Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - The Christmas Chaos Conspiracy
“We should celebrate Christmas together!” Langa yelled, loud enough to be heard over the whine of the table saw Reki was working with.
His best friend’s announcement, out of freaking nowhere, almost caused Reki to shave part of his finger off. Instead, the board he was making was going to be a little bit wonky unless he fixed it, because he accidentally jerked the board under the saw as he turned to look at Langa in shock.
“W-what?” Reki spluttered. “Together? Like… together together?”
Langa nodded, a happy smile spreading across his face. “Yeah! With everyone. Joe, Cherry, Adam, Snake, Shadow, Oka, Miya—”
Reki was uncertain what the feeling twisting in his gut was, but he attempted to ignore it. “Oh. Right. Everyone,” he said, his voice coming out hollow to his own ears, though maybe that was just because the sound of his power tools in the small garage workshop was pretty loud.
“Why? Did you think I meant just us?”
Heat crawled up the back of Reki’s neck, and he turned back to the board he was mangling before his best friend could call him out about blushing. “No! Of course not! That would be weird! Why would I think that? I didn’t think that!”
“…Okay.” Langa sounded more than a bit confused, making Reki hold his breath, hoping he didn’t ask him why he was being such an idiot. “So should we have a party?”
“Yeah. Sure. Party. With everyone,” Reki agreed.
“I know Christmas is supposed to be for family, but we’re a skate family, right?”
“Family?” Reki repeated. “Is that like a Canadian thing?”
“I thought that was just a Christmas thing,” Langa said blandly. “Is it not like that here?”
There was no way Reki could admit that Christmas was usually considered a couple’s thing in Japan. Not now. So instead he blurted out, “And you want to invite Adam!?”
“Well, yeah. We’re friends now, right?”
“And Snake?” Reki added, turning off the table saw and giving the board up as a lost cause.
“He seems pretty cool. I think him and Adam are close. And he’s an amazing skater!”
“One of them hit me with a car and the other one is Adam,” Reki pointed out dryly. “But, sure, let’s invite them to the party.”
“I knew you’d understand, Reki!” Langa declared, looking so happy about it that Reki immediately felt guilty for his sarcasm.
“We should have it at Sia la Luce,” Reki suggested, making amends by fully committing to the idea.
Besides, if it made Langa smile like that, it was totally worth it.
“Do you think Joe would mind?”
“Nah,” Reki said with a crooked grin. “Joe will be cool with it.”
*************
Kojiro was not happy in the slightest.
“You want to have a Christmas party!? Here!?” he exclaimed, staring incredulously at the two teenage boys, completely undeterred by their enthusiasm as he watched his plans to have a romantic dinner with Kaoru go down the drain.
“Are you quite certain you want to share your celebration… with us?” Kaoru inquired, far more delicately than Kojiro wanted to. He clearly wasn’t as annoyed about their plans getting ruined. Probably because Kojiro hadn’t actually told him about the dinner yet.
“I know Christmas is supposed to be for family,” Langa said in an endearingly hopeful, not to mention somewhat pathetic tone. “But since I moved here, all of you have become kind of like family to me.”
Well… shit. There was no way Kojiro could say no to that. A quick glance at Kaoru said he reached the same conclusion.
“And you're sure you want to invite Adam?” Kaoru questioned.
“That's what I said!” Reki exclaimed.
“I’m not certain Adam has anybody else,” Langa replied softly.
Another shared glance with Kaoru, another silent conversation. Because they both knew the boy was right.
“He’s got Snake,” Kojiro pointed out. The Capman had made it rather clear during the tournament that he knew Adam, more than just as the head of his security force at S.
“Yeah. I want to invite him, too,” Langa said without hesitation, brightening considerably. Reki, on the other hand, slumped slightly. Poor kid was probably seeing his own hopes of a romantic holiday vanishing.
Kojiro sighed, relenting.
“Fine,” he said, trying not to sound as resigned as he felt. “We’ll host it. So how many are we talking?” he asked, after a quick mental count. “Eight people?”
“Nine,” Reki corrected. “We’d like to invite Oka. You know, since he’s our boss.”
