To the (reviewers): [from most recent to oldest] Written on April 2nd btw…anyone reviewing afterward, sorry.

Fugu-chan: Could not agree with you more xD Crappy grammar makes it unbearable to read, if not impossible. "Could care less", doesn't make sense, does it…? I mean am I alone in the world thinking that? Thank you for noticing that :)

Promocat: Soubi might as well stay in the background…Seimei doesn't care about him much. Trying to stick with the original design and all, so…but thank you!

Icaughtkira: Well thanks…I like it too. I enjoy writing about it, so much.

Carabel: Seimei has a uh, mental condition, apparently. He does view people weirdly xD Thank you for reviewing!

Pheonixfromtheflame: I'll try to 'stay awesome', then. ^^

'm': Will do.

xxLivingPuppetxx234: Thanks…? :P

fugu-chan (2): He'd make a downright awesome (and creepy) teddy bear.

Ravenshika: Depends how you see it. It's not particularly M rated, you're right lol.

'mdevries08': Maany thanks, I feel like writing just for you xd

Nadeshiko04: …graphic way to put it, but I get your point. And yeah, nobody writes about it…'why' being the question. I figured…since no one was posting some, I would.

Pheonixfromtheflame (2): Turned out a story, yeah?

Side note: the chapters are NOT chronological. If you'd LIKE them to be, please ask. Just, don't be confused or anything.

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"There's no Santa Clause?"

Seimei cringed somewhat and finished hanging the shiny ornament on one of the higher branches that his brother's short arms could not reach. He watched it twirl momentarily before stopping and he saw his face looking back at him off the mirror-like surface. Dark violet eyes, marvellously well-placed hair and a smile that hid most of his actual feelings and thoughts.

"I'm afraid not, Ritsuka."

He turned in time to see a look of utter horror and sadness cross his brother's face and he wondered if it had been a good idea to reveal the truth. Personally, he'd wanted to strangle his parents for teaching him about something as silly as Santa Clause, but he had always planned to tell his little brother it was nothing but a sweet lie. He'd eventually forgotten about it, and here they were, the youngest already seven years old, telling him about it now. He had to be told eventually, anyway.

"But…why would mom lie? And dad?"

Seimei picked up yet another fragile sphere and reached up to place it on a coarse brown branch covered in green spikes. He was thinking about his answer when he felt a small hand wrap around his tail and tug, demanding his attention, but instead he caused a violent shiver to run up Seimei's spine. He sighed to himself and tried to pry his tail away from the firm grasp, no matter what he really wanted to do. If there was anyone who he should control himself around, it was his young, innocent brother. Unfortunately, Ritsuka had recently developed considerable strength and his tail remained imprisoned by five thin, pale fingers.

"Because that's what they do; they lie. You can believe me, little brother, because I'll never do anything to hurt you."

He wouldn't say that he'd never lie, precisely, because he knew that one day he may have no other choice. His ears twitched unconsciously.

"I do believe you…" Ritsuka sighed in defeat, his tail curling around his thigh and his eyes falling down to look at the floor.

Before Seimei could comfort him any more, their mother entered the room, her arms full of cardboard boxes and bags from the garage. More decorations. Seimei stepped back to look at the tree; it was pretty much filled up already. They'd gotten a smaller tree that year for aesthetic reasons and now they had too many decorations. Ritsuka loved them, and used to play with them as a toddler, so Seimei was decided to cram every last shiny ornament into the tree until his brother was satisfied. Their mother placed the things down on a table and left the room quietly; her husband had just called to say that he wouldn't be home that night. She might have been upset – not that her children cared much.

"What has Santa Clause ever done for you, Ritsuka?"

He smiled at his brother over his shoulder and tied a red bow to a lower branch. Finding it to be a bit overwhelming, he took it off and quickly placed it at the back of the tree where no one would be likely to see it.

"He brings me presents!" Ritsuka cried out, running up behind Seimei and hugging his leg. The eldest boy felt a cheek press up against the lower portion of his back and he forced himself to take deep, spaced breaths but couldn't stop his hand from reaching back to tangle itself within the silky black strands of hair. He couldn't do much with one arm and no legs so he momentarily forgot about the tree, preferring to turn around and placing his free hand on his brother's back.

"No, mom bought you presents and signed his name on it," he pointed out, smiling when he saw the violet eyes close as he rubbed circles on his back.

"Why would she do that?" Ritsuka mumbled half-heartedly.

"People will go a long way to keep a lie alive. Because if you get caught lying, bad things happen."

Ritsuka's mouth formed a small, tight line and he frowned, looking up at his older brother. He was wearing an old, wrinkled shirt that clearly needed washing and Seimei prayed he would remember to throw it in the wash basket so his mother – or slave, whichever – could make it nice and clean. If there was one thing Seimei would wish he could change about Ritsuka, although he would argue that there was not a thing he would alter, it would be for him to be more organized and clean. He tended to run out the door in an old shirt, undone pants and bed hair before his brother could catch him and dress him properly.

