Bonenkai

by nekojita

*******

Disclaimer: I don't own Weiß, but if someone would like to give me
the lovely boys for winter solstice/Christmas, I truly wouldn't
complain!!!

This fic deals a bit with Japanese holidays and traditions. I'm not
an expert on the culture, just studied it for several years and am
using an event that a Japanese friend told me about; so don't take my
word for the gospel truth. Hopefully I didn't screw things up too
much.

Tons of thanks to Kato-chan, Whiskers, Yumi and Barbara for catching
my many mistakes.

*******

"Oi, you home already, Omi?"

Putting some beer into the fridge, Yohji yelled back to his roommate
that Omi was still out with Aya. Then he asked why the other man had
wanted the teenager.

Ken appeared in the kitchen doorway, a bemused expression on his
face. "I was hoping to drag him out shopping with me. I just
realized that I forgot to pick up a few things when I went yesterday,
and I'm not about to brave those crowds on my own again. It's scary
out there."

"Puh-lease, it's not like you're telling me something that I don't
know. I nearly had to strangle someone to get the last couple six-
packs of my favorite beer, and the worst part was, it was some little
old lady. I swear, more people than ever are celebrating this
year." Yohji dropped his lanky frame onto a chair and rested his
chin on a palm, debating whether or not to chug one of the beers he'd
just brought home. Nah. Aya should be back soon, he'd wait until
the two of them went out to eat and have a drink then.

Walking over to the fridge, Ken shoved aside the cans of alcohol and
grabbed a sports drink. "Wow, you certainly stocked up for the
holidays. I think it's so crazy because everyone is trying to forget
their worries. No sense reflecting on how bad the economy is and
everything else, especially when one is supposed to put all their
troubles behind them for the new year. Not that we have much to be
depressed about, considering how many sales we've made the past
couple of days, and that's not even counting all the special orders
for the holidays next week."

`Hm." Yohji closed his eyes as he thought of all the work they would
be doing in the upcoming days, what with the number of arrangements
ordered for the New Year's parties. One good thing about the
situation, Aya should be in a decent mood when he did the books later
on. The Koneko was raking in money hand over fist, and being so busy
hadn't given his lover much time to brood over his missing sister.

"I don't want to think about how busy we're going to be. We really
will need a couple of days off to recover, besides taking Christmas
off as an official holiday. Though with our luck, another mission
will come up, and we'll spend New Year's Eve out in the cold, killing
some bastard. Now that would- ow! What the hell was that for?"
Rubbing his sore head, Yohji glared at his teammate.

Who glared right back at him. "Don't jinx things, Kudoh. If we do
get a mission, it'll be all your fault now. You can go off and kill
some people while the rest of us stay here and party."

About to get out of the chair and repay Ken back for the smack, Yohji
stopped when he heard the garage door open and then close. It was
only a matter of moments before Omi burst into the kitchen, cheeks
flushed from the cold and hair tousled. "We're back. Did you
unpatriotic reprobates miss us?"

"It was sheer hell without you, chibi. Ken and I wouldn't have
lasted much longer by ourselves." Well, at least Ken wouldn't have.

The older blond only paid his friend a few seconds attention as he
waited for Aya to come upstairs. A moment later, the pale man
quietly walked in, shivering as he huddled in his coat for warmth.
Violet eyes sought Yohji out and Aya hurried over to him, as if to
confirm the fact that the man was really there and safe. Wrapping
his arms around his slender lover, Yohji hugged him tight, trying to
warm Aya up by sliding his hands underneath the coat and rubbing them
along Aya's back. Aya was suffering from the cold this season, and
was grateful for any amount of warmth. Not that he objected to any
excuse that let him touch and hold Aya. "How was the shrine?"

"Crowded." Omi and Aya had gone to a Shinto shrine to wish the
Emperor a happy birthday, and to pick up some shimekazari to decorate
the house and shop. Being a bit more on the untraditional side, Ken
and Yohji had remained behind and manned the store instead. Yohji
tilted the smaller man's face up for a kiss, lingering over it for a
few minutes until he heard Ken start to gag and Omi laughed. He
looked up and scowled at the younger men as Aya tucked a cold nose
against his neck, snuggling close. "You guys are just jealous.
Well, we're off to dinner, you two stay out of trouble or Santa won't
bring you any presents." Forcing his protesting boyfriend back into
the cold, Yohji waved goodbye, eager to get something to eat.

*******

"Something wrong with the food, love?" Aya looked up from his meal,
which had been left untouched for the past several minutes. Yohji
and he were sharing a pot of oden; Aya had barely dipped into the
bowl of soup in front of him the whole time they had been here. They
had picked a small, quiet restaurant, a bit on the traditional side,
with low tables and tatami floors. Yohji couldn't stop staring at
the smaller man, who appeared to be glowing in the dim light, thanks
to the clingy, black sweater he was wearing. Just the sight of the
man was starting to make his leather pants feel a bit tight, so he
gulped down some sake as a means of distraction.

"No, it's delicious, I'm just not very hungry."

"Is it too much to hope that you and Omi stopped for a bite to eat
when you were out?" As the redhead shook his head, Yohji sighed. It
was so hard to get the man to eat anymore, considering everything
that had happened over the past couple of months. Yohji was grateful
that Aya had talked him out of going to a more expensive restaurant
like he'd wanted to, or else he'd be paying a fortune to watch Aya
starve himself. This was supposed to be their night out; they'd
decided to have a nice evening to themselves a day early, since the
party was tomorrow night. "You know, I don't think you need to make
losing weight a part of your New Year's resolution. Though gaining
it might be a good idea: get any thinner and it'll be a bitch to
sleep with you. Like snuggling up to a skeleton."

Wonder of all wonders, instead of snapping at him for that remark,
Aya actually smiled for a second and made another attempt to eat
something. For his part, Yohji kept the conversation light; prodding
his lover to eat a little more every now and then, talking about how
Ken would react to the Christmas present that everyone had pitched in
to buy the athlete, going on about how he loved this time of year.
The meal turned out to be a pleasant one, not quite as romantic as he
had hoped, but that smile from Aya made the whole evening
worthwhile. The man barely smiled anymore. Now if only he could
prevent himself from starting a fight, Yohji thought that things
would be perfect. When they were finished with dinner and outside on
the crowded sidewalk, Yohji was surprised to find himself yanked over
to a wall and soundly kissed. Several people stopped to stare at the
couple, most frowning before they resumed walking, though a few
called out encouragement. When the blond pulled away, gasping for
air, Aya started tugging him back to his car. "Not that I'm
complaining, but what was that for?" Yohji inquired. The reserved
man was not one for public displays of affection, and certainly not
on a crowded street.

"For dinner. Mainly."

"Okay, I'll buy that." Realizing that they were forgetting
something, Yohji came to a sudden halt, forcing the smaller man to
stop as well. "What about the movie?" It was supposed to be a date
with all the works; a nice dinner, good movie, then dessert and
coffee. A typical Christmas Eve, only a night early. He'd been
looking forward to spending some quality time with his lover all
week, especially the part that had him bringing a content and relaxed
Aya back home, hopefully in the mood for a little fun.

Once more, Yohji found himself pulled over to the side of the
walkway, only this time the kiss was a bit shorter, though no less
passionate than the last one. It was a bit difficult to be amorous
when people kept banging into you. When he stared in wonder at the
swordsman, Aya lifted an elegant eyebrow and offered a
suggestion. "Why don't we just skip the rest of the plans and head
back to the Koneko?"

