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Powder white perfect drifts of snow covered the trees and streets in a manner that could best be described as picturesque. The sun shone bright through fluffy white clouds that hovered over the good people, as if to say all was well. The town square that came into focus was a marvel of garland, old-timey lanterns and streets clean of litter. City Hall sat in the center of the courtyard, roof dusted with white and clear icicles dangling artfully from the edges. Surrounding City Hall were quaint shops and cafes, all postcard ready. One just had to ignore the jail over in the corner.
As Reigen Arataka sipped at his coffee, he pondered how, for the longest time, he had never wanted to see this place again. He had moved to the Big City in search of the all-mighty moola, securing himself a position at a water cooler manufacturing firm. He was supposed to be back at the offices glad handing and schmoozing his bosses for that coveted position managing a firm in Even Bigger City but instead he was back in Home Town, taking care of his aging parents.
Dad had broken a hip while managing the local high school’s ice hockey team. The panicked phone call from Reigen’s mother lured him from his corporate job to help get medical aide in place. Which is why Reigen thought it was odd that they kicked him out of the house while the contractor hired to put the aging-in-place bars, ramps, etc. was doing his job.
No, Dad and Mom had insisted that he go to the square. “Maybe you’ll run into that Serizawa gentleman again,” Mom had said with a wink.
Fat chance.
Reigen had run into the handsome local store owner the day before. Literally.
Serizawa had bowled into him, sending Reigen’s coffee spilling all over both of them. Luckily, Serizawa had two quick thinking kids with him who got them to the local hotel where there were towels to clean up.
Just because Serizawa had taken his sweater off to reveal two powerful forearms and had sweetly apologized and doted on Reigen while trying to mop the spilled coffee off of Reigen’s cashmere jacket didn’t mean that Reigen wanted to see him again. Of course not. Reigen had a perfectly good on-again/off-again boyfriend at home. Even though they were technically off-again, that didn’t mean–
“Oh, Mr. Reigen, it’s good to see you again.”
Wait, what? Reigen blinked, realizing that he was standing in front of a cute little store: Nutcrackers and Nothing Else. And right out front, was a certain Serizawa. He stood there with a gentle smile, his hair rustling in the cold breeze. Damn.
“Hi,” Reigen said back, feeling intensely lame.
“Why don’t you come in,” Serizawa offered, “then you can see what I’m working on.”
Reigen arched an eyebrow. “Is there a place to set my coffee down?” He didn’t want a repeat performance of yesterday.
“Of course.” With that, Reigen found himself whisked into a wonderland of nutcrackers, just nutcrackers. Brightly painted wooden figures lined the shelves, each identical, each perfect. Why were they all the same?
“So,” Reigen asked, handing over his coffee for safe keeping, “do you make different models of nutcrackers.”
“No,” Serizawa answered brightly, “just the one.”
Reigen’s eye twitched. “How is that even–”
Before Reigen could ask embarrassing questions about Serizawa’s business model, one of the kids from yesterday came barrelling in with a backpack slung over her shoulder. If Reigen remembered correctly (and he had a great salesman’s memory) her name was Tome.
“Okay, I have a club meeting after school so Shou will be coming home alone.” Tome paused, then gave Reigen a critical glance up and down.
“Oh, it’s Mr. Big City Coffee Guy,” she said. A strange grin crossed her face. “I see, well you and Dad have fun.” Her entire tone had changed, becoming sweet, nearly giddy. She waved and took off while muttering under her breath: “Yes, my Christmas wish is coming true.”
“What was that?” Reigen asked, but Tome was already gone. He knew she had said something but he couldn’t quite make it out. Then he glanced up at the clock and grew even more confused. “Shouldn’t she be in school already?”
A new voice piped up: “We had a snow delay.” It was the other kid that had been with Serizawa, a red-haired boy. Shoe…Shou..ugh Reigen was blanking on it.
“This is Shou,” Serizawa introduced. “And this is–”
“Gotta go, Pops,” Shou said, giving the two of them a little salute. Then, he too wandered away while muttering. His words sounded suspiciously similar to what Tome had said.
“Wow,” Reigen said, impressed despite himself. “You seem to be living the dream: you’ve got your own business, your own place, two point five kids.” His smile was soft, teasing. “Where’s the point fifth one?”
“Right here.”
The yelp Reigen let out was the most undignified sound he had ever made in twenty-eight years of existence. Hovering behind him was a green misty ghost. Reigen clutched at his chest, trying to calm his racing heart. “What the hell?”
“This is Dimple,” Serizawa said, as if this was all perfectly normal, “our resident ghost.”
“Hi,” Reigen managed to wheeze out.
“Hey.” Dimple then proceeded to pick his nose.
“How did you come to,” Reigen struggled with the phrasing, “be on this plane of existence?”
“I gotta do one good deed before I’m allowed to move on,” Dimple said, rubbing his little fingers together.
“Okay.” Reigen was starting to get the hang of this. He could have a normal conversation with a supernatural being. “How long have you lived here?”
“Three years.”
Reigen’s eye twitched again. “Three years and you couldn’t find one good deed–” Before Reigen’s rant could go any further, Serizawa pulled him aside.
“Let me show you how I make one of my nutcrackers,” Serizawa said.
The workshop was in the back of the store, all cozy wood tones and bright sunshine through the windows. Reigen felt himself starting to relax.
“The first step,” Serizawa said, “is to pick the right piece of wood.”
As he searched through the wood pile, Reigen asked, “How long have you been married?” He figured it was better to get it over with, dash any hopes now rather than linger. Not that he liked Serizawa or anything. It’s not like he was cute, had a great butt or–
“I’m not married,” Serizawa said.
