essortment(dot)com(slash)hollymistletoeryqo(dot)htm . I was using the "if two people are standing under it together, they have to kiss" one. And as Aya notes, it is poisonous, so if you want to use it as he does, I suggest the plastic version for you, too.

(7) And my Yohji-muse owes me, Big Time, as I crossed the "I'll never write a song-fic" line with this story. Though he tells me it's only repayment for making him such an irritating person in the prequel and making him sneak around with Aya. To which I replied that sneaking around with Aya is better than no Aya at all. Still, we both apologize for having inflicted song-fic on you all, and

May You All Have a Merry Saturnalia!