'tis the Season…for Drinking

Sometimes joy can be found in the most unexpected of places.

It can be an old memento, a fragment from one's lost childhood, a simple acknowledgement of one's accomplishments, or even something as frivolous as food. Joy can come in the form of a pet, a friend, a surprise phone call, or as meager as finding loose change on the ground after a bad day.

Joy, surprisingly enough, could even come in the form of a human.

Halibel mused on that fact as the elevator began its ascent to the tenth floor, on how she had initially refused to have anything to do with a mortal man. She'd never expected to have enjoyed Hiroki's company or that she'd actually find herself looking forward to another date with him. For all the fuss she had made at first, he had proven himself to be something…special. He was intelligent, handsome, had a yearly salary that was nearly what she and Tyn earned combined, and he was so polite! Hiroki didn't spew idiotic questions from his mouth like Tyn, nor was he as vulgar and crass as Grimmjow, or as dreadfully boring as Ulquiorra, and he took everything in stride just as calmly as Starrk.

A smile graced her lips as she exited the elevator and made her way down the hall to her apartment; Hiroki would be by to pick her up in about an hour, and human or not, she couldn't wait to see him.

She stepped into the empty apartment, locking the door behind her as she headed straight for the bathroom to warm the shower, shedding clothes as she went. Tyn would be late getting home this evening, so there was no danger of him walking in on her in such a state of undress, and she relished the freedom. She turned on the hot water and closed the bathroom door as she headed to the kitchen for a drink, waiting for the shower to be a virtual steam-bath before she entered.

Tyn…

Halibel sighed at the sudden and unexpectedly guilty-feeling thought of her roommate as she drank down a bottle of water, knowing full well he disapproved of her relationship with Hiroki. Tyn thought that Hiroki was an intruder, a disruption to the stability of the 'pack' that wasn't needed and Tia had been unable to reason with him.

Perhaps, she thought as she made her way back to the now-steamy bathroom, it was simply the timing of it all that was the root of the problem.

For the better part of a year, she and Tyn had lived in complete and utter dysfunction; yelling, screaming, physical and emotional abuse. Looking back, their lives had been a nightmare; he had always dreaded coming home and she had always dreaded seeing him come home.

Things had finally changed, and they no longer feared or despised one another…but that was less than two months of civility compared against eight months of brutality. They had barely gotten a chance to really know one another in that month and a half, and now someone else had entered the picture… After all, they still had to repair the broken trust and friendship that had been shattered back in Hueco Mundo when Halibel had erroneously sided with Aizen over Tyn, ending with him being chased into the desert by the person he had trusted more than any other.

Yes, she supposed she could certainly see why Tyn was so agitated.

But what was done was done, and Hiroki was already a part of her life; it was too late to shove him away now and say "I need more time."

Tyn will simply have to adapt… she thought as she allowed the almost-scalding water to cascade down her body. The quinto would have to learn to accept Hiroki's presence and overcome it and in time, she was sure that Tyn would accept him. Hell, he had already begun to refer to Orihime as being part of the pack simply because of her relationship with Ulquiorra; there was absolutely no reason why it should be any different with Hiroki.

Tia lathered her short, blonde hair thoroughly, massaging her scalp with her fingertips before tilting her head back to let the flowing water rinse the soap out. In time, Hiroki would be ready to know the truth about her, about all of them, and when that day came, surely Tyn would be willing to at least grant him some measure of acceptance. Hell, the first weekend, Tyn had dealt with it better than she had expected; he hadn't stalked them, hadn't tried to murder Hiroki and had in fact been in his room asleep when she returned home. Of course, Tia had never anticipated it being the "first" weekend; rather, she thought it would be a one-time event meant to keep her co-workers off her back.

Maybe that was why Tyn had seemed to handle it so well… Last Friday, though, she had come home to find him sitting in the living room, in the dark, staring at the front door.

She sighed as she shut the water off and grabbed a towel to sponge up the remaining water from her body, shaking her head at the memory. He hadn't said a word to either her or Hiroki; he had simply sat there, staring at them until Hiroki diplomatically said it was probably time for him to go home.

Tia wasn't stupid and neither was Hiroki; she knew that Tyn had been staring at him and thinking about murder and while Hiroki may not have realized just how much harm Tyn was wishing upon him, he had recognized the naked hostility reflecting in the redhead's green eyes.

It shouldn't be that way tonight, at least; Tyn had agreed to find something else to do, something more constructive.

