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In the first year of Ortho’s life, he did not know much, besides what little information his ‘memories’ offered. Still, there is this holiday his brother participated without fail called ‘Christmas’. If he was correct, it’s supposed to be today. Yet, nothing seemed particularly festive, besides a Christmas tree set up in their room, surrounded by very few presents and his brother. If only all those films he watched told him how he’s supposed to celebrate Christmas with his one and only niisan…
“Ortho, come here.” Idia motioned him over, “Don’t just stand there. Since mom and dad are too busy today, we only have each other to celebrate Christmas!”
Aren’t they always too busy?
“Ok, niisan.” Ortho floated over, taking a seat next to Idia, “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas..!” Idia managed a halfhearted smile, pushing a present box into his hands, “I-I know you didn’t get anything for me, but I wanted to get something for you, so… open it!”
Ortho nodded, opening the wrapping and tearing open the cardboard box it covered. Inside laid one light blue teddy bear, with a royal blue ribbon wrapped around its neck.
“I don’t know if you like teddies or anything, but they seemed like a safe bet, so…” Idia twiddled his thumbs together, “You don’t have to keep it if you don’t want to, of course…”
Something warm stroked the flames of Ortho’s ‘heart’, a feeling that he could not quite label but enjoyed nonetheless. It makes him ‘happy’, he thinks, to receive this gift from his brother on this holiday he treasures. Ortho gripped the teddy, holding it with care. Such a gift may be wasted on him, since he can only feel the weight of the item and not its softness, but he still was proud to claim it as his ‘own’ possession.
“Thank you, niisan.” Ortho shuffled over to hug his brother, “This makes me ‘happy’.”
Idia hugged him back, followed by the sound of a rather wet sniffle. Did he make his niisan ‘sad’?
-🤖🎁💀-
Celebrating Christmas with his niisan is something that Ortho always enjoyed, but he had a feeling that things would be different this year! Ever since the first year of NRC, the two of them have been celebrating Christmas with their friends from Savanaclaw a week before winter break started. They’d be celebrating this year with them as well, of course, but it’s going to be different! Super different! Why? Well, it’s because his niisan finally started dating Leona Kingscholar! What a miracle! They’ve been dancing around one another for forever, and now they can officially celebrate as a cute couple! He’s so proud of his niisan for ‘lvling up’ and getting a boyfriend!
“I dunno, Ortho…” Idia flipped through the magazine he’s read three times over already, scrunched up neatly on his gaming chair, “I just don’t want to get Leona something boring as his boyfriend on Christmas, you know?”
“Just go with your heart, like last year!” Ortho stuck down one more line of tape, officially securing the gift wrapping onto Ruggie’s gift, “Leona was really, really happy with that big meat pillow you got him! He wouldn’t stop sleeping with it in the botanical garden for weeks after!”
“I don’t want to get him something simple like that! It’s our first Christmas as boyfriends! I need to get him something super romantic!”
“Does it have to be romantic?”
“Yes! Romantic! I need to grind out as many romance points as I can with this SSR prince I somehow managed to bag!”
Ortho stacked Ruggie’s present on top of Jack’s present, “What if we go to the mall? I need to find a fun toy for Cheka, and maybe you’ll find something romantic that you think Leona will like as we walk around!”
“I don’t want to go to the mall…” Mumbled Idia as he threw the magazine aside, “It’s Christmas season, it’s probably super crowded by now.”
“What if we do some online shopping together? Maybe we can find something romantic online?”
Idia seemed more interested in that idea, “Yeah- Yeah. We can do that.” Idia pushed his chair backwards a bit, straightening out his legs before patting his lap, “Do you want to sit on my lap as we window shop?”
“You know I do!” Ortho floated over, seating himself on Idia’s lap, “Let’s explore the wide web of shopping, niisan! Together!”
“Yeah… Together..!” Idia pumped his fist into the air before pushing the two of them closer to his desk, typing in his long computer password with ease, “Do you want to shop for Cheka first?”
Ortho shook his head, “Nope! Let’s find something for your boyfriend first!”
The tips of his brother’s hair went pink at the mention of Leona, “I still can’t believe I have bitches.”
“Leona is not a b-word!”
“Fine, fine.” Idia clicked on Atsy, bringing the website up, “I still can’t believe I have a boyfriend. I mean, me? Having a romantic interest? I seem like one of those background virgin NPCs that’d get nobody and serve as a comedic side plot of how undateable I am.”
“You’d never be some NPC, niisan!” Ortho crossed his arms, “You’re smart and handsome and super OP, even ghosts want you!”
Idia shivered at that, “I don’t think Eliza wanted to marry me for normal reasons, Ortho.”
