Post by SharaRaizel on Dec 28, 2015 5:10:57 GMT
Sorry for the wait kkrazy256! Snow + rural Minnesota farm country = bad internet! I hope you enjoy your gift!
Kaito Kuroba waved goodbye to his classmates as they exited the schoolyard. School was finally over until after New Years and everyone was anxious to get home and start celebrating the winter holidays. His best friend, Aoko Nakamori, was no different. In fact, she was probably the worst one in the entire city.
“Come on, Kaito! We don't have time to waste! Christmas is only a few days away and you promised to help Aoko with her party!” she cried, yanking on his arm.
“What’s your hurry, Ahoko?” Kaito huffed. “It’s not like the stores are going to close in the next couple of hours. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’re open an hour or two longer because of the holidays.”
“Bakaito!” Aoko yelled. “If we don’t hurry, the things Aoko needs might be out of stock!”
“Than you should have bought things ahead of time instead of waiting until the last minute,” Kaito sighed. Honestly. Did this girl ever learn? Her family threw a Christmas party every year. You’d think she’d be a pro by now.
“S-shut up!” Aoko spluttered at him from over her shoulder, blushing, before turning back around and crashing into someone. “Oh! Aoko is so sorry!”
“It is not a problem, Nakamori-kun,” the one she ran into said pleasantly.
Kaito scowled, seeing that it was Saguru Hakuba of all people standing there, brushing nonexistent dirt off his school uniform.
“Hakuba-kun!” Aoko cried, her expression brightening upon seeing their classmate.
“And where are you two off to in such a hurry?” the blond half-Brit asked.
“Oh! Right! The store!” Aoko cried. “Come on, Kaito, we need to get there now!”
And they were off again, Hakuba tagging along for whatever reason, eyebrows raised in inquiry.
“Why are you coming?” Kaito asked.
“I happen to be heading in this direction as well,” Hakuba said with a shrug. “I need to do some last minute Christmas shopping, myself.”
“Funny,” Kaito huffed, ignoring the loss of feeling in his arm that Aoko still had a hold of, “you strike me as the sort of person that buys their Christmas gifts at least a month in advance.”
“Oh, I already took care of that sort of thing back in October,” the blond said with a smirk. “What I wasn’t prepared for, was the fact I’d be spending Christmas here in Japan, instead of back home in London with mother’s family.”
“So you’re not going back to England for the holidays?” Aoko asked, loosening her grip on Kaito’s arm a bit as she gave their conversation a part of her attention.
“No,” Hakuba sighed. “My mother has decided that we are going to spend the holidays here instead. She’s asked me to pick up a few things for her Christmas party that she forgot to order from her caterer.”
“You’re having a Christmas party too?” Aoko asked.
“Not on Christmas day,” Hakuba said, shaking his head. “My family has plans to go to the Suzuki Christmas party that evening. My mother is insisting that we host a party on Christmas Eve instead, like we do with her family back in England.”
“Why on Christmas Eve?” Aoko asked.
“Because my mother and I go to midnight mass on that night. Back in London, our family gets together Christmas Eve day and celebrates the holiday until it’s time to go to mass,” Hakuba explained. “When we get back, we all go to bed and then the festivities start all over again Christmas Day until everyone is ready to go home. Personally I think it’s just an excuse to party and drink longer, but that’s how my mother’s family has always done Christmas. This year, instead of my mother’s relatives, my parents are inviting my father’s family and a few close family friends to stay with us through to Christmas day.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Aoko smiled.
“More like a bloody nightmare,” Hakuba huffed. “At least back home in England I have cousins my age. Here, all of my cousins are significantly younger than I am.”
“How young is significantly younger?” Kaito asked, curious in spite of himself. Hakuba never really talked about his family situation. Due to the research he’d done as Kid, all he knew was that Hakuba’s parents were separated – all but legally divorced.
“My father’s only sibling is a younger sister and she has three children. Her eldest boy is 8 and her twin daughters are 4,” Hakuba answered. “I don't get along with them at all.”
“Why? Because they’re younger than you and aren’t old enough to play detective?” Kaito asked, rolling his eyes.
“No,” Hakuba said with an impressive scowl. “My aunt hates my mother and the feeling is mutual. She’s raised her offspring to be antagonistic towards me. When I was small, she had been spreading rumors that I was not really my father’s child because I look nothing like him. My father forced me to take a paternity test to prove her wrong and get her to shut up about it.”
Kaito winced, hearing the honest bitter sorrow in his classmate and rival’s voice. “I bet that went over well with your mother.”
“It did not,” Saguru huffed. Clearly.
“That’s awful,” Aoko said, sympathetically.
“It is what it is,” Hakuba shrugged, looking mildly uncomfortable, meaning that the other teen had probably shared more about himself than he was comfortable with.
“Well if you need an escape, just call Aoko,” Kaito suggested. “We’ll come rescue you.”
“Yes!” Aoko cried, whirling on the two boys. “You can help prepare for Aoko’s Christmas party!”
“…Sure,” Hakuba stammered in the face of Aoko’s bright excitement.
“Well, what are we waiting for?!” Aoko grabbed Hakuba’s hand and renewed her hold on Kaito before dragging them off towards the shopping center once more.