Last night, they had went out and bought some decorations for a Christmas tree, and Tyn had volunteered to go find a tree tonight by himself while she went out with Hiroki. He'd even said he might decorate it without her to pass the time, and while her understanding of Christmas left Tia with the impression that decorating the tree was a task to be shared, she wasn't going to argue so long as it kept him from scaring the hell out of her boyfriend.

Finished drying off, she left the bathroom to go rifling through her closet, trying to find something suitable for the evening. Of course, Hiroki wouldn't care what she wore; she was, according to him, beautiful regardless of her state of dress. She smiled as she picked out a long, black evening dress with a low-cut top; she usually didn't like wearing black because it reminded her of shinigami but she thought Hiroki might appreciate it and she wanted to look good for him.

The void where her heart should be was filled with joy, and of all the bizarre and obscure things it could have come from, it was courtesy of a human.

"I wonder what he wants all of those stupid things for…" muttered Starrk aloud, hands thrust deep into his coat pockets as he watched Grimmjow leaving Burger World with two and a half large boxes full of leftover Turkey-Burgers.

"It's probably better that we don't know," said Tyn, shaking his head as he zipped his own coat up. The sexta was still the most unpredictable of the group and there was no telling what sort of plan he might have for the foul meat patties.

"Yeah; easier to claim innocence that way, in case the police come around," agreed Starrk. "So, any ideas on where to go?"

"What do I look like, a goddamned map to the city?" growled Tyn. "A store is a store, right?"

"Not all stores sell trees; the little Quickmart down the street doesn't."

"Because it's a gas station. We should try a department store or a nursery."

Starrk had volunteered to go tree shopping with the quinto in order to find a tree for his own apartment; Lilynette had been bothering him about getting one for nearly a week now, and he had planned on having one up and ready to decorate by the time she got home from Karin's house later in the evening. Of course, Tyn also suspected that the primera was concerned about leaving the raptor to his own devices for too long; he and Ulquiorra had both voiced their objections to Tyn's plans of drinking himself stupid after work, and Starrk likely sought to keep him from doing so.

He was grateful for the concern and the company, of course; he valued time with his pack, and their support…although in truth, he'd rather be at home with Tia right now, bickering over what movie to watch or what to cook for dinner.

He scowled as they walked down the crowded sidewalk, imagining Tia with that damned human. Stupid, weak, fleshy mortal son of a…

"You're thinking about Tia's new beau, aren't you?" asked Starrk abruptly.

"What makes you say that?" asked Tyn, feigning innocence.

"Because you've been growling for the past three minutes and people are starting to stare."

He looked up at the crowd moving around them on the sidewalk, noticing that yes, a few people were staring. He snapped his teeth threateningly at them, but the effect was greatly diminished while in his gigai rather than his resurrección form. Still, most people backed a couple of steps away from him, thinking him to be mentally unstable.

"Have you given the guy a chance?" asked Starrk as they entered a department store. "I mean, maybe he's decent enough. Maybe—"

"He's human, Starrk!" bellowed Tyn loudly, his voice carrying through the crowded store and garnering them even more stares. "Human! He's not one of us, will never be one of us—"

"Neither is Orihime, and you accept her," he countered easily as they approached the trees on display.

"This is different…" growled the quinto bitterly. "Tia deserves something more than a human, something better."

"You're jealous, you mean," said Starrk accusingly as he looked over an artificial fir that was painted white to simulate being covered in snow. "Somehow, some way, after all the hell Tia's put you through this past year, you've become attached to her."

"I am not," said Tyn defiantly, pretending to look at a tree that was a dark greenish-black.

"You're a horrible liar," said Starrk, turning away from the white tree and looking at a smaller table-top tree.

"It's not like I lo—" started Tyn, but he bit down on his tongue to keep from finishing, as if the very word was poisonous to speak. "I do not care for her that way."

"Either you got some sort of perverted enjoyment out of the abuse she used to put you through and you're missing it, or you love her. Which is it; are you a masochist, or in love with her?"

"Neither!"

"Ah, well, if that's what you say, I have no choice but to believe you…" said Starrk, heading for the exit to go try another store. "You know, I wonder if she'll let him sleep with her tonight; of course, since you don't love her, that shouldn't bother you, right?"

"He'd freeze his dick off in the icy bitch if he tried…" said Tyn through clenched teeth as he fell into step with the other Espada as they continued in their search.