“She definitely saw your super handsome brotherly charm, though! Just like Leona!”
“Leona’s tastes in dating partners must be broken…”
“Nope! I think they’re just right! Leona is really lucky to date you, niisan!”
“No way, I’m lucky to be dating an ikemen like him.” Idia’s mouse seemed to hover over cat toys for a moment, he chose against clicking it as he continued to scroll along, “He’s a hot jock, and a prince to boot. I’m more skin than bone, on the other hand, and cursed as hell.”
“The curse isn’t a bad thing!” Ortho patted Idia’s head, “Leona really likes your cursed hair!”
“And he’s insane for that.”
“I think he’s really smart! Your hair is very pretty!”
“He’ll realize how shit it actually is one day…” Mumbled Idia under his breath, which Ortho honestly did not appreciate since he thinks his niisan’s hair is super cool, “Oh. Look at this. Do you think Leona would like this?”
Ortho squinted real hard at the image on the screen, “A taxidermied mice chess set? It’s cool and all, but doesn’t Leona have way too many chess sets? Plus, he said that he doesn’t like playing chess with delicate pieces like this.”
“I guess…” Idia clicked off of the product with a sigh, “I just… want to get him something really cool and romantic, but I don’t know what to get.”
“How about a beanbag?”
“I don’t see him as a beanbag guy.”
“New bed sheets?”
“He can afford like, thousands of cool bed sheets. I don’t think getting him new bed sheets would impress him.”
“What if you give him a really big kiss?!”
Idia raised his eyebrow, “I give him kisses all the time, plus it’s not something I can wrap and put under a tree.”
Ortho hummed thoughtfully, stroking his chin like a mastermind would, “How about some of your hair in a heart-shaped locket?”
“Isn’t that a little too old-school? I don’t think Leona would want that.”
“Food?”
“Not preservable enough.”
“A blanket with your face on it?”
“What would he even do with a blanket with my face on it?!”
“Cuddle it?”
“That’s way too weird for a high-class prince like him!”
“It might be cute!”
“Or creepy!” Idia pulled up another potential gift, “Here, what about this? This is cool, right?”
“Leopard print kitchenware..?” Ortho tilted his head, “Does Leona even know how to cook?”
“Probably not, he’s a prince, so…” Idia closed out that item too, “I dunno, Ortho, nothing is perfect…”
“What if you ask him what he might want for Christmas? That might give us some clues!”
“You’re right! That might give us some clues!” Idia fumbled for his phone, opening his messages, “Maybe he’ll even tell me what he specifically would like, then I wouldn’t have to look real hard at anything!”
Ortho watched Idia send his question in, and the two of them sat in silence as the message went from ‘sent’ to ‘read’, followed by the little animated speech bubble of Leona typing a response.
>Kitty-cat <3: I dunno.
How unhelpful. Smh, Leona.
>Kitty-cat <3: How about you under that tree? ;)
His niisan?! He’d never allow his niisan to be given away as a Christmas gift, not even to Leona!
Ortho watched Idia furiously type about how that gift was not appropriate (why??), demanding a real answer. The speech bubble flashed in and out of existence a few times before Leona finally came up with a response;
>Kitty-cat <3: I’d honestly be happy with anything, Idia.
Leona is still being unhelpful!
>Kitty-cat <3: But… I think I have something I might like in mind.
Oh..? Leona is actually going to be a helpful NPC?!
The two of them quietly sat there, watching the speech bubble bob for what seemed like forever. Finally, he delivered a reply;
>Kitty-cat <3: You can make things, right? You have a lot of cosplay in your closet. Could you make me an outfit? Any outfit will do, I’m not picky.
>Kitty-cat <3: I’d like to wear something made by my talented, beautiful boyfriend.
Yes! Finally! Something helpful! Plus, Leona totally complimented his niisan there in the end! Good Leona, his niisan needs so many compliments!
Ortho watched his niisan’s hair flicker around with even more pink, which is quite nice to see. Idia wrote a reply back to Leona, requesting that he come by sometime for measurements to be taken, and a question on if Leona would wear a dress. Leona said he would wear a dress, and his brother’s hair got even more pink in turn. Why would his niisan get even more flustered over Leona wearing a dress?
“W-Well, I think I know what I want to make Leona for Christmas!” Idia put his phone aside quickly, “Let’s go shop for something for Cheka now, okay?”
“‘Kay!” Ortho pointed his niisan towards the plushies on Atsy, “I already know what I wanna get Cheka!”
“What are you getting him?”
“Giant crochet pillows that are shaped like dino nuggets!”
Idia flashed a smile at him, “I just know he’s going to love it.”