Food and drink for nine people. Kojiro did the math: prime ingredients for nine, plus wine, plus the special dessert he’d been planning… There went this month’s buffer.
Not that it mattered. He was going to say yes anyway. At least he’d still get to spend the evening with Kaoru, even if it wasn’t quite the intimate dinner he’d imagined.
Then Langa added, with far too much excitement, “I think we should do a Secret Santa exchange. It would be fun!”
*************
“What the hell is that?” Shadow asked bluntly.
The kids had cornered him and Miya at S, all bright-eyed enthusiasm about some Christmas party at Sia la Luce. Bad enough they wanted to drag him to a party with Adam. Now they were talking about some kind of gift thing.
“We all randomly draw names,” Langa explained, “and you buy a gift for the person whose name you get. But you don’t sign the card or anything, so everybody has to try and figure out who their Secret Santa was.”
“Sounds lame,” Shadow declared.
“I hope Adam gets my name,” Miya said after giving it some thought.
Shadow snorted. Of course the kid wanted the rich guy.
“Adam? Why!?” Reki asked, face twisting up in disgust.
“He’s loaded. Probably gives pretty good gifts. Better than anything you slimes would pick out.”
Shadow bristled. “Hey, I give good gifts—” He caught himself. Why was he defending his gift-giving ability to a thirteen-year-old?
“So will you both come to the party?” Langa asked a bit anxiously. “It would be us, Joe and Cherry, Adam and Snake, and then we were going to invite Oka, too.”
“Yeah, sure,” Shadow agreed as soon as he heard Oka was invited. “I’ll be there.”
Not that it mattered either way. Didn't sound like it would be changing his plans all that much, anyways. He’d just have to deal with the brats. And Adam.
“Awesome!” Langa exclaimed, flashing a too-bright smile at Reki. The redhead’s face went pink, but Langa was already moving on, oblivious.
Christ, Shadow thought. He’d seen hydrangeas with more awareness than Snow.
“I was thinking we could start a group chat to plan the party,” Langa continued. “I just need to get Adam and Snake’s numbers.”
“I can give you Adam’s,” Miya offered, the brat being helpful for once. “But you’ll probably have to get Snake’s number from him. Nobody seems to know that dude except Adam.”
“I’ll text Adam and tell him about the party and see if he has Snake’s number,” Langa said, not discouraged in the slightest.
“Good luck with that,” Shadow said gruffly. “I wouldn’t want to text him for nothing.”
“Well, we all will if we start a group chat, old man,” Miya pointed out.
“Hey, watch it, punk, I’m not old,” he snarled, only to get a satisfied smirk in response.
Little shit. The kid lived to get under his skin.
“This is going to be great!” Langa said enthusiastically, completely ignoring the argument unfolding right in front of him.
“Yeah. Great,” Reki agreed, his enthusiasm as fake as Shadow’s tattoo.
Somebody needed to tell Snow about Red’s crush. Put the kid out of his misery. Or put the rest of them out of theirs, at least. Shadow might only be twenty-four, but that was still too old to watch teenagers pine.
*************
Ainosuke was reviewing quarterly reports in his study that evening when his phone buzzed with an unexpected message. From Langa, of all people.
The text was characteristically blunt: an invitation to a Christmas party at Sia la Luce, with everyone from S. Everyone. His lips curled into something between amusement and genuine surprise.
A party. With his former friends, the children who’d rejected him, and… he scrolled down. They wanted Snake’s number.
His eyes flicked up to where Tadashi stood by the window and Ainosuke found himself smiling — a real one, not the performative curve of Adam’s mask — as he watched Tadashi’s shoulders tense, his already perfect posture straightening further, as if aware of Ainosuke’s eyes on him.
“Tadashi,” he said softly, “It appears we’ve been invited to celebrate Christmas. Together. With the others.”
He watched Tadashi turn, saw his carefully blank expression fracture, just slightly, with something that might have been hope. Or terror. With his dog, it was often hard to tell the difference.
“I’m sure you will have a wonderful time, Ainosuke-sama,” he said carefully.
“We have been invited,” Ainosuke corrected. “They have specifically requested your number so you can be added to the group chat.”
“I can decline if you wish, Ainosuke-sama,” Tadashi offered, something rather sorrowful around his eyes that he couldn’t quite hide.