"Better him than you, right?" asked Starrk, eyeing his friend carefully.

"If he touches her, I'll rip his—"

"You'll what? You're not romantically attached to her, remember?"

Tyn fell silent as he contemplated what he'd do and why he would do it. He wasn't lying; he didn't have any romantic feeling for Tia. After all, lacking a heart made it hard to lo—

to lo—

—to give a damn about someone in a way that was more than friendly or familial.

Yes, that was a good way to put it.

But that didn't mean he had to like or accept the idea of some filthy human monkey touching his Shark Queen!

"You're growling again…" Starrk pointed out as they entered another store.

"I'm just getting annoyed with how hard it is to find a tree," lied Tyn, although he could tell by the way Starrk looked down his nose at him that the primera wasn't convinced in the slightest.

"It is a little irritating…" Starrk admitted rather than call his friend out for lying as they looked at the pitiful selection of artificial trees. "I think most of these are the same as the last place, just with higher price tags."

"Next store?" asked Tyn

"Next store," agreed Starrk.

They departed the store in silence, with Starrk mercifully not mentioning Tia or what she may be doing with her date right about now. Tyn appreciated the silence, but that didn't stop him from imagining things all on his own.

At least this time he was making a conscious effort to not growl and betray his thoughts.

"Your hands are bleeding," observed Starrk quietly, and Tyn raised his hands up, unclenching his fists and watching the crimson fluid drip down his open palm from the deep gouges carved by his fingernails.

Then he growled.

"Look, you're not going to find any peace until you either admit the truth or kill him," said Starrk as they entered another store and Tyn wiped his bloody hands on his pants.

"The latter isn't really an option, just so you know," added Starrk after a moment's thought.

Says you… thought Tyn bitterly, but he kept silent.

There was a larger selection of trees in this store, and while Starrk found himself town between two firs that in Tyn's eyes were virtually identical, the raptor didn't see a single one that he liked. Stupid humans and their stupid holidays! Why did it have to be some kind of evergreen? Was it a law or something, or just a silly tradition?

While Starrk debated, Tyn excused himself to explore the store; shopping for trees sucked, humans sucked, this entire stupid season sucked…

He found his way over to the home décor section of the store and rows of fake flowers and ferns not too dissimilar from the ones he kept in his room. None of these were exactly Christmas tree material and in truth, weren't even trees at all. Ugh, he didn't want to have to settle for one of the boring trees!

He turned a corner, looking down one last aisle before giving up and he spied his salvation.

Perfect.

Tyn grabbed his prize and marched back to the Christmas department, where Starrk was waiting with a box containing his and Lilynette's tree. The primera looked at Tyn as if he were crazy as he approached, eyeing Tyn's selection up and down critically.

"Tyn, that's not really a—"

"Don't care; I like it, and that's all that matters."

"And when Tia decides that she disagrees…?"

"Then she should have cancelled her stupid date and went shopping with me!" snapped Tyn, heading up front for the register, this time with Starrk falling in behind him.

"Let's just hope she doesn't decide to beat you to death with it."

It was almost ten o'clock and Tia still wasn't home.

Tyn had expected as much after the past two weeks, of course; if history were any indication, she wouldn't be home before eleven at the earliest, midnight at the latest. He scowled as he turned up the brown bottle and drained the last of the now-warm beer down his throat. He looked at the empty container mournfully before tossing it to the trash can in the kitchen.

He frowned when he missed and the bottle shattered against the wall, just a little left of the can. That had never happened before; the stupid can must have moved!

"I'll finish you later…" he hiccupped to the tree in the corner beside the balcony door before stumbling his way over to the kitchen.

He'd gotten home from tree shopping nearly two hours ago, after stopping for a case of beer first, intending to perform his drinking experiment while decorating the tree. Two hours of hardcore drinking, and all he had accomplished was almost finishing the tree; hell, he still didn't feel anything from the beer.

He concluded it was impossible for an arrancar to get drunk while in a gigai, although he was at a loss when it came to explaining how the trash can had dodged on him.

Tyn nudged the innocent-looking plastic container with his foot, keeping an eye on it to see if it moved again. It could be a trap, some sort of device set up by the shinigami…

It remained still.

"Mushta been an earthquake…" he muttered, looking at the smashed bottle and the damp spot on the wall where it had hit. He tried to wipe the beer off the wall with his hands, but that wasn't working so well, prompting him to step closer and use his shirt tail.