"Why would you lie in the first place if bad things will happen?"

"Because often the truth isn't quite right, or good enough." He began to stroke the silky triangular ears as well, determined to get Ritsuka to relax fully.

"What do you mean?"

"You ask too many questions, Ritsuka," he accused gently, smiling still.

They finished decorating the tree and Seimei decided that it was more than time that the youngest brother go to bed, especially considering he knew Ritsuka would be up at an ungodly hour the next morning, wanting to open his presents. He hurried his brother into the bathroom and helped him to wash his teeth properly, and then put on his pyjamas, holding the small hand in his own the entire time. It made him feel calm, to have Ritsuka near him, connected to him. It was selfish on his part, and he knew, but as long as Ritsuka didn't mind then he would continue to find comfort in his brother.

He pulled Ritsuka onto his bed, which he always slept in, regardless of what time or which day it was, and pulled the sheets up so the small body could slide underneath and curl into a ball. He lay the sheets back down and made sure to cover the small feet poking out of the side before getting up and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

Seimei turned around and smiled at his brother again, his tail brushing against the cold doorknob.

"I'll come to bed in a little while. Go to sleep, so morning will come faster."

And with those words he headed downstairs, careful to make little noise, and was satisfied to see that his mother had gone to bed as well. A dozen or so boxes already adorned the ground underneath the pine tree, but they were all from their parents. He hadn't added his own presents yet.

Seimei never thought about others before himself – the only exception being the boy who shared his DNA. Even then, however, it would be hard to say that he considered Ritsuka to be more important than himself, but the youngest brother definitely was somewhere at the top of his priority list. Seimei never bought presents for anyone else, never cooked for anyone else, never held anyone else's hand, never dreamt about anyone else, never really thought about anyone else. People were tools; cold, inanimate, disposable. In Seimei's opinion, when people started buying presents for their power tools or kitchen appliances, then he might start giving away presents. Until then, that privilege was Ritsuka's and Ritsuka's alone.

In the quick approach of Christmas, Ritsuka's favourite holiday, he'd made his way to the shopping center in search of some objects or toys that would bring a smile to his brother's rosy lips. He normally only came to buy clothes for them – there were so many people wandering about that he often got knocked into or accidentally touched, and it made his tail fur bristle with uncontrollable anger. Therefore, he made it a point to keep away from that particular place. So, December 21st found him standing erect in front of a packed toy store, holding onto his sanity for dear life. Kids were running in and out, chased by frantic parents; the worker standing outside the door handing out flyers was giving him flirty looks and he had to resist the urge to gouge her eyes out rather violently. Instead, he walked calmly over to the door, flashing her a gallant smile, and stepped into the stuffed store. He'd already picked out the gifts the night before, so he only had to spend a total of ten minutes in the store to find said toys and pay for them. Once they were packed and safely tucked into an ugly plastic bag, he waved at the female worker and returned home.

When Seimei was done wrapping the presents, he slipped them under the tree and made his way back upstairs, making a detour to check into his mother's room; she was asleep already, completely dead to the world. Satisfied, he then went back to his room and was only slightly surprised to find Ritsuka up waiting for him, sitting upright in the bed, a book in hand.

"I thought I told you to go to sleep," he accused only half-heartedly. He was secretly happy to realize that as the years went by, Ritsuka was losing the ability to fall asleep without the warm, secure presence of his brother's body in the bed with him.

"I couldn't fall asleep," crooned the nervous child, closing the book and dropping it on the floor. Seimei huffed and went to pick it up, dropping it nonchalantly on his desk. Wouldn't Ritsuka ever understand the necessity of cleaning up after himself…?

I won't always be there to do it for you, little brother. What ever will you do once I'm gone?

"Will you now that I'm here?" he feigned a heavy sigh, striping his constricting dark pants and shedding his shirt. He never was one for pyjamas.

"Promise."

He slipped under the sheets and lay down on his back, giving his brother time to choose his preferred position. Ritsuka usually lay on his stomach, face pressed against his older brother's shoulder or arm, one arm hugging the taller boy's stomach. That night, however, he opted for a 'spoon'-like position; he was almost hugging his knees to his chest, his back to Seimei. Then, when the eldest boy was sure that was it, he reached over and tugged Seimei's long arm over, hugging it to his chest and forcing the violet-eyed teenager to spoon up behind him. Seimei couldn't ever remember his little brother ever being quite this…bold before. Oddly, it pleased him, and he decided that he rather liked this position where he could pull his brother close to him and press his face into the silky black hair presented before him, sprawled over the pillow.

He decided that it was rather inconvenient only a few minutes later when Ritsuka, in an attempt to find a more comfortable position, pulled Seimei tighter against him and he pressed his backside rather firmly into his brother's lap. It's an odd thing to say, that it made him very worried and uncomfortable indeed, because in all honestly there was nowhere Seimei would rather Ritsuka's backside to be. He did not, however, wish to properly pound his brother into the mattress on Christmas Eve, for he was much too young. That does not mean that he didn't outwardly want to, because in fact he quite did.