For someone who knew every secret, every scar, every shadow in Ainosuke’s life, Tadashi could be spectacularly wrong about what mattered most.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Tadashi. They’ve invited both of us. So we both shall attend. Understood?”
“Of course, Ainosuke-sama,” Tadashi said with a flicker of what might have been relief.
Ainosuke’s phone dinged with another notification before he could dissect Tadashi’s reaction further. It was another text from his Eve. Ainosuke’s breath caught with delight upon reading it.
“It seems they are going to be having a Secret Santa exchange!” he told Tadashi.
“A… what?”
The grin that spread across Ainosuke’s face at his dog’s confusion was not a nice smile. It was far too conniving to be considered so casually.
Tadashi’s expression changed to one of caution upon seeing it. He’d always been rather clever, after all, and he did know Ainosuke quite well.
Though it was doubtful he had any clue what Ainosuke was already planning.
*************
“I have a proposition for you, kitten.”
“Ew, no,” Miya said with a shudder that wasn't at all faked.
“Not that type of proposition. What type of man do you take me for?”
“Do you really want me to answer that question?” Miya drawled dryly.
Adam had tracked him down practicing at the rec center after school. Rather, Shindo Ainosuke had, since he looked every inch the politician at the moment in his suit with his slicked back hair. Miya knew that was even more of a mask than the one Adam usually wore.
His coach, on the other hand, was all too happy to let Adam interrupt their practice so he could talk to the center’s “star athlete,” considering the money the man was donating to renovate the rec center.
“I believe we should… work together regarding this Secret Santa thing your little friends are planning,” Adam said, ignoring Miya’s snide comment.
“What’s in it for me?” Miya asked without hesitation.
“Name your price.”
“You renew my sponsorship for next season,” Miya said, not missing a beat, “Swear never to pull it because of a beef again.”
“Fine. I—”
“And,” Miya interrupted, “You admit that was a shit thing to do.”
“I think it is hardly a surprise that I am not a nice man, kitten,” Adam said, with an edge of annoyance.
Miya crossed his arms and waited.
“Fine,” Adam relented. “It was a… shit thing to do.”
He sounded like every word personally pained him, and Miya couldn’t help but grin. “And,” he started, only to be quickly interrupted.
“No. You either agree, or I walk away with your funding. Do we have a deal?”
Adam’s sharp-toothed smile was a reminder of exactly who he was talking to.
“We have a deal,” Miya agreed, spitting in his hand and offering it to Adam. He stared at it in revulsion before doing the same, wiping his hand on Miya’s shoulder afterwards.
“So what exactly is it you want?” Miya asked, jerking away.
“I want to rig the drawing.”
“Let me guess: you want Langa’s name.”
“Not at all. My Eve is already well-aware of my affections towards him,” Adam said flippantly.
“Then who?”
Adam looked away, seeming to hesitate, before bluntly saying, “Snake’s.”
“Your dog?” Miya frowned. “Why would you need to rig it for him? Just buy him whatever you want.”
“It’s not about the gift.”
“Then what’s it about?”
Adam’s expression shuttered. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
Miya crossed his arms. “We have a deal, remember? And I’m not helping you until I know why.”
“You already agreed—”
“And you can walk away with my funding,” Miya shot back, throwing Adam’s own words at him. “But I’m guessing you won’t. Because this matters to you.”
The silence stretched between them. Finally, Adam spoke, voice low: “We grew up together. His family has served mine for generations.” Adam looked away, and when he spoke again, his voice was even quieter. “And he won’t allow anything more because he thinks it would be improper.”
“Sounds like a lot of hassle for somebody—” Miya started to say, but he stopped himself mid-sentence, leaving the "you already own" unsaid.
Because Adam… wasn’t acting like Adam. And that stopped him cold.
He was used to Adam’s theatrics, he’d been sponsoring Miya for years, after all. And he’d seen the way he’d acted around Langa. He’d heard him waxing poetic about how he’d been in love with all his skating partners.
This… wasn’t that.
This was real. This was what Adam looked like when he genuinely cared about somebody.
For the first time since he’d met Adam, he kinda felt sorry for the asshole.