To say that he was stunned at the moment was a bit of an
understatement. It must be one of those Christmas miracles the
Americans went on and on about, Yohji thought. A willing, slightly
smiling Aya who had kissed him in public, and who was now whispering
in his ear what would happen when they got back home. Barely
resisting the urge to pick up the man and carry him to his car, Yohji
started to hurry down the street to his Seven, dragging Aya through
the crowd behind him.

*******

"Hmm, love, shut that damn thing off," Yohji slurred, burying his
head under his pillow. When the alarm continued to beep, he
stretched out an arm, feeling about for Aya, since the clock was on
his side of the bed and hence his responsibility. Only to find his
boyfriend's spot empty and cold. Grumbling under his breath, the
playboy sat up and slammed a hand down on the clock rather
violently. The resulting creak of plastic hinted that he'd have to
buy a new one soon; the damn things never lasted for long, especially
with the abuse they took. Giving the offending object a glower,
Yohji tucked back his hair and reached for his cigarettes, grumpy and
miserable. His days never started off right when Aya snuck away
without waking him up first.

For a moment the blond reflected back on how well everything had gone
the night before. Upon coming home, they had locked themselves in
their room and enjoyed each other to the fullest; it had almost been
like it was before Aya-chan's kidnapping. His kitten had been the
most relaxed he'd been in months. In fact, almost playful. Yohji
felt his lips tugging up into a smile at the thought of how much fun
they'd had until finally falling to sleep, thoroughly exhausted.
Only for him to wake up and find the bed empty. He hated when that
happened, and had been spoiled by the fact that Aya didn't normally
stray very far from his side anymore. This had to be the first time
in weeks that he'd woken up alone.

Well, nothing to do but go downstairs and see what the man was up to,
maybe get an explanation if he could. Hopefully, Yohji thought, it
was something other than Aya retreating back into his shell, like he
had when his sister first disappeared. It had been exhausting enough
to get his lover to be even remotely sociable again, and lately all
that effort had seemed to be paying off. But the holidays were
always tricky; even normal people could become depressed, not to
mention sullen, quiet bastards who lived to brood.

Not liking the direction that his thoughts were taking, Yohji quickly
got out of bed and got ready for work, barely pausing to stop in the
kitchen to fill a cup of coffee on his way into the flower shop.
Half running down the steps to the Koneko no Sumu Ie, he wasn't sure
what he was expecting to find there. It definitely wasn't catching
Aya quietly arranging a display of poinsettias, the shop already set
up. "Hey, kitten, been a little busy this morning?"

"Hn." Aya stopped his fussing and crossed over to where he stood,
setting his coffee mug aside on the counter before standing on
tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. "It's going to be a hectic day,
thought I'd get a jump on things." When the redhead made to move
away, Yohji wrapped his arms around the man's waist and held him
close. He resumed the kiss, not willing to stop until he was dizzy
with the lack of oxygen and the taste of Aya.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Aya, but are you feeling alright?"
Maybe Mastermind had been messing with his boyfriend's head; this
calm, affectionate creature couldn't be his kitten. Receiving a
frown for his troubles, Yohji explained, "I'm not complaining,
really, but you've smiled a couple times in the past two days, kissed
me not once but twice in public, and actually cut short our evening
last night to come back here and have sex. Which, incidentally, when
it's my suggestion to come back home and have some fun, I damn near
get my ribs broken. And on top of all that, this is the first time
in weeks that you've worn something other than black." He couldn't
believe how many black sweaters the pale man had, and was even more
shocked to discover that half of the ones Aya wore were his. At the
moment, Aya was dressed in an emerald green merino wool sweater,
Yohji's naturally, over a pair of faded blue jeans. The man made a
very festive picture: a too big sweater slipping down a white
shoulder, topped by that impossibly red hair. Yohji looked tame by
comparison, with his brown leather pants and gold knit top.

With a sigh, the smaller man twisted in his arms until he faced away
from Yohji, violet eyes scanning the decorated shop for anything left
undone. After a minute or two of silence, Aya spoke in a hushed
tone. "Bonenkai."

"Huh? What was that love?"

"Bonenkai."

Nose buried in cherry scented crimson hair, it took a moment for the
older assassin to try and figure out what his lover was talking
about. "You mean the party tonight?"

That earned him another sigh. "Yes and no. I've decided to try and
forget about my worries, even if just for a few days, since it's that
time of year." Aya's voice became even quieter. "I'd like for the
pain to go away, even if it's just for a short while."

The sadness in Aya's voice tore at his heart. "It will, love. I
know it seems bad, but we'll get her back someday. My word on
that." Yohji kissed the smaller man on the top of the head. "I
think it's a great idea, you putting aside your troubles for a few
days. Promise to do my best to help distract you." There was a weak
jab to his ribs, causing Yohji to smile and kiss Aya again, on the
back of his neck this time. For a moment he glanced about at all the
holiday decorations that Omi and Ken had set up; there was even a
pine tree over in the corner, gaily festooned with lights and the
origami cranes that Ken's brats had made. "You know, I used to
always love this time of year. I'd get these presents from my dad's
relatives that I'd never even met, and he'd be in a good mood for
once. My mom would bake all these American dishes for him, and we'd
feel like a family for a few days. It was nice."

Aya leaned back against him, hugging his arms about him tighter.
Yohji threaded their fingers together and placed another kiss on his
neck. After a moment, the smaller man started talking. "The house
would have a few foreign decorations for the Christian customers who
my father would invite over for various reasons, but we never
celebrated the holiday. No presents, no special meals, nothing. Aya-
chan and I would have to wait for New Year's to come. We always
found it strange whenever one of the clients would give us a little
gift; we knew so little about the holiday."

That had explained why Aya had been so silent and withdrawn last
Christmas. Yohji could still recall the stunned look on the
swordsman's face when the rest of Weiß had given him some presents,
and how he had quietly explained that he hadn't bought them
anything. With a guilty flush, he remembered how he and Ken had
complained it was just Aya being cheap; it had never occurred to them
that maybe the man hadn't been expecting to celebrate the holiday.
Not everyone did, after all. So understandably, he and Omi had been
shocked this year when Aya had volunteered to pitch in for Ken's
present. "You don't have to celebrate it, you know. Well, besides
tonight. I hope we didn't force you to buy anything."

The slim figure in his embrace turned around, a pair of arms coming
up to encircle his neck. "No one's forcing me to do anything.
Though I can always take return your presents if you don't want
them." Yohji frantically shook his head back and forth. "Besides,
it's your favorite holiday. Can't miss out on that."

"No, we can't." Smiling, Yohji bent his head and kissed Aya softly.
Soon the kiss deepened as they held onto each other tightly, lost in
pleasure and the other's presence, until they heard a knock at the
door. Glad that they had been hidden from sight by a display of
wreaths, Yohji cursed under his breath as he went to open the shop.
An eager customer smiled at him apologetically, explaining that he
was there to pick up an arrangement while on a break from work.
Ushering the man inside, the blond paused for a moment to stare at
his lover, whose attention had returned to the poinsettias, before he
retrieved the customer's flowers.

*******

Walking to his bedroom, Yohji called out to his lover. "Hey Aya,
where'd you disappear to? The party is going to start soon."
Opening his door, the blond literally felt his jaw drop. In front of
the closet stood Aya, formally dressed in a kimono. The silk robe,
in a traditional dark color as befitted a man, was so deep a purple
as to appear black, contrasted with the pale violet nagajubon. But
instead of one of the usual masculine patterns, it was covered all
over with orchids the exact same shade as the under robe. A silvery
grey kaku obi held the garment closed, and a matching haori was lying
across the bed. Aya looked as if he had stepped right off an ukiyo-
e, so painfully exotic and slender and beautiful. "Gods, Aya, you
look... you look beautiful. Where the hell did you get that thing?"