-🤖🧸-
It has been three months and four days since Ortho got his first possession on Christmas. He did not know what to do with it, spending his days staring at the teddy. Recently, he started showing his teddies the movies he was studying. Something in him told him that his teddy bear would also enjoy watching films with him, for some illogical reason that didn’t make sense to him yet.
“Have you named your teddy yet?” Questioned Idia one day as they sat together in their room.
“No.” Replied Ortho, “Are toys required to have names?”
“W-Well, no, but…” Idia fumbled with the copy of Star Rogue in his hand, “Some people like to name their teddies…”
Well, to be named is to be loved, right? Idia did give ‘Ortho’ his name, after all, and has loved him since as a ‘big brother’. As his first possession- or perhaps ‘friend’, in this case- he should offer his toy a name and plenty of ‘love’.
Ortho stared at his teddy long and hard, thinking about a suitable name, “Lazio. I think I will name her Lazio.”
This seemed to please his brother, for Idia smiled brightly as he clapped his hands together, “That’s a great name! Now, you, me, and Lazio can all play Star Rogue together!”
Ortho decided not to bring up the fact that Lazio cannot hold a controller to ‘play’, content with seeing how happy his brother is as he booted up the game.
-🤖🎁💀-
It has been a week since Idia had started making that dress for Leona. He got measurements (and a kiss), and got to work immediately so that he could (probably) have this dress done by their party’s chosen Christmas day. He… he really hoped that Leona wouldn’t regret this. Like, sure, his boyfriend wants an outfit made by him, presumably to wear somewhere important, yet here he is… making a cute, puffy, pastel pink dress. It doesn’t just stop there, no. He’s crafting this dress in mind with Leona’s huge tits and pretty waistline, he’s going to accentuate those features to hell and back with this dress. Would this even be good to wear to a meeting? Or a fancy royal party? It feels more like a dress Leona would wear on one of their dates- should he start from scratch and make a royal ballroom gown instead?!
“Niisan!” Ortho bonked the top of Idia’s head, “Stop thinking so hard!”
“Thinking?! I’m not thinking!” Sputtered Idia out in defense, “I’m just… looking!”
“At your gift for Leona?” Ortho raised an eyebrow at him, “You look like you’re about to burn a hole through it, niisan.”
“I just… I just don’t know if this is good enough.” Idia motioned towards his in-progress gift, “Would Leona really wear a pink dress like this?”
“I don’t see why he wouldn’t!”
“The boob window is obnoxiously big.”
“You do love seeing his boobs, and he likes showing them off, so I see no problem in that!”
“There’s no sleeves.”
“Shows off his arms! Plus, Leona doesn’t wear a lot of things with long sleeves anyways.”
“The bottom of the dress will barely cover his knees, and maybe it’s too puffy…. It’s going to make him look like a magical girl.”
“Hmm…” Ortho looked real hard at the dress, “Yeah, it is really puffy.”
“Right? Should I just take out all the puff?”
“Maybe? And if you made it a bit longer, you could make this more like a sundress.”
“A sundress…” Idia walked towards his sketchpad, flipping to a new page, “Yeah, a sundress might be cute on Leona. Thanks, Ortho.”
His brother beamed at him brightly, “No problem, niisan!”
Idia rubbed the top of Ortho’s head, “Can you go find my seam ripper?”
“Sure!”
Oh great sevens, he sure is lucky to have such an adorable little brother. What did he ever do to deserve Ortho in his life? Well, he did labor over that cute little boy for two years, but that didn’t matter. What matters is that, given the choice, Ortho decided to stay with him… and he’s eternally grateful for that.
Hopefully Ortho will like his Christmas present this year as well, he spent a long time secretly making it, after all.
-🤖🧸-
Despite giving “Ortho” life, Idia wasn’t sure what to do with his new little brother. He should love him, of course, and he planned to, but… but what? He didn’t know. His heart ached, it ached enough that he had to cover the lower half of Ortho’s face. He modeled him after his deceased brother, yeah, but seeing the face of the boy he killed hurt. It hurts. So much of his heart hurts when he is around Ortho, which is unfair to his new little brother, but right now he just… he just needed distance. Distance and time.
He couldn’t run away forever, though. Ortho deserves a caring older brother, not a mean one. He didn’t want to be a mean big brother to his only little brother.
Gathering up all his strength, on a night of some insignificant day he couldn’t remember, Idia ventured out to find Ortho- wherever his brother might be. He found his brother in the one place he didn’t expect; his mother’s garden. He never seemed interested in the plants, yet here he is, brushing a metallic finger against the blooming petals of a white rose.