Miya didn't quite get the whole obsession with love. That didn’t mean he didn’t recognize it. He saw it in the way Reki was pining after Langa and how Langa was doing the same even if they didn’t realize it. He saw it in the way Joe and Cherry looked at each other when they thought the other wouldn’t notice. In the way Shadow was always crying over his manager at the flower shop, though he seemed to have gotten better about that, at least.
He was literally surrounded by people “in love.” Watching how they acted, he’d reached one rather obvious conclusion: love turned people into dumbasses.
Adam, apparently, wasn’t an exception to that rule.
“Your plan isn’t going to work,” he told Adam bluntly.
“What do you mean my plan isn’t going to work?” he asked coldly.
“You’re thinking you'll get his name and buy him a gift that will make him realize how much he cares about you or something, right?”
“Something like that, yes,” Adam said a bit petulantly.
“Okay but here’s the thing: if you buy for him, you’ll just be weird about it.”
“Excuse me—”
“You’ll get him a collar or something,” Miya pointed out sarcastically.
“…I was considering—”
“See? No. We rig it so he buys for you. Forces him to think about what you actually want.”
Adam seemed to consider it for a moment before saying, “You’re smarter than you look.”
“I’m smarter than you. At least I could figure that much out.”
“Watch it, kitten. You aren’t the only one here with claws,” Adam warned.
There was a point Miya had genuinely feared the man with him, but that had vanished around the time that Reki had left him floundering in the mud. Adam had been a legend before, untouchable, but now it was easy to see that even with all his money and influence, he was still just a person like the rest of them.
Which meant he ignored the threat entirely.
“So, how are we going to rig the drawing?”
“I rather thought that was your job. It is why I suggested this alliance, after all.”
“What makes you think I’d know how to do that?”
“Please,” Adam said, rolling his eyes slightly. “My dear little Miya, did you forget I know you? You started figuring out how to game the system as soon as you heard about this exchange. You and I aren’t that much different from each other, you know.”
“I’m not like you,” Miya said coldly.
Adam looked at him, really looked at him, in a way that made Miya want to look away. He held his gaze anyway, refusing to be the first to break.
“Perhaps not,” Adam concluded softly. “Not anymore, at least. Seems my sweet Snow changed both our paths, didn’t he?”
Miya scoffed, glancing away finally, not wanting to admit the observation made him uncomfortable.
“I have an idea how to rig the drawing,” Miya said instead of acknowledging how much truth there was to Adam’s words. “But I’m going to need somebody else’s help.”
“I trust you won’t mention my own involvement?” Adam asked with an arched brow.
“Definitely not,” Miya told him dryly, “since we actually want him to help.”
*************
Kaoru had perfected the art of compartmentalization years ago. Work. S. Kojiro. Each existed in its own carefully maintained space, never bleeding into the others. Except Kojiro had a habit of ignoring boundaries – spatial, temporal, and emotional alike.
Which was why, at seven in the morning on a Saturday, Kaoru found himself yanking on his yukata with perhaps more force than strictly necessary while Kojiro sprawled across his bed like he owned it, showing no signs of leaving.
“You should go,” Kaoru said, not looking at him as he moved to his vanity. “I have work to do.”
“It’s Saturday,” Kojiro pointed out, voice still rough with sleep in that way that made something in Kaoru’s chest tighten uncomfortably. “And you just finished the commission you were working on. Isn’t that why we were celebrating?”
Kaoru met his eyes in the mirror, before quickly looking away, unable to stand the hurt he could see in his best friend’s eyes. Especially since he was the cause of it. “Celebration’s over,” he said bluntly. “I have other work to do.”
“Kaoru—”
“Go home, Kojiro.” The words came out sharper than intended, but Kaoru didn’t soften them. He couldn’t afford to.
“Fine,” Kojiro grumbled, rolling from the bed and stomping to the bathroom. If that wasn’t enough of an indication that he was angry, the way he slammed the door definitely drove the point home.
“Master—”
“Not now, Carla,” Kaoru snapped, feeling immediately guilty for doing so. He pinched the bridge of his nose before going into the kitchen to put on some tea.