The pale man turned to face him, tabi covered feet making no sound as
he crossed the floor. "I've had it since I turned eighteen. Aya-
chan designed it for me; it's one of the few things I was allowed to
keep after…" Aya's voice faded away as he fingered the coat lying on
the bed. "I thought I would wear it for New Year's."

Almost afraid to touch the rich material, Yohji ran a hand lightly
over the beautiful kimono. The silk was heavy and thick, he could
only imagine how expensive the whole outfit was. He certainly had
never owned anything like it in his life. Hell he'd been lucky to
possess a few yukatas to wear to the summer festivals when he was a
kid. And those had been hand me downs. He knew that Aya owned
several of the cotton robes; the one he wore around the house and a
couple that he saved for festivals, but this was the first kimono
he'd seen. "I didn't think that you had anything like this." Which
was silly of him, considering how traditional the man's family had
been.

"I have another one, with clan symbols, which I wore last year and
the years before." At Yohji's perplexed look, the redhead
elaborated. "You were in bed, hung-over, when I went to the temple
back then. Still there when I came back as well." Aya glanced down
at the floor for a moment, clearly torn about something. Yohji
stroked a hand through crimson locks, waiting for his lover to
speak. The pale face lifted up, expression carefully shuttered as if
expecting the worst. "Would you like to go with me this year?"

"I'd love to, kitten." Which was a flat out lie on his part, the
last thing he wanted to do on the first day of the year was get out
of bed after a night of serious partying and go to a crowded temple.
Yohji had never been very observant about traditional holidays, since
his father hadn't liked his mother and him participating in what he
considered heathen ceremonies. Yet the hypocritical bastard had
never married the woman.

Shaking his head at the painful memories, the lanky man tilted Aya's
chin up. "Promise me you'll wear that, and I won't leave your side
the whole damn day." It would be worth it though, to suffer through
the holiday with a major hangover and being dragged all over Tokyo,
just to see Aya dressed like this. Besides, the man was celebrating
his holiday, it was the least he could do to return the favor. He
kissed Aya, threading his fingers through the man's silky hair.

When Omi's voice drifted upstairs, reminding them that their company
would be showing up soon, they broke apart. "I have to get out of
this. Just tried it on to make sure that the kimono was all right."
Aya unwound the obi, carefully folding it and laying it in the
cardboard box that held the ensemble. Yohji watched as he removed
each article of clothing, including a pair of light grey hakama that
had been hidden under the heavy robe, and meticulously put them
away. The large box then went on top of the cedar chest, awaiting
next week, when the outfit would be worn in earnest. The pale man
then pulled on a pair of supple grey leather pants that Yohji adored
because of their softness, and reached into the closet for another of
the older man's sweaters to wear. It was a rich, wine colored
cashmere; reminiscent of the kimono.

As his boyfriend dressed Yohji pulled off his gold top and replaced
it with the soft, green sweater that Aya had been wearing earlier.
It matched his eyes perfectly, and smelled like Aya: an intoxicating
blend of musk and roses. It fit rather snugly across his broader
chest, showing off his upper body. He should now be dressed
festively enough to appease Omi, the holiday nazi. "Well, if you're
ready, we better get downstairs before the chibi drags us out of
here." He reached out a hand to rub it along Aya's cheek, smiling
when the smaller man held it against his face for a moment before
they walked out the door. Yohji wanted nothing more than to make Aya
put the kimono back on and to then take his time unwrapping the man
from the rich fabric, but the chibi would kill the both of them. Omi
had been planning this party for weeks, and had become downright
dictatorial and overbearing about the matter.

It had been decided that Weiß would blend the traditional bonenkai
party with Christmas Eve. Normally, the Japanese party would be held
in a restaurant, attended by coworkers and friends, but considering
the fact that they were assassins, it was a little risky to hold the
party in a public place. Kritiker had offered to cater the
celebration for them; if anyone needed to try and put the year's
troubles behind them, it was a team of assassins. Weiß had taken
their employers up on the offer, and invited a few friends over as
well. Manx and Birman would stop by at some point during the
evening, Mickey and Teddy Stout had been invited, along with Masato
and Honjyou from Crashers. A small group, but more than what had
attended last year; only Manx and Birman had attended.

Coming down the steps, the two men cautiously peeked inside the
kitchen. It was free of Omi, who had spent the day terrorizing his
roommates as he had run around preparing things for tonight. The
other three members of Weiß had gladly given him the day off from the
Koneko, even though they had been rushed by a mob of amorous men
seeking flowers for their dates that evening.

"Coast is clear, how `bout a drink to start the night off?" Aya
nodded his head and shoved Yohji into the room, warning him to be
quick before Tsukiyono returned. The older man poured the both of
them a stiff shot of vodka, and once that was done, started to nibble
on one of the appetizer trays lying on the counter. Aya spied some
motion out of the corner of his eye and hissed at his boyfriend.
Shoving the crab cake into his mouth, Yohji turned around in time to
see Omi storm up to him. The teenager was wearing a Santa cap on his
head, complete with a bell dangling from the pompom end, and a blue
sweater decorated with dozens of tiny snowmen and snowflakes made out
of some fluffy white material. Yohji silently thought that he'd have
to be dead before he personally wore such a thing.

"Yotan, you're not helping yourself to the food before our guests
come, are you?"

Disturbed by the amount of menace that question contained, Yohji held
up the bottle of vodka as he swallowed quickly. "Nope, kiddo. Aya
and I were just starting the night off with a toast. You want one as
well?"

The fury contained within the blue eyes slowly faded away. "No
thanks." Omi snatched the bottle away. "You can wait `til everyone
arrives to get wasted. I want you sober enough to taste the food.
Now get out of here, and if you see Ken, ask him to please come to
the dining room." That said, the older men were roughly shooed out
of the kitchen. Grateful for his escape from a painful death, Yohji
headed straight for the living room, feeling the need to sit down
before his shaky legs gave out. Aya trailed after him, not liking
the way Omi had been staring at his outfit. Nor the matching cap
he'd been holding in his hand.

"Aya, come here and sit down, before he decides to put us to work. I
don't know why the chibi goes through all this effort." Yohji sat
down in the recliner and hauled his lover onto his lap. After a
brief struggle, Aya gave in and curled up beside him, resting his
head against the older man's chest. "Ah, I can already tell this'll
be a great party. Gorgeous man on my lap, lots of alcohol and
delicious food, all courtesy of Kritiker, that we better be able to
consume at some point, and some good friends stopping by."

Overhearing the comment as he slunk into the room, Ken let out a
snort and flopped down on the couch, eyeing the couple wistfully for
a moment. "Don't forget that Teddy is coming over. I can't wait to
see the both of you get trashed and start another stupid bet."

Yohji glared over at his teammate, but the expression swiftly changed
to one of abject horror. "Hidaka, what the _hell_ are you wearing?"
It was a sweatshirt an even brighter red than Aya's hair, covered
with gaudy tinsel and what looked to be a set of blinking lights.
Aya looked over as well, and after a couple of seconds, hid his face
in Yohji's neck. The lanky man couldn't blame him, for it was a
frightening image. Was that bit of green mean supposed to be a
Christmas tree on the shirt?

