Hello people, 'tis me once again lol. Again, the disclaimers; I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or any of the characters.
This is also the first time I'm writing XS (to be fair the 8059 was the first KHR fic I ever wrote), so again, hope this appeals to XS fans! :D Warning: slight OOC (to me) and a tinge of fluffiness in the end. Multiple thanks to Bathos and Tsuyin for giving me many ideas and lots of help~ ^^
This is the second of a few oneshots for the KHR characters to celebrate Christmas, there should be either one or two more coming up by Christmas! :D Look forward to it!
He stared at the ceiling as he lay in the bed, his torso exposed to the air. As time passed, the swordsman heard nothing but the monotonous ticking of the clock on his bedside drawer. His arm outstretched, he explored the space next to him. It felt weird that no one was there next to him, ensuring his safety. It wasn't that Squalo couldn't fend for himself; hell he was up for a fight anytime, any place. It was just that Xanxus's presence made him feel safe, that he had someone to support him, even though the support in question was the most brutal person he ever knew.
Rolling on his side and watching the pillow, Squalo closed his eyes and imagined Xanxus's presence. It wasn't easy, considering that Xanxus did nothing but hit him. He was no less than abusive, and even though he would never admit it, Squalo wasn't used to the absence of Xanxus's mistreatment. Normally something would be thrown from Xanxus's seat in the room. It was usually coffee, wine, wine with the wine glass, or for the heck of it, the entire wine bottle. He was pretty damn sure that Xanxus was going to die of liver failure one day. Either that or he would get stabbed to death and be left by the roadside to bleed to death. He deserved it anyway, with what he told him a few days before.
Xanxus wasn't going to be around for Christmas. He was going to be on a fucking mission, and he was to be the only asshole who wasn't around. Squalo didn't think of himself as the sentimental type, but really, away on Christmas? What kind of screwed up person would miss Christmas with the closest people he knew? The idiot wasn't going to celebrate Christmas with the Vongola family, not going to celebrate, or rather bully the 10th, and wasn't going to celebrate with the rest of the Varia. He was going to be, what was it, away in Bulgaria hunting down some dog that was stupid enough to land himself on the Varia's list. Xanxus had left 2 days before Christmas Eve, and even had the nerve to send back a message yesterday with the following scribbled on it;
"Still in fucking Bulgaria. Tell that piece of trash that I'm not coming back for Christmas."
Squalo picked up the note that was on his bedside table and stared at it more. The messed-up handwriting was most definitely Xanxus's. Sitting up, he stared at the clock. 2.43am. It was already Christmas Day if he were to be nitpicky about it. What he found amusing was that Xanxus actually stayed true to his word. He never did that. It was what made Xanxus Xanxus. He always broke his promises, he was abusive, rude, unfeeling, untactful, and his mouth was no less than filthy. Add in being selfish, paranoid, power-hungry…and so much more.
Funny how that was what attracted Squalo to him in the first place. A screwed up person attracting another screwed up person.
Crushing the note in his hands and throwing it onto his bedside drawer, Squalo poured himself a glass of red wine, before sinking into Xanxus's chair, his own corner in the room. He glanced out the window and realized for the first time that it was snowing. "And here I thought I was cold 'cause I actually missed that bastard." A sad smile inched its way onto his face, and as the crimson liquid was slowly drained from the glass, he got up from the armchair, his svelte figure moving over to the window. 3.08am was now on the clock, and he still couldn't sleep, what with that asshole popping into his mind every few moments. He was sick of it; sick of how attracted he was to that kind of person. Half the time he didn't even understand their relationship – it was full of nothing but insults, abuse, and hurt, and yet somehow they managed to stay together through it all. They never saved the best for each other. It was always everything at one shot, never hiding their flaws from one another. They never promised anything to each other, and always showed their worst side possible. Squalo knew that their relationship was screwed up (bordering on fucked up really) but as much as he knew that knowing Xanxus was bad for him, he stayed by his side, like the loyal servant he liked to think himself as. He could just hear Xanxus calling him nothing but a dog, a stupid but loyal dog right about now.