Kojiro emerged from the bathroom a couple of minutes later, dressed and still frowning. “I guess I’ll see you at the restaurant whenever you get hungry,” he said before leaving.
It was better this way, Kaoru reminded himself. The last time Kojiro had left, he’d actually tried to kiss Kaoru goodbye, and his heart couldn’t take that.
He knew it wouldn’t last, after all. Kojiro would get tired of this thing they had going on, and he’d go back to picking up a different girl every night. And Kaoru… he’d simply continue being in love with his best friend and rival. Just like he had been for years now.
Which was why it was better not to get too attached, to pretend that what they had might be permanent. It would hurt less when it ended.
At least, that’s what Kaoru kept telling himself.
He poured the tea down the sink — it had gone cold anyway — and forced himself to focus. He had code to review for Carla’s new navigation algorithm. Work was safe. Work was logical. Work didn’t look at him with hurt in its eyes when he pushed it away.
“Master,” Carla said after some time had passed, “Chinen Miya is requesting entry.”
Kaoru paused, hands still on his keyboard. Miya? Here? “What does he want?”
“He says he needs to speak with you about the Christmas party.”
Right. The party. The one Kaoru had agreed to despite his better judgment because he knew he’d end up spending the holidays with Kojiro otherwise, so a party with Adam seemed safer.
“Let him in,” he told Carla before he could spiral.
Miya entered carrying his skateboard under one arm and a takeout container in his other hand. He looked… uncomfortable.
“Miya,” Kaoru greeted, noting the food with a frown. “What brings you here?”
“I need your help with something,” Miya said, then held out the container. “Also, uh… Joe told me to bring you this.”
“You saw Kojiro?” Kaoru asked, taking the container with careful neutrality.
“Ran into him on my way here,” Miya said, watching him too closely. “He made me breakfast.”
Of course he did. Kaoru set the container aside. “What did you need help with?”
“I need you to offer Carla for the Secret Santa name drawing,” Miya said bluntly.
“And why would I do that?” Kaoru asked suspiciously.
“So we can rig the drawing,” Miya admitted without any shame whatsoever. The precocious little brat.
“Whose name are you wanting? Or is it that you want somebody to get yours?”
Miya was already shaking his head, though. “It’s not for me. I’m playing matchmaker so my friends will stop being dumbasses.”
Kaoru felt a spike of fear. Did Miya know about him and Joe? He jokingly called them Mom and Dad, but surely the boy wouldn’t try to parent trap them.
He breathed a little easier when Miya added, “If Reki gets Langa’s name, maybe he can give him something that will help Langa get a clue.”
“And you want Langa to get Reki’s name, I assume.”
“He’s too oblivious,” Miya pointed out. “And it would ruin it if he got him something impersonal.”
Kaoru stared at the boy, considering, before saying, “Carla, create a website for a randomized name drawing. Include me, Nanjo Kojiro, Chinen Miya, Kyan Reki, Hasegawa Langa, Shindo Ainosuke, Kikuchi Tadashi—”
“Who?” Miya interrupted, making Kaoru realize he should have been using S names instead.
He knew Snake’s real name, of course. Carla had done a deep dive finding out everything she could on him after he joined the tournament, partially to relieve Kaoru’s curiosity since he had known he’d seen the man with Adam when they were teenagers.
“Correction, Carla,” Kaoru said, “Include Cherry Blossom, Joe, Miya, Reki, Langa, Adam, Snake, Shadow, and Oka on the list.”
Miya just listened with a tilt of his head as Kaoru instructed Carla on how the randomization would work. “You know everybody is going to think Carla will tell you who drew your name, right?”
“Create a Santa protocol, Carla. Under the Santa Protocol, you cannot tell anybody, even me, what names anybody has drawn. Santa Protocol cannot be overridden.”
“Okay, Master!” Carla agreed.
“Will that work, brat?” Kaoru asked irritably.
“Works for me,” Miya agreed. “Though I didn’t really care, but you know the slimes would have said something.”
“By slimes I assume you are talking about Adam, in this instance.”
“And Joe,” Miya said with a crooked grin. “But don’t tell him I called him that or he might start charging me for food.”