“U-Um… Ortho…” Idia walked up to him, holding out, “I brought something that I wanted to show you…”
Ortho turned towards him, looking with his lifeless, glassy eyes, “Something to show me? I would like to see it.”
“It was a gift from mom…” Idia grabbed onto Ortho’s cold hand, “Come on, let’s go sit at mom’s tea table.”
Idia brought Ortho deep into their mother’s garden, seating themselves at her pristine white tea table. Carefully, Idia set down the music box, opening the lid to reveal a small ballerina within.
“What is this?” Questioned Ortho.
“It’s a music box.” Idia reached behind the box to twist the key in the back a few times, “Here, watch.”
He let go of the key, and the ballerina sprung to life, spinning as the music box sang out a familiar, twinkling tune. Recently, he has seen Ortho watch a lot of movies, so surely he’d be interested in discovering other forms of entertainment, right? Music is kind of like movies… just with noise instead of film.
Idia glanced at his brother, who seemed focused on the delicate twirl of the ballerina. Did he like it? Hate it? He couldn’t tell; Ortho’s face isn’t great at making expressions yet, after all. As the ballerina spun to the stop, Ortho finally looked back at him, and their eyes met.
“I like that.” Ortho pointed towards the box, “Can you start it up again, niisan?”
Idia nodded, reaching towards the box to bring the ballerina back to life. Ortho probably likes this since he’s asking to listen to it a second time, right..?
-🤖🎁💀-
After much time of waiting, their planned Christmas party is about to commence! This year, they decided to host the party at Leona’s room, and Ortho couldn’t be happier! It’s a lot brighter and warmer there than in Ignihyde, plus it totally gives his niisan an excuse to steal one of Leona’s shirts before they part ways for winter break (his niisan keeps hoarding a lot of Leona’s shirts for some reason, hopefully he’ll return a few before Leona runs out of shirts!).
“Are you sure Leona will like this?” Idia looked like he wanted to chuck Leona’s Christmas gift into the void that surrounded Ignihyde as they walked towards the dorm mirror, “It’s pink, and a dress, and-”
“He will, don’t worry!” Ortho would shake his hands in support if he were not holding two bags full of gifts, deciding to lightly bump into his brother instead to show support, “Leona loves everything you give him!”
“This might be the first thing he hates…”
They quickly made their way from the cool darkness of Ignihyde to the bright warmth of Savanaclaw, making a beeline towards Leona’s room. They greeted a few beastmen whom they recognized along the way, and Idia let out an audible sigh of relief once they made it to Leona’s door. Let their Christmas party commence! Yippee!
Ortho swung open LEona’s door with ease, “We’re here! Merry Christmas!”
“Merry early Christmas!” Squeaked Cheka, seated comfortably on Leona’s stomach as poor Leona laid helpless on the floor, “Now that you two are here we can start! Yay!”
“Presents go under the Christmas tree.” Leona pointed at the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, “Ruggie and Jack should be back soon with the gingerbread houses I asked for, then we can make and eat a whole bunch together before we open the presents.”
“Ooh, we’re making gingerbread houses this year?!” Ortho quickly dumped all of the presents out of his bag near the tree before going to sit on Leona as well, who made a funny ‘oof’ sound upon impact, “It’s gonna be so fun! I wanna make a really big house!”
“Me too!” Cheka threw his hands up with a cheer, “I’m gonna make the biggest house ever for us all to sit in!”
“Don’t expect too much, kids.” Huffed Leona, “I only got normal sized kits, not human sized ones.”
“Aww…” Cheka visibly deflated. Ortho can’t believe Leona is such a party pooper and won’t get them human sized gingerbread house making kits.
“I bet we could still make some great gingerbread houses!” Idia put his presents down under the tree with more care than Ortho, “Do the kits come with those gumdrops?”
Leona nodded, “Of course they do, what kind of gingerbread kit would not have gumdrops?”
“Yes!” Idia walked over to lay next to Leona, just with much less children on him, “I need to make sure I finish the house first before I eat all the gumdrops…”
“I’ll make sure you don’t eat any before you finish if you get these damn kids off of me.”
“Sure.” Idia sat up, “I brought my nintendo switch, do you guys want to play some trombone champ?”
Until Jack and Ruggie came back with the gingerbread house kits, the four of them made some music together with trombones. Ortho was a little sad that he had to get off of Leona to play, but this is way more fun, yippee! He couldn’t wait to make cool yummy houses with everyone!
-🤖🧸-
Ortho never had a need to eat, so he spent meal times in their room, watching films. Yet, today was different, for Idia had skipped out on dinnertime, shuffling into their room with two kits. They looked like cookie making kits. Surely his brother wasn’t just going to eat that for dinner, was he? It doesn’t seem healthy or balanced.