"Gah, what am I talking about?" Squalo breathed as he placed the now empty glass on the windowsill. "He doesn't give a shit about me; I'm no more than a piece of trash to him. Dispensable." Eyeing the bottle of wine that sat on the wooden shelf, he sighed and decided to get it to get a refill. Picking up the bottle neck and turning back to the window however;
He was utterly unprepared for what he saw. Two bright yellow-orange blasts were coming his way, and if he didn't dodge it, he'd be dead upon impact. Crouching down as the windows shattered, the shards flying across his bare back, Squalo could only think of three words.
"Fuck you Xanxus."
The windowsill's brilliant marble crumbled, and the wine glass had been completely obliterated, with nothing but the stem left standing. If anything, the shots were disgustingly accurate, bearing two holes into the wall behind Squalo and beyond. Continuing to stay crouched, he felt beads of blood gather and spill over his back, and now the cold wind from the snow was blowing into the room. Squalo felt his emotions go in one huge rollercoaster ride. It sank the moment he knew who had just climbed over the sill that was somehow intact. It sank even deeper when he recognized the strong, metallic tang of blood.
"What in the world was that?!" Lussuria's effeminate voice rang loud and clear throughout the hallway. Great, just great, now the entire Varia was up and awake, and they would come running to the room demanding to know what happened.
"Oh I don't know, Santa Claus came by and decided to blow up the Boss's room for fun," Fran's annoyingly apathetic voice was heard, and Squalo could just imagine that sneaky little frog's lazy body stroll down the hallway. The rest of the Varia's footsteps were quick and hurried, and Squalo didn't even dare to look up when the door flung open, with Lussuria leading the bunch.
"Su-qualo~! Are you- oh my," Lussuria stopped as his eyes fell onto the guest. "I thought you weren't coming back in tim-"
"Boss!" Bel interrupted, and for once, didn't end his sentence with the trademark 'ushishishi'. "Anyway, Squalo, get off the ground. What the hell are you doing?"
"Ah, Senpai," Fran's voice interrupted them, his pale-mint head joining the group as (nearly) all heads turned to him, "I have an idea. Y'know, Squalo's the lonely type of guy, so he'd want to spend time with the people he's closest with, but because Boss wasn't around he decided to pray for the best that the Boss would come bashing through the snow and-"
A punch was delivered to his head (courtesy of Bel) while Xanxus stood there, drenched in blood, his X-Guns charging up. "If the lot of you don't leave right now, I swear I'll shoot you till you can't make any more stupid wisecracks. GET THE FUCK OUT!" He finally snarled when Levi opened his mouth to make a comment.
As the rest of the Varia left with Lussuria closing the door and sending the Varia members back to bed, Squalo got up and looked straight into Xanxus's unpleasant countenance. "Thought you weren't going to be around for Christmas."
"Belgium ain't that fucking far, you scum." Xanxus sneered as he took off his coat. "And give me that." He proceeded to snatch the bottle of wine standing next to Squalo's foot.
"…You went to Bulgaria, not Belgium."
"Belgium, Bulgaria, same difference." He replied in return after he took a swig of the wine. "They're close enough on the fucking map anyway." His angry eyes fell onto Squalo's half-dressed self. "What the shit are you doing dressed like that anyway? It's cold as hell."
Squalo could feel his anger level rising higher and higher. This was why he hated Xanxus in a way. He could always make him feel like the biggest idiot alive, as though Xanxus was superior to him by default. He felt his fist clench. "It's only cold because you blew the fricking window off the hinges! Couldn't you have been normal and used the DOOR?"