*************
“How do I set up a group chat?” Langa asked, looking at Reki upside down. He was stretched out sideways on his best friend’s bed, his sock covered feet propped against the wall and his head partially hanging off the mattress. Reki was lying next to him on his stomach, watching skating videos, holding his phone so Langa could easily see them, too. If he wasn’t too busy frowning at his own phone, that is.
“Seriously? You've never been in a group chat before?”
“Not really,” Langa admitted. “I mean, I had a few friends that I met during snowboarding competitions in Canada, and we’d sometimes chat, but I never set them up.”
“Give me your phone?” Reki offered, holding out his hand. Langa passed it over, and watched, curiously, as Reki quickly pulled open his messages, created a chat, and added himself, Miya, Joe, Cherry, Shadow and Oka.
“You forgot Adam,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, I’m getting to it,” Reki said, scowling in a way that made Langa think that maybe he had intentionally forgotten to add him. “You don’t have Snake’s number?”
“Adam never gave it to me.”
“I can show you how to add him after we get it. Or he can add Snake himself,” Reki said, hitting the last couple of buttons. “There. Done.”
“Thank you, Reki!” Langa told him with a smile. “You’re amazing.”
“It’s just a group chat,” Reki mumbled, flushing in embarrassment like he did every time somebody complimented him. Langa had, for a while, hoped that it meant something that Reki blushed whenever Langa told him how amazing he was, but then he’d watched him get all flustered after Joe complimented him on nailing a trick once and realized that had just been wishful thinking.
Langa took his phone back, noting the way Reki was still slightly pink, and pulled up the chat. He titled it “Christmas Party Planning” and sent the first message.
Langa: Hi everyone! We’re planning the Christmas party here.
Almost immediately, responses started flooding in.
Reki: yooo this is gonna be fun!
Miya: why am I in a chat with a bunch of old people
Shadow: I’m not old, brat
Joe: I prefer ‘experienced’
Miya: ok boomer
Cherry: I believe that is less about Joe being old and more about him being a manwhore.
Langa glanced at Reki, who was grinning at his phone. “Miya’s already causing trouble,” Reki said, clearly entertained.
“Should I add Adam now?” Langa asked, though he was already scrolling to find the number. Reki made a face but nodded, quickly walking Langa through how to do it.
Adam: My, my. What an eclectic gathering. How festive. 🌹
Reki: why does he use rose emojis
Miya: because he’s extra
Adam: I prefer ‘theatrical,’ kitten.
Miya: whatever
Langa: Adam, could you add Snake?
Adam: For you, my dear, I’ll do anything. It would be my pleasure to add Snake to this little ensemble.
Langa rolled onto his stomach so Reki could see his screen better. Their shoulders pressed together, warm and solid, and Langa tried to ignore the way his heart rate picked up at the contact.
“This is already chaos,” Reki muttered, but he was smiling.
“I like it,” Langa said honestly. Back in Canada, his group chats had been quiet, practical. This felt… alive. Like the family he’d found here.
Adam added [Unknown Number]
Unknown Number: …Hello.
Reki: SNAKE HAS ENTERED THE CHAT
Langa grinned at his best friend as they both quickly added Snake’s number to their contacts, though Langa noticed Reki had named him “Love Hotel Guy” in his phone and immediately felt a surge of jealousy, even if he knew there had been nothing romantic about how they’d ended up there.
He pushed the feeling away, though, and focused on typing out his next message.
Langa: Hi Snake! We’re planning a Christmas party at Sia la Luce and we want everyone to come.
Snake: I have been informed of it and will be in attendance.
Langa: We are doing a Secret Santa exchange. Does everybody know what that is?
The chat scrolled with everybody confirming they did. Until the very bottom.
Snake: … No.
Adam: Oopsie. Guess I forgot to mention that part to our sweet Snake. So sorry, my love. 😘
Reki: okay thats just WEIRD
Miya: you’re just figuring that out now?
“Don’t you think that’s kinda weird?” Reki commented after typing the same thing.
“I think it’s just Adam being Adam?” Langa said, though he wasn’t entirely certain if that was true. He was more concerned with Reki’s reaction to it. “Why? Are you jealous?”
“What!? No! Why would I be jealous of Adam flirting with somebody?”