Ken growled softly as he tugged on the monstrosity's hem. "It's
something that Omi picked up for me. I thought it would be better to
wear it for just a few hours tonight, when everyone will be drinking,
instead of all day tomorrow, when we'll be hung-over." Yohji
shuddered in horror at the thought of having to stare at that eyesore
with a hangover, then leveled a pitying glance at his friend. "You
are so whipped, and the shame of it is that you aren't even getting
any at the moment." That earned him a scowl and a few muttered
insults. "By the by, Omi is looking for you." Ken shut up in a
hurry, as he tried to crawl under the sofa's cushions and hide.

For the next few minutes, Yohji just enjoyed the feel of Aya in his
arms, snaking a hand up the back of the soft sweater the man was
wearing. He loved touching all the smooth skin underneath the
clothes, and after massaging Aya's back for a minute he got a purr in
response. The younger man suddenly straddled his lap, giving him
better access to all that skin, not to mention presenting him with a
set of lips to kiss. Figuring that Hidaka had pretty much seen
everything by now, considering how often the soccer fanatic walked in
on them in the middle of something, Yohji gave in to temptation, not
to mention a couple of baser impulses.

"Uhm, guys, I'm lying here, you know," Ken called out plaintively.
Aya wrapped his arms around Yohji's neck as he sucked Yohji's tongue
into his mouth. "Ah, don't do this, I came in here to hide from
Omi. I step foot out of this room, he's going to descend upon me. I
swear I saw him holding a hat, with bells of all things on it, when I
ducked out of the kitchen." Yohji let out a growl as he shifted his
mouth to Aya's neck, pulling the redhead's hips closer to
his. "Please guys, I'm _begging_ you. Stop."

"Why the hell do you want them to stop? More, more! Show us some
skin, baby. Either one of you."

Letting out a moan, Yohji felt his hands curl up into fists as a
couple of flashes went off. "Teddy, I have two questions for you.
First off, are you suicidal by nature or just stupid? Secondly, are
you psychic? You have to be, considering how often you walk in on us
in the middle of something. Not even Ken interrupts us as often as
you do." He loosened his hold on a squirming Aya long enough to
settle the man back beside him. "Don't kill him or Omi will be after
your head; nothing kills the partying mood like a homicide." The
hushed threat worked, calming Aya down before he could murder the
American.

"Considering how often you have your hands on Red, it's a simple law
of averages, Kudoh. If you ever stopped trying to molest him at some
point during the day, I wouldn't catch you in the act so often."
Teddy hmphed as he hid his camera away, then turned around to face
the hallway. "It's okay, they're decent now. You two can come in."

Mickey and Koyu walked into the room, and Teddy hurried over to his
blind lover's side. "Couch is over here, Koyu." Ken sat up, leaving
space for the two men to sit. "Hey, Brown Eyes, Omi is looking for
you. Love the sweatshirt." Teddy chuckled evilly and whispered into
his boyfriend's ear. Judging from the look of horror on Koyu's face,
the longhaired man had to be describing the shirt. Koyu turned in
what he rightly assumed was Ken's direction, and told the athlete
that he had his deepest sympathies.

For his part, Mickey, after dropping off a bag of presents underneath
the decorated tree in the room's corner, just leaned against a wall
and lifted up a hand. Which held a bottle of whiskey. Yohji's eyes
sparked at the sight. "Mickey, I can't see how you are related to
the pest. Please tell me you brought that to share."

"Of course." The burly man handed it over to Yohji, smirking as the
blond took a hit straight from the bottle before handing it to Aya.
The smaller man accepted it and had a taste as well, and soon
everyone had their turn. Ken practically gulped down a third of the
alcohol, then slowly rose to his feet. With an air of doom
surrounding him, the brunet made his way to the kitchen while the
rest of the room hummed a funeral march. Mickey took his spot on the
couch. "So why are we in here, when I smell something delicious the
next room over?"

"Because it's worth your life to touch anything before Omi gives the
okay." Reaching for the bottle again, Yohji glanced over at
Koyu. "You know, Saito, if you go ask Omi real nicely if we can
start on the hors d'oeuvres, he most likely would let us. I can't
see him turning down a blind man."

Koyu smiled and stood up as he accepted the dangerous
mission. "Well, I always did want a quick death. Anyone going to
back me up? TB?"

The longhaired man shook his head. "I'm not that suicidal, no matter
what Kudoh says. It's been nice knowing you, sweetheart. We'll
toast your memory and sacrifice after they haul Omi away for murder."

Aya squirmed out of Yohji's reach and went over to his friend's
side. "Let's go."

Koyu put a hand on the redhead's arm and smiled even wider. "Okay,
you wusses. We'll be back, or we won't. Just so you know, Yohji, if
the both of us fall to the wrath of Omi, I'm counting on you to take
care of Teddy. I think you'd make such a cute couple." As Aya
dragged the chuckling man out of the room, both Yohji and Teddy took
to yelling at the top of their lungs that they'd become celibate
before even considering dating each other, causing Mickey to choke as
he tried to swallow some more whiskey.

"I'd start liking women before I'd consider you as a boyfriend,
Kudoh."

"Wouldn't be that hard, since you're half a one anyway. Girls don't
like it when a guy wears a skirt more often than they do." Mickey
wisely got off the couch and resumed leaning against the wall, a safe
distance away from the other men.

Getting off the sofa as well, Teddy grabbed a pillow and starting
smacking Yohji on the head with it. "It's a kilt, you ignorant
Japanese prick. Kay. Eye. Ell. Tee. Kilt. I hear you call it a
skirt one more time and Aya is going to need a new boyfriend." With
one arm raised to fend off the pillow, Yohji snuck his other hand
under Teddy's black and green plaid kilt and started to pinch his
behind. "Ack! Stop that, you pervert. Mickey, come over here and
punch this guy, he's assaulting me! Ow, dammit, take that." Teddy
started to seriously pummel Yohji, causing the Japanese man to shout
out over the damage being done to his hair. All the older American
did while this was going on was to start sliding down the wall as he
wheezed for breath, laughing so hard that tears were streaming down
his face. "Mickey, help!"

"I hope we aren't interrupting something." At the frosty tone, both
of the men stopped fighting, only to see Omi standing in the middle
of the living room, his hands on his hips. Behind him were Aya and
Koyu, each with a platter in their hands, a smiling Ken, adorned with
a Santa cap, and a stunned Masato and Yuushi.

"If the two of you are done acting like _children_, you can help
entertain our new guests." Teddy very quietly straightened his kilt
and slinked back to the couch, while Yohji tried gazing back at the
irate youth with as much of an innocent expression as he could
muster. "As soon as Manx arrives, we'll eat; Birman will not be able
to make it `til later. I'll be back in a minute with some glasses.
Any more roughhousing when I return, and I will have to _calm_ you
down." With a disdainful sniff, Omi spun around and returned to the
kitchen.

Shaking his head, Masato held out a bottle of sake. "I don't even
want to know what the hell we walked in on. All that I am certain of
is after that sight, I really need a drink. Who wants to join me?"
Everyone in the room raised their hand.

