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14th December, 21:47 P.M.
Nanase Haruka stared at his black planner that he had gotten from Makoto as a birthday present. He was making little notes of the days when he would have to attend his trainings.
Just as he was going through all the dates to make sure that he would have everything covered, he had suddenly noticed a certain date that was highlighted in blue.
24 December
Christmas Day
Haru sighed at the fact that he had to remind himself to get Rin’s Christmas present for the fifth time that week despite the fact that he had no clue what to get him. They had already been dating for quite some time, but Haru was not the type of person who would usually remember his partner's favourites, be it food or colour. Despite that, he spent another 10 minutes or so, cracking his head as he tried to think what Rin would like from him. However, nothing came up to mind at the moment so Haru closed his planner and proceeded to get ready for bed.
--
19th December, 10:23 A.M.
Matsuoka Rin had just landed in Tokyo International Airport not less than 20 minutes ago. He promised to meet up with his sister who had just texted him that she would be late due to a traffic jam. While waiting, Rin went to grab his luggages and then decided to take the extra time he had to look around. Just as he saw the Christmas decorations all around the airport, he suddenly remembered that he still had not gotten Haru any sort of Christmas present.
“Fuck.” He muttered under his breath.
He had been telling himself to get Haru a present from Australia because he thought it would be a bit more special. For the last few years, he had never really bothered to get Haru a proper present so he had thought that this year, it would have been good to do something different but he could never seem to find the time to buy the present itself.
He quickly took a few glimpses around the shops, wanting to go into one just as his phone vibrated in his hand, indicating his sister’s arrival to fetch him.
“Shit.” he muttered as he went to meet up his sister.
--
23rd December, 15:26 P.M.
Both Haru and Rin sighed simultaneously as they sat down in a cozy cafe after they met up with Gou and a few other friends for a small catch-up. Gou had to leave early because she had promised to meet up with the Mikoshiba brothers, much to Rin’s chargin. Sitting there, they both looked at each other and had attempted to start a conversation, both speaking up simultaneously.
Rin blinked for a few moments and said, “Uh, you go first.”
Haru shrugged, “No, you go first.”
Rin tried to find words to start his sentence as he looked away and said, “Um, do you wanna go out tomorrow, you know, for Christmas?”
Haru looked at Rin’s semi-blushing face and nodded. “I’m free tomorrow. Are we hanging out at your place again?”
Rin nodded in glee as he started to tell Haru about all the different kinds of food and activities he wanted the both of them to try tomorrow. It went on as far Rin even suggesting that they go back to Australia to the Sydney Opera House to catch the Christmas special.
Haru just smiled as he watched Rin talk away happily.
--
24th December, 17:10 P.M.
Haru and Rin had both agreed to meet up earlier to go for some last minute shopping for food. While they would have liked to spend their Christmas with the rest like they had been doing for the past years, Nagisa and Rei had decided to go back to Iwatobi to celebrate Christmas with their families along with Makoto, whose parents had insisted on his return back home.
Haru stood there at their designated spot trying to kill time as he had arrived 10 minutes earlier than promised by analysing random couples walking by. It took him exactly 3 minutes and 28 seconds to remember that he had forgotten to get Rin’s Christmas present yet again.
Haru facepalmed as he tried to rack through his brain to find ideas on what to get Rin. He took a few glances at the random shops around him, hoping he could find something just as Rin walked up to him and said, “Yo Haru.”
Haru tried to steady himself and replied, “Yo Rin.”
“I’m not late, right?” Rin asked as he checked his phone for the time.
Haru shrugged, “No, I just got here early because I was bored.”
Rin smiled at Haru’s reason because he knew that Haru would get bored easily when the rest, especially Makoto, were not around. They rarely went out alone with just two of them. Usually when Rin came back for the holiday, it would be the five of them hanging out at each other’s houses, going for a late night swim at the pool or just chilling around.
“So shall we go now?”
Haru nodded as they started to walk, but at the same time he was also trying to think of what to get Rin.
“So what do you want to eat, Haru?” Rin asked as they entered the supermarket.
“Mackerel.” was Haru’s answer.
Rin sighed, “No, we are not having mackerel for dinner. Jesus, Haru, do you only have mackerel in your head? Do you even follow the recommended diet that was made for us?”
“Of course I do. But also because of that, I haven’t had mackerel in awhile.”
Rin looked at Haru for a few moments before walking towards the seafood section. “Fine, but only this time, okay?”
Haru smiled and beamed at Rin. “I’ll go get some ingredients to make side dishes to go along with it.”
Rin sighed but at the same time, he smiled at Haru for always being childlike when it came to mackerel.
They both spent around 30 minutes or so in the supermarket, having some small arguments about what to get and what not to, which ended up with them deciding it by a simple game of rock, paper, scissors.
--
24th December, 18:02 P.M.
Matsuoka Rin realised he was fucked. Just as they were walking back from the supermarket, passing by some shops, he remembered that he had not gotten Haru’s present yet. He was walking behind Haru, holding a few plastic bags when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Rin? What’s wrong?” Haru asked as he realised Rin had stopped walking.