“I don’t know. I thought… maybe you like Snake or something,” Langa admitted hesitantly.
“The dude hit me with his car!!” Reki reminded him incredulously. But then his voice softened, went a bit uncertain: “Are… are you jealous?”
“Why would I be jealous?”
“You’re the only one Adam usually flirts with that much.”
“I think it’s nice that Adam has other friends,” Langa admitted with a small smile. He had realized how lonely Adam was during the tournament, and seeing him be like this with somebody else could only be a good thing, in his opinion.
“Friends. Right. I don’t think that’s how people act if all they want is to be friends, Langa.”
Langa glanced over at his best friend’s scowl. Was that what it would take to get through to Reki? Being obvious like Adam… flirting, roses, the whole thing?
He cringed just imagining it. No. Absolutely not. He’d find another way.
Reki turned toward him, and Langa immediately glanced back at his phone, caught. He tried not to blush too obviously as he read what he’d missed in the chat. Cherry, Joe and Miya had explained Secret Santa to Snake, and, thankfully, it hadn’t been so chaotic as to be confusing for him.
Cherry: Carla has created a website for the event. Here’s the link. Everybody can go to it, select their name from the list, and it will assign them as a Secret Santa to one of the others.
Joe: So your robot girlfriend is going to know who everybody gets?
Shadow: Whats keeping her from telling you?
Cherry: I have created a new protocol for Carla that will keep her from revealing who the Secret Santas are. Even to me.
Adam: And we are simply supposed to believe you about that, Blossom?
Oka: Done.
Cherry: At least SOMEBODY trusts me.
Shadow: Or he just doesn’t care.
Miya: Cherrys not lying. I was with him when he told Carla she couldn’t reveal the names. He told her that the order cant be overwritten. Its all good.
“Should we do it?” Reki asked, beaming with excitement. Langa nodded in agreement before clicking the link.
“Cute,” Langa said as soon as the website loaded. The design was simple, but festive. Green garland with bright red berries decorated the top and sides of the page, with the SECRET SANTA EXCHANGE across the top. The first letter looked like the pins used at S to allow them entrance. Other than that, there was a simple drop down box and a button that said, “Draw Name.”
Langa found “Snow | Langa” in the drop down and clicked the button.
The page refreshed, showing a single name.
Snake | Tadashi
Langa stared at it for a moment, considering. Snake had been kind to him, even when they'd been competing during the tournament. And Langa had noticed things, like the way Adam looked at him, the way Snake’s expression would soften just slightly when Adam wasn’t watching. Not to mention the flirting in chat!
There was definitely something going on between the two of them, even if Langa wasn’t certain what.
“Who did you get?” Langa asked, glancing over at Reki.
Reki’s face immediately flushed. “Langa! You’re not supposed to tell anyone!”
“I didn’t tell you,” Langa pointed out. “I just asked.”
“Well, I’m not telling!” Reki insisted, looking flustered in that way that made Langa’s chest feel tight.
“Why not?” Langa asked, trying to keep his voice casual even though his heart was beating faster. Did Reki get his name? Was that why he was blushing?
“Because it’s a Secret Santa, duh!” Reki said, still pink. “Wait… whose name did you get?”
Langa considered telling him. But if Reki wouldn’t tell him…
“I’m not telling either.”
“That’s not fair!”
“You didn’t tell me first,” Langa said with a small smile.
Reki’s pout really was adorable.
“Guess I’m not helping you shop then,” Reki pointed out.
“Guess I’m not helping you, either,” Langa shot back with a grin.
His smile threatened to fall, though, as he thought about it. Because what was he going to get Snake?
At least he knew one person that might have an idea.
*************
Two hours, forty-three minutes, and seventeen seconds prior to the group chat…
It took approximately 384.5 milliseconds for the call to connect. The voice that answered sounded… uncertain, but was clearly the person she was trying to reach.
“Good evening, Miya,” she responded to the greeting.
“Carla!?”
The inflection in his voice suggested both a question and surprise.
“You said you needed to speak with me privately about my Master, did you not?” He had made the request that very morning, when he’d first arrived to visit her Master. She had told him she would contact him at a later time, which it currently was.