*******

Several hours later, Teddy and Ken lay on the floor, drunkenly
singing Christmas carols in English, as Koyu kept handing them beers
in an attempt to make them pass out from the alcohol and shut up.
Mickey was sitting next to Manx on the couch, talking about the
Japanese penal system, while Omi was fast asleep, his head resting in
the woman's lap. Yohji was back in the recliner, Aya curled up once
more on his lap, playing a drinking game with Yuushi and beating the
man's ass shamelessly. It didn't help that he was cheating, but it
was being done for a good cause. Masato had to support his
inebriated teammate, a huge grin on his face and a suspicious sparkle
in his eyes, while Birman kept taking their photos and telling the
four men what cute couples they made. Most of the comments were
going over the drunken Crasher's head, as he was having some
difficulty making sure the sake cup reached his lips. Yuushi frowned
as half of the liquor ran down the side of his face.

Taking pity on his friend, Masato finally took the bottle of sake
away from the man. "Well, I am stuffed, buzzed, and generally happy
at the moment, so it's time I get on out of here and get Hotspur into
bed. Uh, I mean to bed." Everyone still awake and semi-conscious
smiled at the slip. "I think someone is going to be a right grouchy
bastard in the morning."

"Then you better take advantage of him before he wakes up," Yohji
suggested as he flicked an eartail along Aya's cheek, loving to hear
the short tempered man growl at him, and drunk enough not to care
that he was seriously pissing his lover off. "Night Masato,
Honjyou. See you for New Year's."

"Night, guys. We'll see you then, if we've recovered by next week."
Masato hauled Yuushi to his feet, an arm around the man's waist to
keep him vertical, and swayed a little under the blond's weight.

"We not leavin' already," Yuushi slurred.

"Indeed we are, Hotspur. Tell these nice people goodbye." As the
two Crashers made their way to the hallway, Yuushi drunkenly spied
the mistletoe that Omi had hung over the doorway and hauled Masato's
face down for a sloppy kiss. Yohji, Teddy and Birman started to
holler and whistle at the spectacle, waking Omi up in the process.
It took a good four minutes before Masato could reluctantly peel the
drunk blond off of him, and he did so with an even bigger grin on his
face than before. "Oh yeah, definitely getting you into bed."

"You can thank me for your present later, Masato. Sorry that I
didn't have any ribbons on hand," Yohji yelled out as the two men
made their exit. Omi stumbled after them, to ensure that they
remembered their jackets and presents, and that Masato didn't need a
cab.

With a wistful sigh, Mickey was the next to stand up. "I think
that's our cue to leave. It will be nice for once for Teddy to exit
a party while the place is still standing." That said, the tall man
reached down and picked up his much smaller sibling, draping him over
his shoulder. He then held out a hand for Koyu as well, helping the
blind man to his feet. "Thanks for inviting us, and have a Merry
Christmas." Koyu offered his thanks as well, while all Teddy managed
to do was more or less wave his hand in the general vicinity of
everyone.

When Omi returned from seeing the three men out, Manx and Birman also
rose to their feet. "Are you two leaving already? Can I talk you
into taking anything home, since we still have quite a bit of food
left over. Please tell our employers that they were very generous
this year." The boy stepped over to hug Manx before she left, and
when he tried to wish the women a happy holiday, found himself
covering a huge yawn.

Patting Omi on the shoulder, Manx offered him a smile. "Why don't
you go to bed, Omi. Birman and I decided that our present to Weiß
this year would be to clean this mess up."

"Really, Manx, Birman, you don't have to do that. You were our
guests, after all."

"No, we don't, and you might never get the offer again, so enjoy it
while it lasts, Omi." Birman smiled at the youth, who looked torn
between thanking them for the offer and dashing off to his bed that
second. She then glanced around the room at the couple on the chair
and at Ken, who was passed out on the floor. "Any objections?"

Yohji stood up and started to pull Aya in the direction of the
stairs. "Hell no. Have fun ladies, thanks for stopping by and even
more for taking care of the clean up." He paused to kiss both women
on their cheeks, earning a wicked grin from Birman and a finger waved
in front of his face for his insolence from Manx. "Merry Christmas,
ladies, and good night."

With the women's response echoing behind him, Yohji led Aya to their
room, making sure to lock the door behind them. Upon turning around,
he gathered his lover close, leisurely taking his time to ravish
Aya's mouth, tasting the sweet sake on the man's tongue. "Hm,
delicious. You ready for bed, love?"

"What do you think, Kudoh?" Aya pulled his head down for another
kiss, this one more intense than the previous one.

Yohji started to nibble his way along Aya's neck, his lips brushing
against the pale skin as he spoke. "I was hoping you'd say that."

*******

In the middle of a dream where he was licking chocolate sauce off of
Aya's skin, Yohji was startled awake when the redhead jerked about in
his arms. "Mmm, you `kay love?" Before his boyfriend could answer,
the mattress sank downward, courtesy of Omi jumping onto the bed.

"Merry Christmas! Come on and wake up, guys. I made you breakfast,
then we get to open presents!" Unaware of the danger to his health,
the youth started to tug on Aya's wrist, trying to get the scowling
man out of bed. Yohji wrapped his arms about Aya's waist, holding
him close and setting off a tug of war over the swordsman. Dammit,
the chibi knew that where Aya went he followed, and Yohji wasn't
ready to get out of bed just yet. "Come on, breakfast is getting
cold, and I still have to wake Ken up."

"Omi, in the proper spirit of the holiday, go to hell. We're
sleeping in. What's the sense of closing the shop for the day if we
don't get to stay in bed til noon?"

"But Yotan, it _is_ noon. Now come on, I've waited long enough to
open my presents."

Yanking back on his lover, Yohji sent the younger blond a dirty
look. "Keep this up and I'm taking your present back. Still got the
receipt."

Omi started to pout as he got a better hold on Aya's arms. "Yohji,
don't be mea-"

"Let. Go. Now." Both blonds immediately released the snarling man,
instantly quiet in the face of Aya's wrath. The pale man rubbed his
sore arms, equally dividing a shi-ne glare between the two of them.
After a minute, a pair of blue eyes started to fill with tears,
becoming impossibly large as Omi sniffled. "I'm sorry, Aya-kun. I
just wanted you to come down for breakfast, I spent a lot of time
making stuff everyone likes."

Mentally snarling as well, Yohji knew that the battle had been
decided, and in the chibi's favor. No one stood a chance against a
crying Omi. "Alright, Omittchi. Give us a few minutes to get
decent, and we'll be right down." Instantly the waterworks were shut
off as Omi bounced off of the bed, happy once again. Yohji spared a
moment's sympathy for Ken, who was about to be roused out of bed and
forced to eat breakfast while suffering what had to be a major
hangover, considering how much alcohol he'd consumed last night.
Nuzzling Aya's neck, he planted a kiss on a white shoulder before the
smaller man could crawl out of bed. "Merry Christmas, kitten."

"Merry Christmas, Yohji." Aya stretched as he stood up, working the
kinks out of his body. Green eyes were riveted on the slender form,
as their owner started cursing Omi with a passion. The genki bastard
would break down the door if he tried to entice Aya back into bed.
Not feeling very much in the Christmas mood at the moment, Yohji
climbed out of bed as well, busy calculating just how soon he could
haul Aya back up here or into the greenhouse.

*******

Yohji felt more like a farm animal than a feared assassin after Omi
herded him and the others into the living room, after having been
herded into the kitchen in the first place and stuffed with food
until he groaned. The chibi hadn't been kidding about breakfast; for
Aya, there had been miso soup, rice, grilled eel and tamago-gohan,
along with pickled vegetables. For Ken and him, there had been
waffles, bacon and omelettes. All in all, there was enough food to
feed an army. Hidaka had earned his admiration by actually trying a
bite of all the Western dishes, even though he had appeared in the
kitchen quite green in the face. The man was most definitely
suffering one hell of a hangover.