He heard the remnants of the bottle crunching under his shoe, but he paid it no mind as he finished wiping the wetness from the wall.

"Good a'shnew…almosht," he slurred, taking a shaky step back to admire his handiwork before retrieving the last beer from the refrigerator.

He made his way back to the living room, taking a long swig from the foul liquid before returning to work on the tree; he'd already wrapped the stupid lights around it, had put a few of the stupid ornaments on it, had hung the stupid artificial icicles, and was now wrapping the stupid blue tinsel around the base of the trunk.

"Shtupid tree…" he said as he slowly wrapped the metallic blue tinsel around the trunk. "Shtupid Christmas… Shtupid Tia, too!"

No, that wasn't right…she wasn't stupid.

The human was stupid.

Stupid human!

"Shtupid me, too, for not killin' him," said Tyn, finishing with the tinsel and staggering backwards as he took another long drink from the bottle before pulling it back to look at it angrily. "Shtupid beer, too! I don't feel nothin!"

He failed to see how Neliel had supposedly managed to get drunk in the Seireitei unless sake was made of far stronger stuff or she simply had no tolerance whatsoever.

Tyn tried to take another careful step backward to examine the tree and stumbled on the suddenly-uneven floor, catching himself against the wall roughly.

"Big earthquake…" he muttered, taking another drink.

The safest place to be during an earthquake, he thought, was lying on the couch so as to not fall down and hurt himself. It made perfect sense; he'd just go sit on the couch for a little while until the room stopped swaying. He carefully staggered his way over to the couch, narrowly avoiding falling on the new coffee table thanks to the constantly-shifting room and collapsed into the cushions heavily.

He had been aiming for his traditional end of the couch, but the couch must have slid from the earthquake and he missed, landing in the center cushion, in No Man's Land.

Fuck it; Tia wasn't there anyway, so it didn't matter.

He took another swing from the bottle, emptying it before dropping it to the floor, and still the room was tilting back and forth unevenly, making the prospect of heading to his room and going to bed a daunting idea.

No, the best course of action right now would be to lay back on the couch and take a light nap while he waited for the room to stop moving. He'd be up and out of the way long before Tia got home, he was sure of it.

It was nearly one when Tia and Hiroki stepped off the elevator, her arms wrapped tightly around his as he walked her to her door like the gentleman he was. It was a perfect end to a perfect night; dinner, a movie, drinks, and him shamelessly complimenting her on her beauty and intelligence.

She only hoped Tyn wouldn't be sitting on the couch watching the door again this week.

"I'm not sure I should come in…" said Hiroki slowly as Tia fumbled with the lock, "not after last week. I really think he doesn't like me."

"Tyn will behave," she promised him, knowing that the quinto would control his more-violent urges rather than risk her wrath. "He's supposed to be putting up the tree…"

She opened the door, silently praying that Tyn wouldn't be sitting up and waiting…

Thankfully the living room seemed devoid of her eccentric roommate and Halibel breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she entered the apartment.

"That's an…unusual Christmas tree…" said Hiroki dryly, and Tia followed his eyes to the tree in question in the corner of the room. It was brightly lit and colorfully-decorated, even if it was very non-traditional.

"Well, I did leave it up to him to find a tree and it's very…him. It's a very-Tyn tree," she admitted.

"It's a Palm tree, Tia," sighed Hiroki. "What kind of idiot uses a Palm tree for Christmas?"

Halibel stiffened at his words, suppressing an angry growl; it was the first mistake Hiroki had ever made and she had to be lenient.

"Don't call him that. Ever," she warned, her voice taking an almost-threatening tone as she glared daggers at her new boyfriend. "He's not an idiot."

It was a lie; everyone that actually knew Tyn knew he was an idiot. Still, she refused to allow anyone other than herself to call him that; he was her idiot, damn it, and no one, least of all someone from outside the pack, was allowed to call him such!

"I'm sorry," Hiroki said quickly, backpedaling. "It's just that it's not normal, you know?"

Normal…

Oh, how she hated that damned word.

It was imperative for the Espada to act normal, to draw as little attention to themselves as possible in order to keep the masquerade going. It was why they had normal jobs, why she had started going out with a human, why she pretended to like the neighbors…

And now Hiroki was telling her that the tree wasn't normal.

She took a long, hard look at the carefully-decorated and brightly-lit Palm tree in the corner before looking back at Hiroki.

"To Hell with normal; I like it," she said finally.