“Here.” Idia handed him a kit, “These are gingerbread men kits. Do you… do you want to make gingerbread men with me..?”
“Of course.” Ortho opened his kit with ease, laying out its contents, “What am I supposed to do?”
“Well… make a guy! Any kind of guy you want! You can use the cream for hair, gumdrops for buttons, and so forth! Just… Just give it a try.”
Hm. Interesting. Ortho got to work, trying to make some sort of man out of his gingerbread. By the time he finished, the gingerbread looked like his niisan but ten times worse. He didn’t know that the cream tube would release so much cream…
Idia scooted his gingerbread over until their little gingerbread hands were touching, “Hehe! Look! They’re brothers!”
Upon further inspection, the gingerbread his niisan made looked like… him. It didn’t look like the dead boy in the photos, no, it looked like him. Them, together. Ortho wanted to keep this in his memory forever.
“Do you know where we can obtain a third gingerbread kit?” Questioned Ortho.
Idia smiled at him, “I do!”
By the end of the night, they had three gingerbread holding hands. Two that looked like them, and one that looked like the brother they lost along the way. Neither of them had the heart to move them or eat them, so they sat in front of the TV until bedtime had come.
-🤖🎁💀-
Carefully, Ortho placed his final gumdrop, sitting back to see his good work. This definitely looks way better than the last time he tried! All four of the walls are standing! And, sure, he’s missing one half of the roof, but that’s ok! These little gingerbread things are too fragile, and it gives his house a little bit of authenticity!
“I’m all done!” Ortho puffed his chest proudly, “My house is really awesome!”
“Lookin’ good, Ortho.” Ruggie leaned over, taking a bite out of a gingerbread wall (did he just sit here and eat his kit?), “It looks like you’ve got some leftover cream too. What my granny does with her leftovers is make a snowy front yard, maybe you can do that too.”
Cream? As snow? That would be very cute! And maybe he can add some on his rooftop! And his gumdrops and jelly beans! It’ll be a winter wonderland!
“Your granny is so smart!” Ortho grabbed his cream, “It sounds super cute!”
“Right? My granny is a master at this decorating stuff.”
Ortho glanced at Ruggie’s half-eaten piece of gingerbread wall, “Are you not making a gingerbread house?”
“Nah, I did.” Ruggie pushed over his plate, where a really tiny gingerbread house laid in a forest of gumdrops, “I just made it tiny so that I can snack on the rest.”
“Oh! Neat!” Ortho quite liked it, what an interesting take on gingerbread house making!
-🤖🧸-
It’s weird to think about it, but this is the last Christmas Ortho will spend with his niisan before the two of them go to Night Raven College. Will they spend Christmas time together there as well? Perhaps with more friends? That’d be wonderful! His niisan with friends! Of course he wanted friends too, but his niisan is his first priority! He needs to make sure that his brother will have a good time there, no matter what! It’s finally his turn to make sure his niisan is happy and well cared for!
“Niisan! Niisan!” Ortho floated over to Idia, he’s been staring at the Christmas presents for a while now, “Do you think we’ll get to spend next Christmas at NRC with friends?!”
“Friends?” Idia looked at him oddly, “No, I doubt it.”
“Eh?! Why?!”
“I’m not going to make friends.” Mumbled Idia, twirling a piece of his hair around his finger, “If you manage to make some you can hang out with them, don’t worry about me.”
“Niisan…”
Even though Idia didn’t say it out loud, Ortho had a feeling he knew what his brother harbored in his heart. They’re two cursed beings, bound by fate to one day be in STYX forever. They can’t make many friends, much less invite them over to play games. As Idia would say it, they’re stuck in a ‘bad end’ where neither of them can live normal lives… and Ortho had a feeling that something down in Tartarus was holding his niisan back from living the life he should be living. Perhaps it’s the fate of someone like his brother to mourn the dead forever, but he didn’t like that! One accident shouldn’t stop his niisan from pursuing more!
Still… he’s powerless to change his brother’s mind right now. Until he can, he’ll stay with Idia and cheer him on!
Ortho floated over and sat next to his brother, snuggling up to him, “We don’t need friends! I swear I’m going to spend every Christmas with you, niisan! Forever and ever!”
A smile could be heard in Idia’s voice, “And I promise to spend every single one with you as well, Ortho.”
If Santa truly is real, Ortho hoped to just ask for one thing. It’s not much, but he really hoped that, for Christmas, Santa will give him and his niisan tons of friends one day!