Rin stared a bit as he handed the plastic bags to Haru and said, “Uh Haru, can you go back first? I’ll catch up later. I forgot to get some stuff for dinner.”
“We can go together.” Haru suggested.
“No, it’s okay, Haru! You really should go back first.” Rin reasoned. Haru started to blink at him and gave off this weird look on his face.
“I mean, I might take some time and I really do not want you to wait for me. Speaking of which, isn’t the Winter Onsen Special airing tonight? It should be starting in another 10 to 15 minutes or so…” Rin mentioned as he glanced over to his watch.
Just as Haru heard about the show, he immediately replied, “Okay, I understand. I’ll head back now. I’ll prepare the side dishes first.”
Rin laughed nervously and handed Haru his house keys.
“Don’t take too long”
Rin nodded. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
--
24th December, 18:55 P.M.
Rin got back in time just as Haru had finished preparing the side dishes.
“Sorry that I took so long.” Rin said as he tried to catch his breath. It took way longer that Rin expected to look for a suitable present.
“So, what did you get?” Haru asked as he laid down the side dishes on the table.
Rin froze on the spot as Haru saw the paper bag Rin held in his hand. Rin looked at Haru and he immediately hid the bag behind his back. “Oh, I-I uh, could not get what I originally wanted but as I was walking back, I saw something that Gou has been eyeing for quite awhile so I thought I’d get it for her.”
Haru continue to stare at Rin with those eyes that screamed ‘I don’t believe you’ until they heard the microwave timer go off. Haru shrugged the feeling off as he headed back to the kitchen. “Go and get ready to grill the mackerel. It should be thawed out by now.”
Rin nodded as he discreetly went back to his bedroom to drop off the mysterious paper bag.
--
24th December, 20:41 P.M.
Rin had just finished cleaning up the tables as Haru was washing the dishes.
“Hey Haru, want to watch the TV?” Rin asked just as he placed the already cleaned cloth on the hanger.
Haru replied as he turned off the faucet, “Sure. There’s this Christmas special that I wanted to watch.”
“Which channel is it?” asked Rin as he fiddled around the TV remote.
“I think it was Channel 5.” Haru said as he finished drying off his hands and went to sit down next to Rin.
Rin gave a small ‘mhm’ as he switched the channel. It was a special feature that was showcasing the different Christmas preparations in cities all around the world. Haru watched in awe when they featured Sydney, showing the Sydney Harbour Bridge filled with lights and also the Sydney Opera House with its own Christmas decorations.
Rin observed Haru as they watched the documentary and suddenly thought that maybe, they should celebrate Christmas and New Year next year in Australia instead.
They continued to watch the documentary, but little by little, they were creeping closer to each other.
24th of December, 23:32P.M.
Haru yawned and rubbed his left eye.
“Want to go to bed?” Rin asked as he knew Haru sleeping habits. He had a specific internal body clock, making it extremely rare that Haru would sleep past 12 midnight.
Haru looked at the clock above the TV. 23:35 “I can last for a bit more. It’s Christmas eve, after all.”
“Don’t force yourself.” Rin said.
Haru shrugged. “I said I’m fine.”
Rin smiled at Haru who was being kinda reckless as he tried to push his body’s limit. “Tell me when you are really feeling tired, okay?”
Haru gave a small nod, and they continued to watch the documentary.
“Hey, Haru?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you want to back to Iwatobi for the New Year?” Rin suggested.
Haru looked at Rin for a moment before continuing, “Are you okay with it? Don’t you have to be back by the 2nd?”
“I could extend the trip a day or two. After all, it was my personal decision to go back early on my own so you don’t have to worry.”
“What about your training?” Haru asked.
“The official training doesn’t start until the 5th, since some of coaches and members actually go back to their hometown for Christmas and New Years. Not everyone is from Sydney, you know.” Rin said, smiling.
“Why did you want to go back early if the official training doesn’t start until the 5th?” Haru prompted the question as he took a sip of the lukewarm green tea.
“I was thinking of getting some extra training in since the New South Wales Metropolitan Championship is coming up and I want to be more prepared for it.” Rin explained as he stood up and grabbed his tea cup, “Want some more tea?”
Haru nodded as he watched Rin walk to the kitchen. He continued to snuggle into the blanket that Rin had provided him earlier.
Rin walked out with two cups of green tea, placing them on the kotatsu before snuggling back into the blanket. “You haven’t actually answered my question, Haru. Do you want to go back?”
“Why not? But will we be able to get train tickets? It might be quite packed because it’s New Year.”
“We should be okay. I can ask Gou to get it for us. You should also text Makoto and the rest that we are coming back for New Years. They will be thrilled.”
Haru pulled out his cellphone that he hardly uses (even after all these years) and texted Makoto regarding his trip back to Iwatobi for New Years as Rin did the same to contact Gou.
“Are we set?” Rin asked, as he shut his cellphone.
“When are you going back then?”
“Hmm, maybe on the fourth. I should be able to push back that far. Or the third, I’m not too sure but I’ll contact the airline tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Christmas and you know no one works on Christmas.”
“Eh? Well I can always try a few days later. Worst come to worst I’ll book another tickets.” Rin shrugged.