"Okay, everybody, gather around the tree." The pine tree set up in
the living quarters was decorated much like the one in the shop,
though the origami ornaments were of a much better quality, having
been made by Omi and Aya. The blond reflected on how foreign his two
teammates could make him feel at times, what with their more
traditional backgrounds. Well, discounting Omi being raised as an
assassin, and Aya being forced to study so much that he hadn't had
the chance to learn trivial matters such as social niceties and how
to act like a human.

The lanky man sank to the floor in front of the tree, smiling when
Aya curled up beside him. Snaking an arm about the redhead's waist,
Yohji surveyed all of the gaudily wrapped presents nestled under the
tree. "I think Santa was busy this year."

"Huhn." Ken leaned his back against the couch, looking as if he was
going to throw up at any moment. "Can we please get this over with?"

Omi frowned at the sick man for a moment, his cheerful mood slipping
the slightest bit. Then his face brightened, as if something had
occurred to him. The youth leaned forward and snatched a medium
sized box that lacked a nametag. "Here you go, Ken-kun. Why don't
you open this first? It's from all three of us."

Yohji looked on with interest as the athlete stared at his present,
appearing upset that all he got was one thing from the rest of his
team. He sniggered softly, reaching into the pocket of his denim
shirt to pull out his pack of cigarettes, and placed a stick between
his lips. The loving elbow jabbed into his ribs warned him to not
even think of lighting the thing. Clamping his teeth on the filter,
Yohji hugged Aya closer to him and watched Ken turn the wrapping
paper into tiny bits of confetti.

As soon as brown eyes spied the revealed box there was a loud yell of
joy. "A camcorder! You guys bought me a camcorder. Now I can tape
the kids' games. Thank you so much!" One could never tell that the
man had been seriously hung-over just moments before, not with the
way Ken bounced up and down on the floor and ripped the box apart,
eager to get at his new toy.

"It's the latest model, and we got you a tripod, some blank tapes and
a bag to carry everything in." Omi rummaged under the tree for
another minute, before pulling the rest of the gift out of its hiding
place. "We know you've been wanting one for the longest time, and
figured for once we'd get you something a little more inventive than
odd coloured soccer balls and sports jerseys." Ken grabbed the
younger boy and hugged him tight, planting a quick kiss on Omi's
mouth in his excitement. Yohji bit back a chuckle as Ken resumed
fiddling with the camcorder, unaware that Omi was sitting next to
him, a dumbfounded look on the chibi's face as he touched a hand to
his lips. Watching Omi shake off his amazement, he paid close
attention as the computer expert explained all of the camera's
functions. He was hoping to `borrow' the gadget at some point; Yohji
was dying to get some footage of Aya and him in bed together. The
only thing that he was still undecided about was whether or not to
mention the fact that he was taping them to his lover when it
happened.

"All right, who's next?" The older members of Weiß decided that they
should open their presents according to age, and let Omi at his
first. Which was only fair, considering all the work the teenager
had put into the holiday yesterday and this morning, not to mention
the fact that he was currently cooking a whole chicken and all the
trimmings for dinner. Omi let out a squeal with each present he
received; a bunch of computer games from Ken, a leather jacket from
Yohji and a beautiful print from Aya. It featured a samurai bearing
the markings of the Tokugawa clan. The box from Teddy, Mickey and
Koyu contained a wide assortment of American sweets that would have
the chibi bouncing off the walls `til New Year's Eve. Yohji reminded
himself to properly thank the trio the next time he saw them. There
was a present from Manx as well, which turned out to be a new laptop.

Ken's box from the terrible trio contained a note hoping that the
presents would help him with his English lessons. The soccer fanatic
pulled back the tissue paper and immediately shoved the wrapping back
into place, closing the box back up as he turned a bright red color.
Yohji made it a mission to find out what was in the box, but was
distracted at the moment by the fact that it was Aya's turn to open
his gifts.

Omi had bought him several books of English poetry and a collection
of Noh plays. Aya solemnly thanked the youth after assuring him that
he didn't have any of them, and looked forward to reading the books.
Ken had a grin on his face as he handed over a box filled with an
assortment of teas and a huge mug decorated with an Abyssinian
kitten. Yohji wisely swallowed his laugh, not wanting to remember
this Christmas as the one when his ribs had been broken. As it was,
he was willing to bet that Kenken was going to be stuck with the
worst jobs in the Koneko for the gag gift for the next few weeks.
Aya then started on the presents that he had given him, revealing
several cashmere sweaters: a rich cream one, one that matched the
man's violet eyes, and a silvery grey. "Yohji, you got the wrong
size."

"No I didn't, kitten. Trust me on that." He couldn't wait to see
Aya in them, with the light colors and the soft fabric sliding down
those pale shoulders, revealing that slender neck for him to ravage
with ease. Not to mention showing off the resulting bruises, so
everyone would know that Aya was taken. Yohji tried not to drool at
the mental image.

"Hn." Aya set the boxes aside and nuzzled Yohji's jaw. "Thank you."

Yohji tugged on an eartail and whispered in the smaller man's
ear. "I have something for you upstairs, wanted to give it to you
when we're alone." He received a nod in response and a whispered `me
too'.

"Here's a present from the Stouts, for the both of you." Omi held
out the package as if afraid it would explode. Gingerly taking it
from the youth, Yohji set about opening the heavy box. Right
underneath their names was a short note. `Mickey and I had nothing
to do with this, but hope you enjoy it anyway. Saito'. Now that was
reassuring. Peeling open the lid, Aya and he stared at a wide
assortment of flavored lubes and edible body paints and glitter.
After a moment, Aya hissed at him to stop drooling and put the box
away, emphasizing the request with an elbow to his diaphragm.

Finally it was his turn. Ken's present turned out to be several
cartons of his favorite brand of cigarettes and a bottle of
tequila. "Thanks a lot, Hidaka. You go all the way down to the
corner store for these?" Omi's gift was a bit more personal; several
cds by his favorite artists that he hadn't managed to get to the
store and buy yet, a couple of American movies on video, and a
sweatshirt `to replace the one that Aya-kun has taken possession
of'. All in all, not a bad haul; he could use everything that he
got, but what he really wanted to see was what Aya had gotten him.
Which turned out to be a killer pair of aviator sunglasses that put
his current ones to shame, a pair of gloves made of the supplest,
thickest leather he'd ever come across, and a velvet jacket he'd been
eying at this one store for the past few weeks but had been unwilling
to spend that much money on himself before the holidays. He'd been
upset when he'd strolled past the store two weeks ago and found it
gone, assuming that someone else had beaten him to it. It had never
occurred to Yohji that someone might be his lover. The first two
gifts were practical, the third personal, but each one showed how
well Aya knew him and watched out for him. "Thanks, kitten." After
tossing aside the mangled cigarette, he kissed the younger man as a
token of appreciation, holding him tight against his chest as he fell
back onto the floor. Their lips never broke apart for even an
instant as Aya settled on top of Yohji, showing his appreciation as
well with the intimate gesture.

"Hold on, I think I've got this working now. Am I filming my first
porno here or what?" The older men turned to glare at Ken, who had
his camera out and was recording the kiss. "How much do you think I
can sell this footage to Teddy for?"

"In that case, Kenken, let's really make it worth the man's money."
Yohji grabbed Aya's chin and commenced to thoroughly kiss him, his
hands busy roaming under the navy blue sweater the smaller man was
wearing, and eventually elsewhere. Omi started to laugh, and
announced that he was timing the couple and wanted the footage for
his science class, as proof that humans could go without oxygen for
more than just a few minutes. In the meantime, Ken started to call
out directions, telling Yohji that he needed to be more of a sexy
beast and that he had more than enough footage of him groping Aya's
ass.