-🤖🎁💀-
Once they all finished making their gingerbread houses and lining them up on the table Leona set out on the balcony, it was time to give gifts! Ortho was hoping to give his gift to his brother, but by the time he fetched his present for Idia, he could see him quickly trotting across the room to give his present to Leona. He’s a little sad about it, but his brother worked really hard on that dress and he’s really anxious about it, so he deserved to give it asap! The sooner Leona approves of the gift, the sooner his niisan will be happy! He can use this time to give his gift to someone else, like…
“Ortho! Ortho!” Cheka ran up to him with a pretty pretty box, “Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, Cheka!” Ortho quickly fetched his gift for Cheka, “This is for you!”
Cheka wiggled the box in his hands gleefully, “And this is for you! Take it!”
The two of them quickly exchanged gifts, tearing open the presents in their hands. Thankfully, Cheka seemed pleased with his giant crochet dino nuggets, and Ortho could say the same about his own gift! Cheka got him a brand new set of super fancy crayons, which is just what he needed! His set of crayons have been getting pretty worn out… they’re so small that he’s having a hard time holding them! The two of them thanked each other, hugged, and wandered off to give more gifts. Thankfully, Ruggie found him next with a neat little box in his hand.
“Hey there, Ortho.” Ruggie held out his box with a grin, “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Ruggie!” Ortho presented the gift he had prepared for Ruggie, “This is for you!”
They swapped presents, and got to work appreciating what they were given. Ruggie got him a super shiny looking bouncy ball with sparkles in the middle! It’s awesome! If he shakes it, he can see the sparkles move! He couldn’t wait to toss this around!
“Remember not to throw it in Idia’s room, ‘kay?” Spoke Ruggie as he chewed the nessie ladle Ortho gave him, nodding approvingly at its quality after, “And thank you, I’m gonna make some soup with this tomorrow.”
Ortho swore he would not throw it in Idia’s room (he definitely will) as they hugged, quickly parting to go redeem the other gifts they’re owed. Ortho found his way to Jack next, which is super awesome because it looks like Jack is holding a really big gift for him! So big! It looks like it’s half as tall and big as Ortho is! What could it be?!
“Jack!” Ortho ran up with his present, “Merry Christmas!”
“Hey! Merry Christmas!” Jack's tail wagged as Ortho approached, “I was looking for you!”
“Me too!” Ortho couldn't wait to see what Jack got him, “Here's my gift to you! Takey!”
The two of them swapped, and Ortho quickly went to tear open his gift, revealing… a horse? No, it's not just a horse, it's a horse head on a stick! This is what other kids call a stick horse! He's never had a stick horse before! If he could find some wings he could make this stock horse into a stick pegasus and ride around on it like that one cool legendary guy who went from a zero to a hero!
Ortho made sure to thank Jack with a big big hug before galloping off on his new steed, satisfied that Jack very much enjoyed the talking cactus he received. All he has left is his niisan and Leona to visit! Who should he find first? Of course, he should save best for last, so maybe he'll go see if he can find-
“Oi, little sprout.” Leona walked up to him in that pretty pink dress Idia had been working so hard on, looking like a picture perfect princess to bring to a tea party, “I've been lookin’ all over for ya.”
“Leona! Gimmie a moment!” Ortho hurried off to retrieve his gift for Leona, coming back just as quickly, “Merry Christmas!”
“Yeah, Merry Christmas.” Leona held out a crudely wrapped gift, “I asked your brother what you'd like, so… enjoy.”
“I will!” Ortho swapped their gifts with ease, “I hope you enjoy yours!”
Like all the other gifts, Ortho tore his open without a second thought. This time, however, he paused as a fluffy teddy bear looked back at him from underneath all that glitter wrapping paper.
-🤖🧸-
From what Ortho has learned, children would often sleep with teddies to keep nightmares away. Such a thing seemed trivial to him, since he hardly ever dreamed as a humanoid, but he still brought his teddy Lazio with him every night to sleep, setting her by his charging station. He had grown an attachment for the first gift his brother had given him, and found great joy in having Lazio keep him company when his niisan was busy. Still, who would be around for Lazio when Ortho is busy? He found himself wondering that question frequently these days.
“Niisan.” Ortho tugged on Idia’s sleeve, Lazio held tightly in his arms, “Can you get Lazio a friend?”
Idia blinked at him, surprised at his sudden request, “Why does Lazio need a new friend when she has you?”
“I can’t bring her everywhere with me, and I don’t want her to be alone when I’m gone.”
Idia seemed to consider his plight for a moment before responding, “I don’t know any other teddies that Lazio can be friends with, but she can hang out on my bed with my kitty!”
“Really? She can?”
“Absolutely! I’m sure Sir Paws would love to be her friend, and they can hang out until your teddy meets a new teddy friend! How does that sound?”
