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Kei was annoyed: to begin with. There was no doubt whatever about that. Kei was annoyed, and had hoped that he could work out his annoyance through volleyball. Unfortunately, his coach had other plans. His coach was feeling particularly in the spirit of the holiday, holding his stomach and laughing boisterously, when he called an early end to their practice. "Go, go on home, big date night coming up, eh? Have fun boys!" Then he shooed his team of mostly young men out of the gym and into the cold evening.
Kei bundled up, wool hat pulled low, scarf wrapped high. He wasn't letting the bitter temperatures, or his nosy teammates, getting through his layers, his mood darkening with every moment. If he was quick, he could avoid being seen…
"Hey, Tsukki!" Kogane shouted, coming up behind him and slapping his shoulder. "You wanna come out with us tonight? Me and a few others are gonna go to the bar. Plenty of room for you to join us!"
Kei barely glanced at him, giving a single, solitary, "No." He stepped back from Kogane who refused to be dismayed, and while he pulled his hand away, his smile was as bright as ever.
"Come on! It's Christmas Eve! Just a drink or—"
Kei gave him a withering glare and he held his hands up in submission, shaking his head at his grumpy teammate. "Fine, fine. Have a good evening, Tsukki!" Kogane gave him a cheerful wave before joining the rest of his group. Kei watched them go before moving in the direction of home.
He stepped through the threshold, methodically removing his shoes and layers of warmth, not that they had done much. He hung his scarf carefully, refusing to let out the sigh that so wanted to escape. But home was dark, the outside chill seeped in, and he didn't have to do a sweep of the building to know that he was alone.
Stupid, stupid Tetsurō.
He'd promised they'd finally get to spend Christmas together. They'd been dating for years and somehow, every year something would come up. A JVA event that Tetsurō had to attend, a museum event or away game that Kei had to be at. This year they had managed to get their schedules to miraculously align and Tetsurō promised he wouldn't let anything come up. But then…
Kei had been busy with his museum shift in the morning and had missed Tetsurō's phone call and it wasn't until he was rushing into the gym that he finally had the chance to play the voicemail.
"Hey, moonbeam," Tetsurō said cheerily. A fake cheery voice that Kei was all too familiar with and that caused his stomach to immediately fall upon hearing. "The weather here is a bit, ah, frightful, if you catch my meaning." The cold weather was blowing right through Kei like he was wearing nothing. "Everything is cancelled but I'm going to do my best." Was it snowing on Kei? It felt like it, despite the clear skies in Sendai. "I just may be a bit late, but I'll be there! I'll be home for Christmas, just like I promised!"
Kei had replayed the voicemail multiple times before he realized Kyoutani of all people was giving him a sympathetic look from across the locker room, and it was that look that awoke something in him. He returned it with a smile usually reserved for an annoying team on the other side of the net. "Things come up, right?" he had said to Kyoutani and left the room for practice without another word.
That had been hours ago. Practice was over, early even, thanks to his coach's jolly, well-meaning nature, and now he was home, a home that was too quiet, on a night too silent. He passed through the living room, snarling at the stockings hung with care over the fake mantle. The bare tree with the box of decorations sat off to the side, waiting for when they were together to decorate. There was a singular wrapped present on the kotatsu, small, waiting to be placed under the tree.
Kei quickly shut the living room light off, maybe with a little more force than necessary, and stepped into the kitchen. He looked at his phone, but it was as silent and empty as it had been all day. No response or update from Tetsurō, no replies to anything he'd sent, nothing at all since that cursed voicemail. Giving in to the sigh, he glanced around the room, knowing he should eat, but also recognizing that nothing at all sounded appealing. He heard the little voice in his head, sounding a bit too suspiciously like that of his absent boyfriend, scolding him, however, so he grabbed a protein bar. He ate it in small bites, as small as he could manage, probably too small even for a mouse. It sat in his stomach like a brick nonetheless.
"Bah," he muttered, stamping out of the kitchen. A quick shower later, a desperate but failed attempt to ward off the cold, and then he was in bed with multiple blankets piled on but still, nothing helped. The house stood silent, not even the faint ticking of a clock to keep him company. His phone stayed black, no incoming calls or messages and, with a miserable huff, he rolled to his side and fell into a restless sleep.
Some time later, what felt like after midnight, he heard a clatter. He grabbed a pillow and shoved it against his head, not caring what was the matter. His neighbors, a little too close on either side, were known to get home late, usually drunk, and making such noises as they tried to make their way into their own homes. He scrunched his eyes closed and willed sleep to come.
Then the bedroom door slowly opened, light spilling into the room. Kei sat up in a flash, pillow falling away as he stared in wonderment at the sight before him.
Tetsurō stood in the doorway, dressed in a ridiculous red suit with white fur accents, tall black boots, his hair sticking up messier than ever under a matching red cap. He was smiling brightly, head tilted, eyes twinkling, and, once he'd noticed Kei was watching, he gave a wink.
"What-" Kei started but Tetsurō held a finger up to his lips.
"Christmas magic[1]," he explained, which really wasn't an explanation at all, but Kei did not care. He almost fell out of bed as he scrambled to him, grabbing him Tetsurō by the lapel to pull him in for a deep kiss, relaxing against him as warmth immediately spread through him for the first time all day.
They pulled apart, breathing heavily, and Kei took the opportunity to truly appraise his boyfriend's outfit. "You look ridiculous," he finally said, though there was no real venom in his tone.
Tetsurō laughed heartily and, dammit, if Kei didn't feel like his heart had grown three sizes at hearing that sound. "I look like Santa," he playfully protested, "I'd have climbed down the chimney if we had one!"
Kei rolled his eyes and, instead of giving him a response, he led him towards the bed.
⋆.˚ ☾ .⭒˚⋆.˚ ☾ .⭒˚⋆.
They woke late the next morning, having stayed up most of the night to celebrate Tetsurō being able to keep his promise.
At some point before Kei finally dragged himself out of bed, Tetsurō slipped into the kitchen to get coffee started. It was only once Kei had been supplied with a freshly brewed cup that he agreed to wear the ridiculous matching pajama set Tetsurō had brought with him, garishly red and adorned with tree and deer silhouettes.
They decorated the tree, Kei being tasked with placing the topper (the real reason for Tetsurō requesting it be him made apparent when he could feel him staring at his ass as he stretched to reach) before settling on the couch together, watching silly Christmas movies.
In fact, once Kei had wrapped around him, Tetsurō found that he was not allowed to move from his position on the couch, and it seemed as if he was afraid that Tetsurō was a ghost who would disappear just as suddenly as he had appeared, or maybe that was actually made of magic and would fade. Tetsurō, who was well and truly present, enjoyed the unusual clinginess of his boyfriend, content to hold him and be held by him as long as he wanted.
As the day began to wind down, snow gently falling outside, two presents sat still wrapped under the tree, two small presents, coincidentally similar in size and box-like shape. There would likely be a competition later on who would get the other to open their gift first, but for now, they were enjoying the warmth of togetherness and love as they selected another movie—this one, a romance that would set the mood of their later gift giving.