Unable to keep from laughing at the younger assassins' antics, as
well as the growling sounds his lover was making in anger, Yohji
shifted Aya aside and charged after Hidaka. This led to a chase all
over the first floor of their apartment, with the playboy shouting
out that if he got a hold of Ken and his camera, it would soon become
a snuff flick. Around they went until Omi played referee and
reminded them that if the camera got broken during a scuffle, no one
got to play with it.

"Always the sensible one, chibi." Yohji leaned against the railing
as he tried to catch his breath and glanced around, suddenly
realizing that Aya had disappeared during the chase. Omi, who was
being used as a human shield by a cowardly Ken, pointed up the
steps. "Thanks." Panting a little, Yohji made his way upstairs,
wondering why his lover had gone off on his own.

Walking into his bedroom, he found the pale man lighting all the
candles scattered about. With the drapes closed, the room held a
twilight quality of light, not quite dark but cast in to shadows by
the flickering flames. "Hey, love, why'd you run up here?"

"To finish exchanging our presents." Aya sat down on the bed as
Yohji stared at him for a moment, then crossed over to his dresser.
Opening a drawer, the lanky man pulled out a small gift box, and then
joined his boyfriend on the bed.

Yohji held out the present, an apprehensive look on his face. "I,
well, here." With an arched eyebrow, Aya took the gift and opened
it, revealing a jewelry box. Inside was a gold ring with a channel
of emeralds the exact shade of Yohji's eyes running around the
circumference of it. The stones were set flush with the heavy gold,
presenting a smooth, simple and beautiful ring. Also in the box was
a gold chain, just long enough that he could tuck it underneath a
shirt collar. Trying the ring on his right hand, the redhead noticed
that it fit his ring finger, being just the tiniest bit loose. He
raised his eyes from the jewelry to stare at his lover. "I saw one
like it and thought of you. The chain is so you can wear it around
your neck. I know you can't wear it all the time, or you don't even
have to hang it at all. It's up to you, I know you don't often go
for a lot of jew-" Yohji found himself cut off as Aya pressed his
mouth against his. Groaning at the passion the smaller man was
expressing with the gesture, he buried his hands in the crimson
strands of hair and kissed back with an equal intensity.

"So, I take it you liked it?" Yohji panted after they had pulled
apart. Aya merely nodded his head. "Oh, good." Trying to catch his
breath, he asked where his present was.

"Right here." At the blond's puzzled expression, Aya leaned in
close, his arms encircling Yohji's neck. "I'm the present. For the
rest of the day I'm all yours, whatever you want to do."

It took a few seconds for the importance of those words to sink
in. "All mine? What- whatever I want?" Aya nodded again. Stroking
a hand along a delicate cheek, Yohji asked his lover if he was
absolutely sure, and received another nod. It stunned him, to put it
mildly, what Aya was offering him. After everything they had been
through since their relationship had started. The fights, various
people trying to break them up, the rape. Especially the lattermost
event. Aya, while perfectly willing to experiment during sex, had at
first been rather inexperienced, with Yohji being his first lover.
Then after that night… Aya had recovered, but it had taken time, and
lots of little steps. They were limited in how rough or kinky they
could play. Yohji could tie the man's hands if he went about it
right, as long as he didn't do it too tightly. Handcuffs were fine,
but one hand was always to be left free with the key in plain
sight. "Anything at all?"

"Yes, Kudoh." The answer came out as a sigh. Yohji sensed it
wouldn't be wise to press the issue, or the gift might be snatched
back in annoyance. Which was the last thing that he wanted. It took
his breath away, how much Aya was trusting him, and the way he was
letting him know this.

"Thank you." Yohji kissed his lover gently, and then quickly got off
the bed. Thoughts were whirling about in his head; what fantasies
that he could cram in the next dozen hours or so, which ones he had
the appropriate materials on hand... For a moment he thought of
going downstairs to grab that gift box that Teddy had given them, but
figured he'd save that for another day. Those things were rather
tame, if tasty, and wouldn't require much more than promising Aya a
long, hot shower afterwards to get him to play along. Right now he
wanted something that the stubborn man had been denying him for
months. Running to the room next door, the blond soon returned with
a long leather coat. "Here, I want you to wear this. Only this."
Aya had refused to wear the coat that had been a part of his
Crasher's uniform, unable to understand what was so sexy about it.

For a moment a pair of violet eyes regarded him with cool amusement,
then a deep voice told him to turn around. Part of him still
disbelieving that this was actually happening, Yohji did as he was
told. He heard Aya remove his clothes, then the creak of leather and
the sounds of several zippers being worked. "Kudoh."

Spinning around, Yohji's breath caught in his throat. Aya stood
before him, dressed in the black leather coat that was completely
zipped up and belted closed. The supple leather clung to him much
more than his current coat did, highlighting his slender frame and
pale skin. "Oh gods." He crossed over to the younger man, lifting a
hand to tuck back the long crimson bangs that covered Aya's
face. "You look so utterly fuckable." The damn coat was never
leaving the room, if he had any say in the matter, and would be
getting a lot more wear than it had lately.

Unable to hold back any longer, he started to kiss Aya, pulling the
thin body harshly against his, grinding their pelvises together. His
lover responded back with a similar heat, taking his tongue into that
delicious mouth, gripping his hair rather tightly, as if to never let
him go. "Gods, Aya, want you too much right now," Yohji panted into
the man's ear as he rocked his pelvis forward, showing proof of his
desire. Applying pressure to Aya's shoulder, he let out a groan as
the swordsman sank to his knees and tugged at the fly of his jeans.
He had to have some relief right now, to calm down his inflamed
senses so he could then properly enjoy his present.

Yohji moaned loudly as Aya freed his hardened cock and started to
teasingly nibble on it. "Not now, love." That could wait til later,
he had all day after all. This was the best damn Christmas present
he'd ever received. Threading his fingers through crimson strands,
Yohji urged his lover to take all of him, then let out a loud yell
when the redhead did just that. Aya expertly sucked him off as he
pumped in and out of the talented orifice, rougher than usual and
reveling in being able to let loose like this. In a matter of
minutes his body tensed as he poured himself into the waiting mouth.
Sight growing dim for a few seconds, the only thing that kept Yohji
upright were Aya's arms about his waist. When he felt strong enough
to stand on his own, he tugged Aya back onto his feet, delving into
his mouth to taste himself within. "Thank you."

With his immediate need taken care of, Yohji set about tormenting his
lover. His mouth moved down Aya's chin, licking and sucking all of
the pale skin that was exposed. Then he slowly undid the high
collar, lavishing attention on the neck that he adored. Aya gasped
and mewled under the assault, tilting his head back so Yohji had
better access to all that luscious skin. When the smaller man's neck
was covered with red patches, darkening by the moment, Yohji turned
his attention to the zippered shoulders. Tugging one of the zippers
open, he repeated his actions on the now revealed left shoulder.
Minutes later, he moved on to the right one as Aya started to writhe
against him, making him hard once more.