“Good.” Ortho nodded along to his brother’s plan, “But what if Lazio never meets any other teddies?”
“She will, don’t worry.” Idia rubbed his head gently, “I bet that she’ll meet another wonderful teddy one day and that the two of them will be fast friends!”
“They won’t forget me, will they?”
“Never! They’re going to be your two most loyal knights and protect you from all the creepies in the dark, guaranteed!”
-🤖🎁💀-
“This is…” Ortho picked up the teddy bear carefully tucked away under layers of wrapping paper, “A teddy. For me?”
Leona nodded, “Yeah, for you. You’ve been wanting another teddy, right? So, I got you one.”
The teddy in his hands is soft and squishy, with fluffy brown fur that closely matches the color of Leona’s hair. They looked at him with one beady eye, the other covered by a black eyepatch adorned in gold accents. They also wore a funny hat with a skull and crossbones on it, looking like a classic pirate. Did Leona really get him a cute pirate teddy?! He loved pirates!
“You have a teddy named Lazio, right?” Leona toyed with the pair of lion slippers Ortho got him for Christmas, “Well, I’ve been told your teddy gets lonely sometimes, so I got her a new pirate friend. We met while we were both doing pirate things on Halloween, and they seemed interested in finding a home with you… if you’d let them in.”
“I am! I really do want a new teddy friend for Lazio!” Ortho held the pirate teddy tightly in his arms, “Do they have a name?!”
“Nah, it’s up to you to name them. The only name they’ve ever cared about is the name of their ship.”
“They have a ship?!”
“Yeah.” Leona reached into his vest pocket, pulling out a photo and handing it to Ortho, “They have a ship called ‘The Loyal Doubloon’... or something like that. As for their name, they seek one from the fella they wish to follow.”
“They want me to give them a name, right?”
“Yes, only you are worthy of giving this pirate a name.”
Ortho giggled charrily at that, looking at the pirate teddy in his hands. What would be a good name for them? They’re a captain, and they have an eyepatch, so…
“Captain Eyepatch!” Squeaked Ortho out loud, “I want to name them Captain Eyepatch!”
“That’s a good name for ‘em.” Leona nodded approvingly, “I bet Captain Eyepatch agrees as well. Make sure they get along with Lazio, alright?”
“I will!” “Good.” He patted Ortho’s head before taking a step back, “Now ya better get goin’t to your brother, he’s been watchin’ us from the back for a while now… I bet he's been wantin’ to talk to ya.”
“He has?” Ortho turned around, and he could see his niisan standing by the Christmas tree, awkwardly fiddling with a small box and glancing in their direction ever so often, “Oh, he has!”
“You wouldn’t want to keep your brother waitin’, would ya?”
“No!” Ortho turned back to quickly give Leona the biggest hug he could manage, “Thank you for bringing Captain Eyepatch to me!”
“No problem.” Leona hugged him back, patting his back lightly, “Merry Christmas, kid.”
“Merry Christmas! Where is Captain Eyepatch’s ship, by the way?”
“Parked safely in my ship dock, don’t worry.”
“Can I have it?”
“Not until you get a pirate ship license.” Leona pulled away from the hug and Spun Ortho around to the direction of his brother, “Now get goin’, Idia looks like he’s gonna cry if you leave him alone any longer.”
He didn’t want to make his niisan cry, that’d be bad! He has to go now! Ortho nodded and thanked Leona one last time before heading straight towards the Christmas tree to snatch his gift for Idia. Despite it being the last gift he needed to give today, he’s quite nervous to give it for some reason. He didn’t want this party to end, of course, but also he isn’t sure if this gift is worthy of being graced with his brother’s presence. Unfortunately, there’s only one way to find out if this gift he has chosen will make his niisan happy or not.
“Hi niisan!” Ortho held his gift close, “Merry Christmas! I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all, Ortho.” Idia smiled at him, holding out his small gift box, “I’ve been hoping that I’d get to see you last anyway, so it works out.”
“What a coincidence! Me too!” His brother always gave the best gifts every single Christmas! He has loved them all a whole ton! What would it be this year? Another toy? Another game? Something soft and fluffy?! It has always been the funnest mysteries ever to open up his present on Christmas day! Ortho couldn’t wait to see, tearing apart the wrapping the moment he could get his hands on Idia’s gift for him. Underneath all the wrapping was a… music box..? He certainly didn’t expect that. Plus, it’s not just any music box, it looked familiar… like the one Idia had gotten from their mother long ago. It made no sense for Idia to give their mother’s gift to him, though.
“Do you not like it..?” Questioned Idia nervously, “You don’t look very… excited…”
“I’m just confused, niisan.” Ortho rotated the music box in his hand, “Wasn’t this mom’s gift to you?”