"I didn't mean… I mean… Look, Tia, I…" stuttered Hiroki, trying to find a way to apologize to her, but she waved it off.

"It's fine…" she said softly. "I know it's different and that's exactly why I like it. Don't you ever find normal to be boring?"

"Sometimes…" he admitted slowly, taking another glance at the tree and Tia noticed the disapproval in his eyes.

She was disappointed, but she reminded herself that no one was perfect, least of all a human. They could work through it later, but it would probably be best to call it a night and send him on his way.

"Good night, Hiroki," she said softly, kissing him once and opening the door for him. "I'll see you next Friday?"

"Of course!" he said, stepping out into the hall. He opened his mouth as if he had something else to say, but Tia was already in the process of shutting the door and couldn't be bothered to stop.

Just because they could work through it all later didn't mean she had to let go of her irritation just yet.

She shook her head, still disappointed with how things had turned out and headed to her bedroom to change. She'd only taken a few steps when her foot collided with something, sending it rolling across the floor. Halibel looked down and saw a beer bottle, then several beer bottles littering the floor.

"What the hell…?" she murmured. A burp sounded behind her and she slowly turned to find Tyn stretched out on the couch, sound asleep.

"Tyn…" she sighed, but he didn't budge. Carefully, she tiptoed over to the couch and his side, hoping to avoid a repeat of the last time he'd woke up to find her standing over him.

He still didn't move, and she reached out and nudged his shoulder.

That got a response.

He started snoring.

"Ugh…" she said, fanning away the scent of his beer-breath for a second before trying to shake him awake once more.

"Come on, stupid…" she said gently, "You can't sleep here. Let's get you to your room."

Still in a drunken stupor, Tyn reached out and grabbed her, pulling her down onto the couch on top of him and wrapping his arms around her.

"Dun go…" he muttered, squeezing her tightly. "Dun leave me. Dun wanna be 'lone again."

"Tyn, what are you babbling about?" she asked, blushing slightly in his embrace before regaining her senses and trying to get free.

"Grimmjow shaid…Grimmjow shaid…" he began, loosening his grip on Halibel and trying to roll over on his side. "Grimmjow shaid tell you shumthin…"

"Tell me what?" asked Tia, finally prying herself from his grip and rolling off the couch, kneeling beside it.

"Tell you…tell you…Grimmjow shaid…"

"What did Grimmjow say to tell me?" she pushed.

"I 'unno…" said Tyn, burying his face into the couch cushion. "He shaid to tell you shumthin'…"

"I don't suppose you'll remember enough of this conversation to try again in the morning when you're sober, will you?"

"Remember what?" he asked slowly, opening his eyes for the first time. "Hey, when you get home?"

"Never mind," said Tia, standing up and trying to pull Tyn to his feet. "Let's just get you to bed and forget tonight ever happened."

"What happen?" he asked, leaning against her heavily as she finally got him off the couch. "If he hurt you, I'll do…I'll do…I'll do shumthin!"

"I'm fine; you're the problem," replied Halibel, half-walking and half-dragging the raptor to his room and his waiting sleeping mat.

"What problem?" asked Tyn, turning to look at her through hazy eyes. "Hey, when you get home?"

"You asked that already."

"I did?"

"You're drunk, Tyn."

"Shince when?" he asked as she eased him down to the floor and his sleeping mat, pulling his blanket up for him.

"Since before I got home," said Tia. "Just sleep it off and maybe we can talk in the morning."

"Grimmjow shaid to tell you shumthin'…"

"Talk to me when you remember exactly what you're supposed to tell me," said Tia, standing to exit the room. "Good night, Tyn."

But Tyn was already asleep again, snoring loudly as he rolled over on his side to face the wall, and Tia just shook her head as she exited the room and shut the door behind her gently. He was drunk out of his mind and had no idea what he was saying or doing; there was no chance he'd remember any of this come the morning, and that was probably for the best since she really didn't want to hear him apologizing profusely for grabbing her.

She stopped on her way to her own bedroom, looking at the artificial Palm tree and its joyful, dancing lights over in the corner. Tia thought back to every other Christmas tree she had seen throughout the city and in all the ridiculously-cheerful TV specials that had begun airing, and even to the Christmas tree set up back at The Oasis…

Hiroki was right; it wasn't normal, not by a long shot. Still, the sight of the unique tree and its colorful lights brought a soft smile to her face.

"Fuck normalcy."