"Come on, over to the bed." He tugged his willing lover over to the
bed, watching as the slender man laid down on his back and then
covered him with his body. One by one, he opened each zipper,
ravishing the bit of exposed skin for several minutes. When one of
his hands crept under the jacket, inching up the inside of Aya's
thighs, he felt a silk scarf tied around one of them and remembered
that each Crasher wore a scarf with the team's logo embroidered on
it. Guess that was where the kitten had worn his. Yohji'd have to
be sure to carefully set the scarf aside, since he had plans for it
later. A wicked grin on his face, the blond returned his attention
back to the matter at hand.

*******

Aya breathed a mewl, the soft sound so at odds with his normally deep
voice but somehow it seemed so natural to hear it from him now.
Yohji drank it in and promptly wrung another one from the quiet man
as he sucked on one of Aya's hipbones. The redhead had both of his
wrists tied to the headboard with silk scarves long enough so he
could twist about on the bed and be allowed some movement, but not
long enough for him to reach down and stop the teasing caresses that
were being rained down on him. The white Crasher's scarf was tied
over his eyes, rendering him blind and completely at Yohji's mercy.

The older man had always wanted to have his lover like this, exposed
for his pleasure, and tortured as much from wondering where his hands
and mouth would next settle, as from what he did with them when they
did. Aya's skin was luminous in the candlelight; it was early
evening by now, and the room was entirely dark but for the small
dancing flames. Yohji would have killed to have Ken's camera for the
day, but figured his birthday wasn't that far off and he could
wait `til then; he was resolved to make sure that Aya never regretted
this gift and would want to present him with this opportunity again.
So far he'd been very successful; neither of them had any complaints
other than the fact that the redhead, what with his delicate skin,
would be stuck wearing turtlenecks for quite a while.

Sliding his tongue along a flat stomach to a chiming navel ring,
Yohji smiled again at the gasp he received in response. No doubt Aya
had been hoping he'd go down and not up, but he didn't feel that the
man had been pleading with him enough just yet. Stabbing his tongue
into the navel, Yohji groaned when there was a knock on the
door. "Go away."

"Uhm, guys, it's me, Omi." Of course it was, no one else they knew
that lived here had that high of a voice. Recalling how the chibi
had unlocked their door earlier in the day, Yohji had made sure to
prop a chair against the door to keep the brat out during one of
their breaks.

"Don't care, go away. We're busy." Aya had taken to undulating
beneath him, making him burn desperately to bury himself inside the
man's body. Yohji grabbed the rocking hips and stilled them, earning
another mewl from his kitten.

"But dinner's ready. I came up here to invite you down." The older
man didn't say anything as he reached for the much depleted bottle of
lube, deciding to indulge himself now as he still had a few hours
left to enjoy Aya like this. It soon became clear that Omi had been
expecting an answer of some sort. "You two are coming down, aren't
you? I spent all day cooking, don't tell me you're blowing me off
just so you can, uhm, play."

Quickly losing the ability to form coherent sentences as he pushed
inside his lover's tight body, Yohji started to chant the man's name
over and over. Aya arched up to take him in even deeper, wrapping
long legs about his waist oh so tightly and growled in his
ear. "Make him go away." Not sure why it was his responsibility at
the moment, especially when Omi was much more terrified of the
swordsman than of him, Yohji muttered a curse. "Listen, kiddo, we
are not coming out any time soon. Think of it as an extra present
from us, oh gods, not now love, ah what the hell was I saying?"

"Yotan." The doorknob was rattled threateningly.

"…Oh yeah, consider it a present from us. You now have an excuse to…
*groan*… to ha-ave Ken all to yourself tonight. Romantic… ah dinner
and all that shit. Drag his ass over to the mistletoe and ravish
him." Yohji wanted to stop thinking and just lose himself to
thrusting in and out of the perfect body beneath him. "Now go the
fuck away."

For a few moments all he heard was Aya's mewls and gasps as he
pounded into the man, his own groans and the mumbled nonsense that he
always spouted during sex. Then Omi's voice rang out again. "All
right, but don't for one moment think that I believe you guys are
doing this for me. I should have bought Aya a gift certificate for a
vet so he could get you neutered instead of the books. I'll make
sure that there are leftovers for you guys, though. And I'm warning
you now, there is no way you are getting out of New Year's dinner,
even if I have to keep hosing you down, Yotan." With that, the
annoyance finally took the hint and left.

Burying his face against Aya's neck, Yohji let out a moan of pleasure
and thanks that he could now focus on what really mattered. Tilting
his lover's hips up some more, a smile tugged at his mouth when that
deep voice strangled out his name, the long legs tightening painfully
about his waist in an effort to keep him from shifting away. It
wasn't much longer before pleasure overwhelmed the both of them,
leaving them drained, sated and short of breath. As Yohji nuzzled
Aya's temple, he thought about the kimono the man planned on wearing
for New Year's Day, and Omi's threat. He'd have to bribe Ken somehow
to keep the chibi occupied while he hauled his boyfriend somewhere
secluded and pounced on him. It seemed for each fantasy he
fulfilled, at least two more popped up, and the next on his list was
ravishing Aya while he was wearing the kimono. It paid to have
something to look forward to.

Brushing back the sweat soaked bangs clinging to his love's face,
Yohji lowered his head and kissed Aya tenderly. "You've made me so
happy, kitten, and I don't just mean today. Though I can't thank you
enough for the presents, especially this one. I love you.
Forever." Debating for a moment, he loosened the white scarf enough
so he could push it upwards and gaze into the most beautiful eyes
he'd ever seen, filled with love and passion for him.

"Hn. Love you too." Oh, that was a gift in and of itself, hearing
those words from the reserved man. Even after all this time, Yohji
still felt a tingle of pleasure when Aya told him that. One of Aya's
hands managed to shift down enough so he could toy with a lock of
Yohji's hair. "Sure you want to miss dinner? I know this is your
favorite holiday."

"It sure the hell is, just for this day alone. I've never had a
better Christmas in my whole entire life, and I'm not going to let
this opportunity slip away. Besides, leftovers always taste better
the next day, learned that years ago." Yohji kissed Aya on the nose
and slid the scarf back over the violet eyes. "Now I wanna play some
more." Checking the clock once more, the blond set about making a
few more of his fantasies come true. After all, wasn't that what
this time of year was about?

*******

Some rather simple explanations:

Bonenkai – A party held around the end of the year, when you are
supposed to forget your past worries and focus on the new year
ahead. Usually celebrated with friends and co-workers.

Shimekazari – A decoration made of straw rope, and decorated with
good luck charms such as bitter oranges, ferns and lobster, and then
hung around entrances and various other places to purify the area.

Oden – A Japanese hotpot dish. A kelp-based broth with daikon
radish, fish cakes, boiled eggs, and konnyaku (yam cake), among other
things, and served with a hot mustard (karashi). A dish that really
warms you up, and is very popular.

Nagajubon – a robe worn under a kimono.

Haori – a traditional overcoat.

Kaku obi – a thin obi or belt worn over a kimono, only a few
centimeters wide.

Ukiyo-e – Japanese woodblock prints.

Hakama – traditional pants.

Tamago-gohan – an egg rice dish. Take a bowl of rice and add a raw
quail or chicken egg, mix together. Pretty tasty, but I find it to
be a bit messy.

The Japanese do not celebrate Christmas as a national holiday (not
being Christian), so as a rule they don't have the day off. Since
the boys run the shop, and were partying the night before, I let them
have it off though. However, New Year's is a major holiday in Japan,
most people will have at least three days off, most likely the whole
week. Christmas Eve is a night when couples tend to go out, and I've
known a Japanese friend or two to be proposed to on that night.
Christmas gift exchanges, when they do occur, usually happen more
between friends than family members.