“Well- not exactly.” Idia fiddled with his sleeves as he spoke, “I modeled the outside after mom’s gift, since you really seemed to like it way back, but the inside is totally different- the music is different too, of course. Just… open it up. You should see it for yourself.”
With no reason to delay the mystery any further, Ortho popped open the music box, peeking at what laid inside. The first difference is the centerpiece; instead of a ballerina, there’s the two of them in the center hugging. There’s also little fake flowers adorned here and there. Ortho could spot miniature primroses, yellow roses, blue hydrangeas, and a handful of white carnations. They’re pretty, and it made it feel as if they were in their mother’s garden back at home, hugging one another. How long has it been since they shared a moment there?
“You should twist the key in the back,” Urged Idia, “It ended up really good.”
Ortho reached for the key and twisted it slowly. Once, twice, letting it go quickly after. A single chime rang in the air, then another, then a wave of them. Each note flowed as the small figurines modeled after them spun around, embracing forever in a tight hug and moving in a playful dance. The music sounded light and cheery, and held a familiar tune that Ortho remembered dancing to with Idia long ago.
“Niisan…” Ortho glanced at his brother, “Is this my favorite song?”
“Yes!” Idia nodded rapidly, “It took me forever to figure out, but I got a spreadsheet of all the notes…”
Ortho listened to his brother ramble for a moment before setting the music box down, pulling his brother into the biggest hug he could manage. Idia remembered his favorite song and put so much effort into making this! For him!
Idia hugged him back tightly, no longer rambling about how he made Ortho’s gift, “I assume you liked the present?”
“I love it!” Ortho hugged his brother tighter, “I’m going to listen to it forever and ever!”
Ortho never knew he needed a music box until now! He’s going to put it right on his bedside table where he can see it and listen to it every night!
-🤖🧸-
This is the third time Idia had found Ortho listening to the music box their mother gave him. He isn’t sure how Ortho feels about it, since he just watches the ballerina stare blankly, but surely he must like the music box enough to wind it up more than once, right?
Idia took a seat next to Ortho, “Do you like it?”
Ortho kept staring at the ballerina, “I do.”
“Do you want your own?”
“No.”
“... Are you sure..?”
“I’d like one if it was made by you, niisan.”
-🤖🎁💀-
Once the moon had risen high in the sky, Leona decided that the Christmas party had to end. This made Ortho a bit sad, since he wanted to linger on the cheery atmosphere a bit longer, but he shouldn’t keep everyone awake! Sleep is important, plus they all needed to go back to their rooms and rest up before finals! Their grades are very important!
Jack and Ruggie excused themselves first for the night, and Ortho headed out with his niisan shortly after. Their trip to Ignihyde was short, thankfully, meaning that they could avoid the full brunt of winter’s chill. Despite everything being wrapped up and done, Idia seemed as if his mind was elsewhere during their walk back, as if he longed for a gift he hadn’t received. Perhaps Santa will get him that particular gift another year.
“Do you want to sleep over and cuddle?” Questioned Idia as they paused in front of his room, “I know you have your own student official bed and all, but…”
“Of course I would!” Ortho would never miss out on some good sleep time with his brother, “Let’s cuddle!”
Ortho sat around and fiddled with his new things as Idia went around his room, getting ready for bed. Once his brother was finally ready, he got into bed first, and Ortho quickly snuggled his way into Idia's arms. He liked it here! It made him feel super safe, plus he can hear his brother's heartbeat! It's one of his most favorite sounds in the world!
“Can I get my teddies niisan?” Ortho was already in bed, but he had suddenly thought of a few things that could make this better, “And use the music box you got me?”
“Sure.” Idia smooched the top of his head, “Go for it, Ortho.”
Ortho quickly retrieved his two teddy companions; his long time friend Lazio and his new friend Captain Eyepatch. With the two of them in town, he cranked the music box, letting it play as he snuggled back into Idia's arms. This is much better!
“Good night niisan!” Ortho laid his head against Idia's chest, listening to his brother's heartbeat, “I love you!”
“I love you too, Ortho.” Idia rubbed calming circles against Ortho's back, “Sleep well.”
The two of them laid there intertwined, and Ortho faded off into dreamland within his brother's comforting embrace. With Idia's heartbeat acting as a guiding lullaby, Ortho dared to dream of himself as a hero, going on a grand adventure with the people he has grown to love. He'll get to explore and blow up things, but most importantly be by Idia's side forever and ever. Perhaps one day Santa will grant them that adventure they've been dreaming about going on since they were little! That'd be amazing! Until then, Ortho is going to try to make every day with his brother fun!