It was Christmas Eve and Luciana was ready to go murder someone. Literally. She had Raven Wing, Crimson Blade, Ichigo, and Ren all outside her apartment.
"Raven Wing, Crimson Blade. Why the heck are you guys here?" The woman growled. "I'm cooking right now."
"I'll go watch Matt, Ren will go watch the food," Ichigo and Ren pushed past her. "You can use my apartment to talk to them."
"Thanks," she sighed bitterly. The two heroes wouldn't leave anyway, so she might as well go over some stuff. She exited her apartment, crossed the hall, and opened the door across from hers. "In. Now." The door was held open for the two.
"Please tell me you aren't going to attack us?" Crimson asked jokingly.
"No. I know you guys aren't going to leave, so I'm just going to go over the rules," she pulled them inside and locked the door behind them.
"Rule one: no heroics, no mention of it either. Rule two: No cursing. Rule three: No lewd jokes or anything inappropriate. Rule 4: No touching Matt unless he initiates contact. Rule five: My word is law so listen to me. Rule six: Stay out of my room and Matt's room. No matter what."
"All right," the two men agreed.
"Thank you. And if you want to argue with me over something, keep Matt out of it. He stays innocent of my crap. And if I leave, Ichigo is in charge," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "And keep that motherfucking Ren away from Matt at all times." Silence reigned for several minutes as she glared them down.
Her shoulders drooped and she asked, "Mishi-san, Pake-san, please grab the chairs at the table. We'll need them since you guys are here."
"It's so weird to hear you call us by our real names," Pake Kith, also known as Crimson Blade, chuckled.
"It is," Mishi Tokoyami, Raven Wing, agreed. The two of them grabbed two chairs each. Luciana was already holding the door open for them.
"Sorry about making you work," she apologized, opening the door to her apartment. Once they were in, she darted back across the hall and locked her friend's apartment.
"Duina-san, you live here?" The woman looked up to see Todoroki exiting the apartment next to hers.
"Yeah, I live there." she pointed across the hall. "I was just getting something from my friend's apartment."
"How coincidental. I suppose you wouldn't mind explaining the noises I hear?" He crosses his arms and walked towards her, a dark scowl on his face. He stopped right in front of her, using his height to his advantage.
"That's my little brother. He's not very good at being quiet. Sorry," she sheepishly rubbed her arm. "But you know, I told you we'd meet up again." Her grin couldn't get wider.
"That's correct. Now, I need to get going, or else I'll be late." He turned on his heel and started walking away in long, loping strides.
"And merry Christmas, Todoroki-San!" she waved when he glanced back and nodded.
She happily returned to her apartment, locking the door behind her.
"Pake, I'm worried about Ana-chan. The bags under her eyes are getting worse," the ravenette confided while Luciana was still outside the apartment.
"I am too. She… hasn't been herself since her the attack at the marketplace. It was right after her birthday, and she got injured," the redhead sat on one of the chairs. "Not badly injured of course, but Endeavor was there and he rescued her. She flinches whenever I bring it up."
"She's scared you'll be hurt." Ichigo had been listening, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. "She hates heroes, but ended up really caring for you two." The man shook his head. He held a hand up when they opened their mouths to ask about it.
"It's her story to tell. Might want to wait till tomorrow to talk to her, she's happy right now. That's rare," he sighed and looked at the door. "Don't hug her though, not unless you want a knee to the gut!" The strange man retreated to the kitchen.
Mishi shrugged when Pake looked to him.
"I see you guys are comfy," Luciana snapped. "Where are Matt And Ren!" She demanded.
"They're in here. I'm keeping an eye out, so calm yourself," Ichigo's voice sounded strained. "Ren needed help."
"Matt, do you want to play a game?" Luciana called, much more relaxed.
"Games!" The boy ran out of the kitchen to his room.
"One game, bud," she chuckled. He did not listen.
They had been playing for hours and the sun was setting. "Dinner's done!" Ren bellowed from the kitchen.
"Matt, take care of the games, ok?" Luciana asked as she began messing with the table. It was one of the ones that could expand and fold back down.
Wordlessly, Mishi helped her pull it out and arrange the chairs. At the same time, Pake and Ichigo had begun to set the table.
Once the food was out and everyone seated, they gave thanks and dug in. "Is gay bad, Pake-sensei?" Matt asked Pake.
"What?" he looked startled.
"No, Matt. Gay's not bad, but it's not something everybody is," Mishi said between bites of food.
"Gay's different," Pake tacked on. "But definitely not bad."
"Please hush with the gay talk. I deal with it too much already!" Luciana protested.
"Oh, hush you! You'll be fine!" Ichigo playfully shot back. The gentle banter continued for the rest of the dinner.
Dinner had gone smoothly. "Matt, sit by the tree," Luciana called from her room. He excitedly obeyed, sitting by the small tree in the corner of the living room.
She re-entered the room holding a stack of gifts. "You guys sit wherever." She set the pile between the couch and TV, sitting underneath the wall-mount.
"What?" Mishi voiced what Pake was thinking.
"I knew something would happen," the woman smirked. "I just didn't know what." The two heroes -still invading her domain- had no family to spend Christmas with. "Not sure why you guys chose to spend today with us though."
"It's because you're the best, sweetest girl alive," Ichigo told her firmly, cuddling with his boyfriend on the couch. The two heroes were sitting on the wooden chairs.
"Yeah right. Here," she passed gifts around. Each person had one, except her. "Matt always opens a present tonight, so I'm giving you guys yours now too." The two heroes and Ren stared at her. Matt and Ichigo were already tearing their gifts open.
"Why did you...?" Pake asked.
"Because I did. Now open the things!" she urged. Matt was happily playing with some hero figurines and Ichigo was squealing in delight over the new, expensive makeup palette. The three men opened their gifts at varying paces.
Ren got a shirt that said, 'best punching bag'. Heartily laughing, he put it on and thanked the smug woman. Mishi got a pair of handmade black gloves. His response was to kneel and hug the woman, who blushed at his praise. Pake got a handmade green scarf and a pack of hair ties. The grin on his face stretched from ear to ear.
They all thanked her numerous times.
"What about a gift for you?" Ren asked. Stiffening, the woman gave a wooden smile.
"It's enough to see how happy you guys are," her voice was strained.
"Are you-" Pake began.
"I'm fine! I'll be back in a little bit!" She yelled, jumped to her feet, and ran to her room. Throwing open the window, she climbed to the empty, cold roof.
The full moon taunted her with its bright perfection. Her breath came out in rapid, visible puffs as tears stained her cheeks.
"What was that about?" Ren asked, softly. Matt had moved to his room to play with his figurines.
"Luciana has had a rough life. December is a painful month for her," Ichigo told them softly. "She had an older brother. He died on Christmas day when she was nine years old. She watched him bleed out after something had happened. That changed her. Gifts remind her of it.
"Matt was the only reason she kept going. She's gotten help, but… It never really worked for her..." Ichigo trailed off. "And the biggest problem right now is...Mishi, you look almost exactly like her older brother." The silence was deafening.
A/N: Hello! How has your holiday season been? Hopefully well. It's a little surprising how well this lined up. I hope you guys enjoyed.