Reigen was confused. “Then the kids–”
“Tome is my foster child,” Serizawa said, “and I was co-parenting with my old boss, the mayor, before he passed away. Now I take care of his son Shou.”
That seemed like a rather convoluted arrangement. “It must be hard,” Reigen said. “Doing it all alone.”
“It can be. But Shou’s trust fund helps.” Now there was a tinge of melancholy to Serizawa’s smile, one Reigen wished he hadn’t put there. However, the sadness seemed to roll off Serizawa’s shoulders as he presented the first bit of wood. “Once you have your wood, you need to whittle or carve it into shape.” With a slow, practiced steady hand, he brought a cylindrical main body to life. Reigen watched, fascinated.
Although he knew the ins and outs of his water filters, they weren’t something he made himself. Reigen couldn’t bring anything into being like this, he didn’t have the skills or the drive. His off-again boyfriend didn’t have any of these sorts of hobbies and never encouraged Reigen in any of his. As if sensing Reigen’s thoughts, Serizawa asked, “Do you want to try?”
Reigen tried to beg off. “I couldn’t.”
“It’s okay.” Serizawa got up, tools in hand as he pulled his chair over next to Reigen. His voice was as gentle and smooth as his workmanship. “I’ll show you.” Warm palms settled over Reigen’s to teach him the movements, to show him how much pressure to use, and the precise angle of the downstroke.
It was hard for Reigen to concentrate on the lesson with the solid presence of Serizawa’s body pressed next to his, with the delicate scent of aftershave tickling his nose, with Serizawa’s firm mastery of craft right–
Their hands slipped, and the knife knicked Reigen’s thumb. “Ouch.” The cut wasn’t deep, but the bleeding was still alarming.
Horrified, Serizawa put the knife down. “I am so sorry.” He fussed and cooed over Reigen’s injury, minor as it was. They cleaned and dressed the wound in the bathroom sink with great care. The finishing touch was a bandage covered in little green trees.
“Does it still hurt?” Serizawa asked, not letting go of Reigen’s hand. It was as if he was afraid something would happen if he did.
“It’s fine,” Reigen sputtered, embarrassed at the whole production that had gone into tending his thumb. “I’ll be fine.”
Then Serizawa leaned down and pressed a small kiss to the bandaged thumb. He glanced up with soulful eyes. “Will you let me make it up to you?”
Reigen’s face flamed. Something was wrong. Things like this didn’t happen to him. He was just another Big City salesman with too much ambition and not enough sentiment. This was all too much. There had to be something going on.
“Okay,” Reigen’s voice squeaked. “But I’ll only be here for a few more days,” he said. “To take care of my parents.” Then he had to go back to the Big City, to his real life.
The expression on Serizawa’s face was the most open and sincere thing Reigen had ever seen. “Then I’ll make it a memorable couple of days.”
That was when Reigen decided this all had to secretly be a plot against him. A fact that he confided to Dimple later over a cup of homemade cocoa. “Look, all of these strange incidents cannot be a coincidence,” he told the spirit. “In fact, I’m extending my leave from work until I can figure out what this town’s sinister plans for me are.” He took a sip, annoyed over the fact that it was delicious.
Dimple shrugged. “Go for it. No skin off my nose.”
The phone rang. Reigen looked at the Caller ID. It was off-again boyfriend. “Hi,” Reigen answered the phone, his voice far too high and tittering. “Oh, I’m out of town for a while. Sorting out some things with my parents. What’s up?”
Off-again boyfriend wanted to see him again, wanted to spend Christmas Eve at their favorite places, he wanted Reigen with him to make the holidays special. Reigen swallowed back the lump in his throat. “I can’t, I’m sorry. My family comes first.” Reigen hung up the phone with a heavy heart.
Days passed. Then a sleigh ride, one scheme to sell the municipality on Reigen’s water filters, a bonding snowball fight with Serizawa’s children and a bitter breakup phone call to the off-again boyfriend later– Reigen found himself standing under the mistletoe.
The fireplace was lit, casting golden shadows on the walls. The plush Christmas rug beneath his feet shifted, tripping him further into Serizawa’s strong arms. “Oh,” Serizawa whispered, “it looks like I’ve finally caught someone under the mistletoe.”
Reigen shivered, nearly forgetting how to breathe. Serizawa’s lips closed over his and they closed their eyes. The kiss was sweet, delicate, and everything he had ever wanted. Reigen pulled back with a startled gasp.
“What is it?” Serizawa asked. His big warm hands rose up to cradle Reigen’s face, his concern plain.
“I think I figured out this town’s sinister plot,” Reigen said, breathless in his realization. “I think you all have sucked me back in to settle down and get married.”
Serizawa’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “Do you mind?”
The answer was a deep beleaguered sigh. “No,” Reigen said. “I guess not.” He gave the other man a grin.
“Does this mean that you’re staying?” Serizawa asked. “Are you accepting the other job with your firm?” He was so hopeful it was almost painful.
“Yes.” Reigen suddenly felt shy. “It won’t be as prestigious as the job in Even Bigger City, but being here with you is more important. Besides, all those rural areas need water filtration too.” He reached up to grasp Serizawa’s hand. Finally, to break the tension he said, “Wanna go back to making out?”
“Let’s.”
There, in a dark corner of the room, a green ghost hovered, watching over them. Yes, he thought, getting those two together was probably the best thing that he had ever done. And though it was true, the afterlife would not take him yet, for they figured there was no harm in giving Dimple one last Christmas with his family.