Seimei attempted to scoot discreetly away from that teasing butt, only to find that to back away any more would mean falling off the bed. And then Ritsuka decided that he missed the warmth his brother's lap provided and backed into him again, sighing contentedly and curling up in a tighter ball. Sighing as well, although for very different reasons, Seimei willed his arousal to go away and settled down behind his brother, hand reaching down to rub the lithe tail that he knew was lying nearby. Ritsuka smiled and emitted a small sound, something suspiciously close to a cat's purr, unfurling said tail to give his brother better access.

Seimei fell asleep many hours later, for he had to wait for Ritsuka to fall asleep before heading to the bathroom for a ridiculously cold shower that he quickly regretted. He then returned to bed and kept his thoughts on boring things – notably school and his mother – until his consciousness slipped away and left place to darkness.

He was awoken at an ungodly hour – somewhere around 5 in the morning – but as usual he seemed perfectly rested when he gracefully jumped out of bed. Ristuka was still in pyjamas, hugging a pillow and smiling regardless of the dark circles around his eyes. How excited could he be to wake up so early?

Ritsuka ran downstairs, still unconsciously clutching the pillow to his chest, and his brother followed casually, stopping in the kitchen to make some coffee. It was a drug, yes, but he wasn't addicted. He couldn't get addicted, as simple as that. He just wanted the heavy drowsiness to leave his brain for it made him feel heavy. Once his porcelain cup was filled with hot, black liquid, he went to the living room where his brother was waiting for him, gnawing at his lip in an effort to contain his excitement. Seimei had told him to stay quiet so they wouldn't wake their mother up – not because he would go out of his way to preserve her rest, but because he didn't want her there to ruin the moment.

He sat down on the couch, cup in hand, and nodded towards the presents before his little brother wet his pants in excitement. There was a small, muffled squeal and then the sound of paper being hastily torn apart.

"This one says 'from Santa Clause'."

Seimei looked up from his hot drink and stretched out his stiff tail.

"That would be from either mom or dad, then."

Ritsuka nodded, opened the gift, smiled, and moved on to the next one. There were many presents under the trees, and most were for the two children; Seimei would never dream of giving his parents anything. At best he might give his mother a hug for giving Ritsuka to him, but he'd done that three years ago. That was sufficient. The only present for them was a homemade card from Ritsuka addressed to both of them.

The youngest Aoyagi boy received a large toy car, a few teddy bears from clueless, faraway family members, a few recent video games, some of his favourite candy, a DVD and half a dozen books.

"I thought Seimei got books," he muttered, checking the card to see if it was really his present.

"But you like them as much as I do," Seimei pointed out, patting his pants to get rid of any pesky wrinkles. Ritsuka smiled and nodded, piling his gifts in one corner and picking up some unopened presents in his arms.

"These are for you," he purred, his tail waving as he placed them down on the coffee table, next to the empty cup. Seimei reached out and rubbed one of the furry triangles, ignoring the presents, until he heard his brother whine: "Open them!"

Not one to keep Ritsuka waiting, he pulled the first bundle over, weighing it as he lifted it up. A book, of course. He almost wished people would try to make it hard to figure out. He opened it slowly, pulling the tape off so as to not damage the paper underneath (which his parents had cut and tied perfectly, knowing crooked things nagged their son crazy), pulling it off and folding it like he would a towel. He'd throw it out, of course, but there was no harm in it being nicely arranged.

"Why does everything always have to be organized with you?" Coming from anybody else, it might have come out as an accusation or a note of annoyance, but Seimei knew it was anything but. Nothing but an honest inquiry.

"I dislike disorderly things."

It was called Trevayne, and since he'd never heard of it he guessed they'd just picked up a complicated-looking book from the shelf and bought it. He'd read just about everything else. Four more books followed, all very thick and written by well-known authors. He was pleased enough…or something like that.

He got a pair of green monkey-patterned pyjamas and waved it in front of his brother, quickly crushing the card in his hand.

"Ritsuka, this is for you," he claimed softly. Ritsuka eyed it for a second and frowned.

"No it's not, it's your size!"

"Uncle says you'll grow into it. That way, you'll already have a pair when you're grown up."

He didn't particularly enjoy lying to his brother, but he enjoyed the pyjama even less. He had never met this uncle and, although he had tales of Seimei and his over-the-top intellectuality, he insisted on sending him childish gifts.

He was brought out of his musings when a small, warm body crawled onto his lap and a head of soft hair lodged itself under his chin. He obliged, hugging his brother close, still eyeing the offending clothes hatefully. His uncle better hope they never met.

"Ready to go back to bed?" he breathed into one of the twitching ears. It flicked away for a moment, surprised by the air blowing into it.

"Yeah," Ritsuka said with a long yawn.

Seimei brought his brother upstairs, leaving the toys abandoned downstairs. His brother was way more entertaining anyway.