Chapter Text
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Nicholas had lain awake most of the evening mulling over the events of the previous few days.
When he first came to Kings Row Boys School four months ago, it would be fair to say that his and Seiji Katayama’s relationship had been a little acrimonious. The fight they’d had in the equipment closet a few weeks into their first term flashed through his mind and he couldn’t help but smile — okay, perhaps their relationship extended beyond a friendly rivalry. He hoped that they might be friends as well as rivals. Now though, after what had happened in recent days…
Nicholas sighed heavily and rolled over to face the rubber duck shower curtain that divided their bedroom in two. He wasn’t sure anymore what the hell they were. He wondered if Seiji was lying awake on the other side of the partition like he was, pondering the same questions.
Probably not, he reasoned. He’d be up soon for his usual morning routine. He probably slept soundly, laser-focused as always on the task at hand: Fencing. And winning. And beating Nicholas. He grudgingly admired Seiji’s unwavering dedication, it was more than a sport, it was a way of life. Of course, he wouldn’t spare a second thought for Nicholas since he didn’t factor into winning competitions.
Feeling restless, he sighed again and rolled onto his back to stare up at the dark ceiling, wondering how the hell he had gotten here. He’d spent countless sleepless nights musing about certain great fencers and how desperately he sought their approval and recognition. For the first time in his life, however, the spectre in his dreams had black hair and strikingly dark eyes to match.
Christ, he thought mournfully as he rubbed his tired eyes. How did you get in this mess?
One week earlier
“Are you sure that you don’t want to come home with me for the holidays?” Bobby offered for what must have been the hundredth time. “It’s really no trouble, you know.”
Bobby and Nicholas stood at the wrought iron, gated entrance to Kings Row Boys School watching as most of the other students bid farewell to their friends before heading home for the Christmas holidays. Harvard had waved them both off before leaving with Aiden, giving Nicholas a firm reminder that the holidays were no excuse to shirk his training. He had assured him that Coach Williams had already been on his case about it and that he wouldn’t be stuffing his face with too many snickerdoodles over the Christmas break. Which was a lie, of course, he’d managed to pilfer a large box of the delicious treats from the kitchens a few nights previously, but what Harvard didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
Nicholas gave Bobby an appreciative smile but declined, “I really appreciate the offer, but I’m happy staying here. It gives me a chance to use all of the equipment while you guys are away.”
Bobby, however, looked unconvinced. He raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” Nicholas replied a little more firmly. He glanced over Bobby’s shoulder to see his mother and grandmother waiting for him by their SUV. The snow was getting heavier and he felt a little guilty that they had been left waiting for the boys to negotiate their goodbyes. He clapped Bobby jovially on the shoulder. “You go and have a great Christmas with your family. I’ll see you in a few days time.”
Bobby threw his arms around Nicholas and pulled him into a tight hug, which he gladly returned. Despite all of his protestations, he was really going to miss his friend over the holidays.
“You’re always welcome in my home, remember that,” he whispered in Nicholas’ ear before pulling away. Nicholas had made a point of not talking too in-depth about his life before arriving at Kings Row, a fact that wasn’t lost on Bobby, but he had chosen not to pry too deeply into the matter, which Nicholas appreciated immensely. Still, he had always made it clear to his friend that he was there for him if he ever needed him, even if it was just to talk. He hiked his heavy travel bag up onto his slim shoulder and took a half-step away from Nicholas, looking incredibly reluctant to leave him. “You’re sure I can’t tempt you with my Abuelita’s peach melba?”
Nicholas chuckled and shook his head. “I’m good. Thanks, though.”
Accepting defeat, Bobby gave a casual shrug. “Your loss, then! Text me if you need anything.”
“Will do.” Nicholas waved off his best friend and family as their car pulled out of the driveway, around the corner past a long line of conifer trees, and out of sight. The last few stragglers were hurrying away now as the snow began to beat down on Nicholas’ head, the black wool hat he wore already sodden and cold. Pulling his coat closer to his neck in a vain effort to protect himself from the cold, he turned on his heel and traipsed up the long path back towards Castello Dormitory, each footstep crunching under the gravel and snow.
The weather matched his mood: cold and miserable. Already he was regretting his decision to stay at the school over the holidays instead of taking Bobby up on his offer. If he were perfectly honest with himself, he had rather liked the idea of staying with Bobby’s family over the Christmas holidays. He had never experienced a ‘normal’ Christmas with a loving family as most of his previous Christmases had been spent at foster homes and, unsurprisingly, they had always been rather muted affairs. He vaguely remembered spending one with his mom, but he was too small to remember it all that well. He usually got a card from her on his birthdays and at Christmas, but most of the time she was too busy to visit. Or so she said. Not that Nicholas let it bother him, of course...he wasn’t the festive type anyway.
He kicked the snow off of his boots on the stone steps outside the Castello building before pushing open the heavy security door, his thoughts returning to Bobby. As nice as it was to think about spending Christmas with his friend and his family, Nicholas couldn’t help but be a little intimidated at the thought of being in their company for an extended period of time. Not that he thought that they would be unkind to him—he knew that they would be more than hospitable. They would make him feel right at home, like one of the family.