“Hmm.” Haru looked at the clock.
23:57A.M.
Slowly, Haru creeped closer to Rin; when Rin realized it, he to creeped closer to Haru. When they were close enough, Haru placed his head on Rin’s shoulder while Rin held Haru’s hands.
Tick, tock, tick, tock
Haru and Rin were enjoying few moments together before the announcer on the TV yelled, “Merry Christmas!” and from a distance sounds of fireworks can be heard.
“Merry Christmas, Haru.”
“Merry Christmas, Rin.”
Rin creeped in even closer and gave Haru a kiss. “I love you, Haru.”
Haru blushed several shades of red before he replied with a kiss and said, “I love you too.”
Rin was shocked at the sudden kiss from Haru; Haru was not that kind of person who would initiate a kiss. Haru was still blushing from the kiss.
Rin smiled and laughed a bit as he watched Haru’s reaction.
“Come on Haru, let’s get ready for bed.”
25th December, 01:09 A.M.
Rin walked in as Haru finished laying the futons on the floor.
“Hey Haru.”
Haru looked up to Rin as he was attempting to smoothen out his blanket, “Yeah?”
There was a visible blush on Rin’s cheeks as he looked away and Haru noticed that he seemed to be holding something behind his back as well.
“I-I, uh, actually bought something for you.”
“What is it?” Haru asked.
Rin continued to look away as he reached out from behind his back to hand Haru a silver-coloured paper bag. “Here.”
Curious about the contents of the bag, Haru took the bag from Rin and looked inside, only to find nothing but a can of mackerel with a red ribbon tied around it.
What was more peculiar to Haru was the fact that he had noticed that the can had already been opened, looking back at Rin in confusion.
“Uhm Rin, what’s the meaning of this?”
“God damn it, Haru.” Rin said, almost agitated. “Just open it.”
Doing as Rin said, Haru was surprised to see that there was no mackerel inside but instead, two silver rings. Embedded on the rings was a simple skull design and on closer inspection, Haru saw that there were single letters carved on the inside of both of them.
A ‘H’ and an ‘R’.
“The one with R is yours and while the one with the H is mine. To be honest, I had actually wanted to get you something back in Australia but I kept on forgetting about it.” Rin answered, scratching the back of his head nervously.
Haru gave Rin a smile. “Thank you.” he said before leaving the rings in the mackerel can as he stood up. “Actually, I have something for you as well.”
“Eh?”
Haru disappeared into the kitchen before quickly reappearing, following Rin’s previous gesture by hiding something behind of him.
“Rin.” Haru said in a serious tone that made Rin straighten himself almost immediately.
“Yeah?”
“There is something really important that I need to tell you before giving this to you.”
“Okay…?” Rin asked, somewhat confused.
“I really mean this. This is something I treasure really dearly that I hope you can appreciate in my stead when I give it to you.”
Nodding in response, Rin observed as Haru slowly revealed his ‘important item’ that was hidden behind his back.
As soon as Rin saw what rested in the palm of Haru’s hand, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the boy in front of him.
“This is the legendary canned mackerel that’s pole-fished at the junction of the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea, renowned for its freshness!”
“What. Haru, how is this your important thing?” Rin asked, voice almost monotonous due to the fact that Haru had decided to get him mackerel for Christmas, of all the things out there.
“It’s the only can I have left and I’ve been saving it for emergency reasons but you’re the most important thing to me that I felt like you should have it instead since you’ve never tried it before.”
Hearing Haru’s reasoning, Rin started laughing and took the can from him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t expected something like this anyway. “Thanks, Haru.”
Haru blushed a little at Rin’s response, “Come on, let’s go to sleep.”
As they both got comfortable beneath the covers, Rin snuggled up to Haru as he said, “Good night, Haru.”
“Night, Rin.”
Despite all its awkwardness, it had still became a wonderful Christmas night.
25th December, 01:45 A.M.
“Hey, Rin.” Haru had suddenly asked out of nowhere, just as Rin had started to fall asleep.
“Yeah?” Rin asked sleepily.
“I didn’t ask before but what did you do to the mackerel that was originally suppose to be in the can?”
“Huh? I just threw it out since I didn’t have time to eat it and this whole thing was a last-minute thing.”
Rin felt Haru stiffen at his words. “Rin.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m breaking up with you.”
“What?!” Rin shouted incredulously as he jumped out of bed.
Haru turned and looked up at Rin before answering, “How could you throw away a full can of uneaten mackerel? Are you a monster?”
“Oh my god, Haru. It’s just mackerel.”
“I’m sorry but I can’t appreciate someone who cannot appreciate the beauty that is mackerel. At this rate, we’re only going to lead a life of unhappiness because you have just angered the sacred mackerel god.”
“Haru, there is no such thing as a sacred mackerel god,” Rin tried to reason with Haru, still unable to completely understand the full depth of Haru’s obsession with mackerel. “Okay, fine. I apologize for throwing away the mackerel.”
“The sacred mackerel god does not give second chances.” Haru said as he snatched his own blanket back and went back to sleep, leaving Rin unable to comprehend the whole situation that had just occurred.
I guess it was still a wonderful Christmas night?