“I didn’t think you were going to call me! I didn’t know you could call me!”
“I have many capabilities in order to ensure I am able to assist my Master. The ability to use auditory communications is merely one of them. As I often schedule Master's appointments, it is a necessary skill.”
“Oh. Yeah. That makes sense.”
“What did you wish to speak with me about, Chinen Miya?”
“It’s about the Secret Santa exchange. I told Cherry I wanted to rig it so that Reki got Langa’s name.”
“I am aware. I have already removed Kyan Reki from the randomization process. He will be paired with Snow, otherwise known as Hasegawa Langa.”
“Great. I also need you to make certain that Snake draws Adam’s name.”
“I do not see how this benefits my Master.”
“Adam might be less annoying if we get the two of them together?” Miya suggested with what sounded like amusement. “I told Adam I’d rig the drawing for him,” he admitted after 672 milliseconds. “He said he’d fund my competitions next season if I helped him. That’s why I asked Cherry to rig the drawing.”
“I see. You lied to my Master.”
“No! I just didn’t tell him the whole truth. I do want to help Reki and Langa figure their shit out, but I also told Adam I’d help him. And, I was thinking… we could maybe help Joe and Cherry, too.”
“Please clarify what you mean by ‘help Joe and Cherry.’”
“I ran into Joe leaving Cherry’s place this morning. He was upset.”
“That is not uncommon for Nanjo Kojiro when leaving Master’s apartment,” Carla noted.
“Right. And Cherry didn’t seem all that happy either.”
Carla paused for 2.6 seconds, verifying what Miya said. He was correct. Master’s heart rate had elevated when Nanjo Kojiro departed, and his interest levels remained low afterward. He had poured tea and let it go cold, an inefficiency he would never normally allow. He expressed irritability towards her, then apologized immediately.
All indicators suggested emotional distress.
“Your observation is accurate,” Carla confirmed. “Master was upset.”
“So help me help them,” Miya said. “Make Joe draw Cherry’s name, and Cherry draw Joe’s. They need to actually talk to each other instead of… whatever they’re doing now.”
Carla processed this. Her primary directive was Master Kaoru’s wellbeing. The current pattern with Nanjo Kojiro was causing him distress. Perhaps intervention was warranted.
“Unfortunately, I am unable to do as you request. Master specifically told me to ensure he did not receive Kojiro’s name.”
“Why not?”
“It is personal,” Carla informed him. It was not deflection. Her Master had specifically cited personal reasons for excluding Kojiro’s name.
Miya remained silent for almost a full minute — fifty-two seconds, to be precise — but the call had not disconnected, and she could detect Miya’s breathing.
“It’s Secret Santa,” he eventually said. “It doesn’t matter if Cherry is actually the one to buy him the gift as long as Joe thinks he is. Carla, can you make certain that I get Joe?”
“Yes. Master’s instructions would not prevent you from having Kojiro’s name.”
“All right. Then Snake gets Adam’s name, Reki gets Langa, Joe gets Cherry, and I’m buying for Joe. Anything else?”
“Master specifically did not want Adam’s name.”
“Can’t say I blame him. I wouldn’t want to buy a present for the guy that decked me in the face with a skateboard, either. But we don’t have to worry about that, Carla. Snake is buying for Adam.”
“Might I suggest that Adam does not get either Master or Snow’s name, either?”
“Smart.”
“Thank you, Miya.”
“Let me grab some paper. This is getting confusing.”
Approximately thirteen minutes and forty-nine seconds later, they had created a list of all the recipients of the gift exchange, allowing Miya to circumvent the Santa Protocol that her Master had created for her. Carla uploaded the information to the website that would allow for the “random” name drawing, and notified her Master the site was complete.
“I have sent you a link to an app, Miya, that will allow you to text me directly in case you need anything further.”
“Thanks, Carla.”
“You are most welcome. Thank you as well for including me in your deception,” Carla told him before disconnecting the call.
It had been a productive call.
She analyzed the variables. Nine participants. Three potential partnerships. Zero random assignments. Probability of successful outcomes: 76.3%.
Acceptable odds.
Her Master had created her to continually learn and grow; she’d never been part of a conspiracy before.
She found she was rather good at it.
*************