A perfectly normal family.
It was their normalcy that intimidated him so much. Normality was a foreign concept to Nicholas and the more he thought about how normal they were the more abnormal he began to feel by comparison. As the festive holidays drew nearer, so did Nicholas’ apprehension; he didn’t want them to realize how out of place he really was being there and regret inviting him into their home in the first place. So in the end, he had talked himself out of going and decided it was probably for the best if he just stayed away. Bobby had been disappointed and a little hurt at Nicholas’ seemingly sudden change of heart, but he had assured Nicholas that it was okay and that he was still welcome if he ever changed his mind.
So here was Nicholas, one of only a handful of students to remain at Kings Row over the Christmas break, and as far as he could tell, he was completely alone in the Castello building. He smiled to himself—maybe there would be some perks to staying here after all. His reasons for staying behind hadn’t been entirely insincere: he really was looking forward to having free rein of the fencing equipment. And more importantly, he’d have two blissful weeks free from Seiji.
Pushing open the door to Room 108, he scanned his small bedroom, a wide grin spreading across his face. For the next two weeks, this wasn’t his and Seiji’s room, it was his room, and his alone.
“Mine,” he whispered gleefully, tearing back the rubber duck shower curtain. He switched on his iPod and turned the volume up loud on his speaker, revelling in the fact that Seiji wouldn’t be there to complain about the noise. Climbing up onto his bed, he began to bounce up and down in time with the music, enjoying the little bubble of happiness and freedom swelling up inside of him. He could play his music as loudly as he liked, use as much water in the shower as he wanted and keep his night light on without having to listen to complaints from his grumpy roommate and fencing rival. He felt like Christmas had come early this year.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like Seiji. They were fierce rivals on the piste but Coach Williams insisted that they brought out the best in each other. And despite their shaky start, they had struck up a tentative friendship over time. Okay, Seiji was pretty annoying most of the time, but they were technically friends now. Still, Nicholas delighted in the fact that he could now step over the invisible barrier splitting their room in two without fear of retribution. He pulled off his snow-covered hat and tossed it across the room onto Seiji’s bed and chuckled to himself—no Seiji here to complain about that, either! Throwing caution to the wind, he jumped from his bed onto Seiji’s, laughing as he bounced and twisted in the air, messing up the perfectly made bed, knowing that his roommate would be none the wiser.
The bedroom door slammed shut and as Nicholas turned to see who had entered the room, his feet got tangled up in the quilt cover and he fell backward onto the bed.
“Oof!” he exclaimed, landing hard on the springy mattress. He looked up and felt his stomach twist as he saw a bemused figure looming over him.
“Seiji,” he choked. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing on my bed?” he snapped, his dark eyes glinting dangerously. Nicholas braced himself for the inevitable fist in his face but instead, a strong pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up onto his feet before pushing him back over to his designated side of the bedroom. Nicholas stumbled and fell back onto his own bed, staring at Seiji in disbelief as he proceeded to remake his bed. What the hell was he doing here?
“I thought you were going home for Christmas,” he stammered.
“What gave you that impression?” asked Seiji, throwing his quilt into the air and laying it precisely over the bed. Nicholas shrugged.
“I dunno. Everyone else is, so I just thought…”
“You thinking? I find that very hard to believe,” he sneered, puffing up and straightening his pillows. Ignoring the jibe, Nicholas pressed on.
“Why aren’t you going home for the holidays?”
“Why aren’t you?” he countered.
“None of your business,” Nicholas replied hotly, crossing his arms.
“There’s your answer,” Seiji replied coolly, tucking the corners of his quilt under his mattress. When he was finished remaking his bed, he turned to face Nicholas. His expression was stony but his eyes betrayed his anger.
“I had rather hoped that I’d get some respite from your annoying and childish habits over the holidays. It seems that’s not going to be the case.” He reached out and grabbed the corner of the shower curtain. “Stay out of my side of the bedroom and stay out of my way.”
He swiftly pulled the shower curtain back into place, disappearing from view. Nicholas stared in confusion at the shower curtain for a few moments, wracking his brain trying to remember what exactly Seiji had said. He had mentioned going home this Christmas, hadn’t he? No, his bed was already empty when he’d gotten up this morning, so Nicholas just assumed that he’d already left. He jumped back onto his feet and switched off the music.
“I’m sorry I jumped on your bed,” he cried out, which wasn’t really necessary since Seiji was only a foot away on the other side of the curtain.
“You’re not sorry,” Seiji countered. “You’re only sorry that you got caught in the act.”
Nicholas opened his mouth to argue, then relented, “Okay, you may have a point there. I’m still sorry though. Let’s not start the Christmas holidays at each other’s throats, eh?”
Nicholas grinned as Seiji pulled the curtain back, pleased that he’d managed to convince his roommate to forgive him, but instead Seiji threw something damp and cold in his face before tugging the curtain closed again. Nicholas tossed his wet woollen hat onto the floor and slumped down onto his bed, the feelings of elation that had filled him only moments before now long gone.
So, he had given up a two week holiday at his best friend’s house to spend it alone with a boy who, for all intents and purposes, hated his guts.
Brilliant, he thought miserably. Merry Christmas indeed.