"Shut up, trash." The sharp but simple comment stung. Xanxus looked around the room and looked at the closet in the corner of the room. Storming his way to it, he kicked it, adjusting it such that the window was crudely but rather effectively, boarded up. Without the white glow from the snow outside, the room was plunged into darkness, the brightest thing being Squalo's silver hair which seemed to glow like moonstone. Silence ensued for a moment as Squalo continued to glare at Xanxus who had decided to lean against the cupboard, the bloodstains on his white shirt dry and forming ugly patches. The coat itself which landed on the bed smelled of blood, which Squalo didn't hesitate to throw on the floor, of which Xanxus said nothing and continued to down the wine.
"I'm going to bed." Squalo muttered under his breath. He didn't want to have to deal with Xanxus's bullshit at the moment, he just wanted to sleep it off and wake up the next day in one piece. However, before Squalo could take even five steps, the sound of shattered glass was heard and Squalo felt the wine spread all over the carpet and touch his foot. The cold liquid, contrasted by Xanxus's large, warm hands grabbed hold of his hair, dragging him backwards and into Xanxus's arms, earning much protest. "WHAT THE FUCK, LET ME GO."
"No, shut up, scum." He tugged harder on Squalo's hair, making him jerk backwards no matter how hard he tried to go towards the bed.
"Fuck you let me g- WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SMELLING MY HAIR, LET ME GO!" Squalo started to elbow Xanxus to no avail, as Xanxus did nothing but wrap his arms around the half-dressed swordsman, one arm holding Squalo still, while the other arm's hand explored the porcelain skin of the swordsman.
"God, for a guy who looks like a woman you sure make a lot of noise," Xanxus's low voice met Squalo's ear as the swordsman started flailing his arms around, "Shut up or you'll get Lussuria and the rest of them back in here. Keep your voice down dammit. I'm tired of chasing around maggots like you." Xanxus's surprisingly muscular arm grabbed hold of Squalo's wrists as he dragged him over to the bed.
"Then you fucking let go of m-" Squalo started when he was pushed onto the bed, but was quickly interrupted when Xanxus's lips came crashing onto his. As he thought; they were dry, cracking and unbelievably unpleasant. That and Xanxus applied way too much pressure in kissing him, but somehow, despite knowing how horrible being kissed by Xanxus was, Squalo didn't protest at all. He didn't know why, but he just let himself lie there, sprawled on the bed, his hair being invaded by Xanxus's free hand. He lay still even when Xanxus broke the kiss and removed his shirt. Shit, he knew what was coming, and what Xanxus wanted, Xanxus got, no matter how much he decided to shout, yell, and insult.
Throwing the bloodstained shirt on the floor, Squalo couldn't help but scan Xanxus's scar-ridden chest. Muscular, but not overly-muscular, pleasant to look at and there were no wounds at all. Thank God, the blood on the shirt wasn't his. Not that he would have let it be his. His eyes looked tired, and though there were no serious injuries, bruises were nearly everywhere, with one of them on his left arm, the blue-black seeming to spread with every movement. "Xanxus…you want to get some medica-"
"Shut. Up." Xanxus growled as he climbed onto the bed, dragging Squalo with him. His arms wrapped around Squalo's slender upper arms, his body heat keeping Squalo snug, Xanxus said nothing as he buried his head into the pillows, with Squalo in his arms. Within moments, Squalo could hear his breathing slow down and go deeper. Wriggling slightly to face Xanxus, he realized what Xanxus had done. He was hugging him to sleep, as though Squalo was a big slender teddy bear. He hadn't realized how tired Xanxus really was.
As he let his head rest on Xanxus's arm, he remembered why he was willing to stick with Xanxus, despite it being an abusive and rocky relationship, and one where Squalo wanted nothing but to kill him at least thrice a week. It was simply because although the ways that Xanxus used to show his affection for others were nothing but strange, Squalo couldn't deny that affection was affection. Closing his eyes as lethargy took over and wrapped in Xanxus's arms, Squalo said a few words in his head before falling asleep, with Xanxus's presence and love as his early Christmas present.
"Buon Natale, Xanxus. Ti amo."
"Buon Natale" means Merry Christmas, while "Ti amo" means I love you in Italian. :D
Hope you liked it! Review - bouquets, or brickbats? :D