“What have you gotten me into, Kuroba?” Hakuba asked him.
Kaito only grinned mischievously back. At least he wasn’t going to suffer Aoko’s holiday peppiness alone.
Aoko moved them through the stores like a general leading an army, sending Hakuba and Kaito off wherever she needed them to get supplies for her party. After a while, once she was sure that both were occupied with their tasks, Aoko sought out Hakuba.
“Did you need me to get something else, Nakamori-kun?” he asked her.
“Uh, no, not really,” she said. “Aoko was just wondering, since you’re going to be spending the holidays here and all… would you mind helping Aoko keep Kaito company?”
He blinked in surprise, head tilting slightly in confusion.
“It’s just… he can get really depressed this time of year,” Aoko explained. “We never know when his mother is coming home or when she’ll leave again and… it’s always a constant reminder that his father’s not here to celebrate with them anymore.”
Hakuba nodded slowly, a contemplative look appearing in his eyes, but there was also apprehension. Not that she could blame him. Hakuba and Kaito didn’t really get along very well even at the best of times…
“It’s all right if you say no,” she said quickly. “Aoko understands that you’d rather spend time with your family-!”
“No, Nakamori-kun, that’s not it,” Hakuba said, cutting her off. “I would welcome the chance to escape what is guaranteed to be a disastrous affair at home. It’s just that… I’m not sure if he’d want my company. He doesn’t exactly like me, you know.”
“Well… maybe this can be a good opportunity to change that and get to know each other better,” Aoko suggested tentatively.
“…Very well, then,” Hakuba agreed. “I’ll do what I can.”
“You will?!” Aoko asked excitedly.
Hakuba nodded and nearly fell over when Aoko tackle-hugged him.
As it got closer to Christmas Day, Kaito did his best to remain upbeat, at least for Aoko’s sake. He knew that she enjoyed the holiday because it was the one time of the year that she was guaranteed to have her father home. Kid was never active during the 23rd through the 26th, as a sort of present to his task force. Having spent nearly every Christmas with Aoko and her father since his dad had passed away, he was used to the chaos that was his best friend’s usual holiday preparations.
This year was proving to be very different, however, because Hakuba kept showing up, getting roped into Aoko’s holiday spontaneity. Kaito didn’t particularly mind because that meant that Aoko’s usual focus and worry wasn’t always on him, but he was still a little uneasy around the half-Brit, because Hakuba was observant, damn him. He noticed things. Kaito had to be extra careful about maintaining his poker face.
The only time he had a moment alone really during the days leading up to Christmas was when he went home to sleep. During those nights he would open the drawer in his nightstand and pull out a special deck of playing cards, holding them reverently in his hand. It had been his first deck of magic playing cards that his father had given him the last Christmas he’d been alive for. Kaito never used them for his everyday tricks and pranks. These were special cards. They’d been his father’s and he only ever used them himself for the show he always put on at Aoko’s Christmas party. Every night leading up to Christmas he would flip through the cards, and shuffle them a couple of times before returning them to their box and the drawer.
Christmas morning he pocketed the deck of cards and headed over to the Nakamori’s to help with last minute party preparations. As usual, Aoko and her father were slaving away in the kitchen. What was unusual was the fact that Hakuba was already there and was baking something as well. If Kaito still half-awake mind hadn’t been so thrown by the other boy’s presence, he might have snickered at the pink apron and the gaudy green Christmas sweater the half-Brit was wearing. It looked hand nit.
“Kaito!” Aoko cried when she spotted him. “It’s about time you showed up. Aoko was about to send Hakuba-kun to go get your lazy butt out of bed.”
“Some people like to sleep past seven in the morning when they’re on winter break, Ahoko,” Kaito huffed. “Good morning, Nakamori-jii-san.”
“Morning, Kaito-kun,” Ginzo Nakamori grunted as he cut up some vegetables for whatever he was making.
“Morning, Hakuba,” Kaito sighed as he came over to what had apparently been designated Hakuba’s workspace. “I see Aoko’s got you slaving away already. How long have you been here?”
“Not long,” Hakuba mused. “I’ve been here since 7:30.”
Kaito glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 9 o’clock. Not long his ass. Was the guy that determined to avoid his family?
“Whatcha making?” he asked, looking at the batter Hakuba was pouring onto a fancy looking waffle iron.
“Krumkake.”
“Ku-ru-mu…kaka?” Kaito frowned.
“Norwegian waffle cookie,” Hakuba elaborated. “It’s my Great Grandmother’s recipe.”
“And you’re making it because…?”
“Because Nakamori-kun asked me if I could make some of the things my mother’s family likes to bake this time of year.”
Kaito watched Hakuba use a spatula to scoop two round flat disks off the waffle iron and onto the wood block counter, using a cone shaped implement to roll the wafer into a cone shape.
“You’re making ice-cream cones?” Kaito frowned.
“I suppose they could be used as such,” Hakuba said with a shrug. “My mother likes to put fruit and whipped cream in hers. I personally think the wafer on it’s own is enough.”
Kaito looked at a tray full of Hakuba’s krumkake cookies and took one, taking a bite.
“Not bad,” he mused. It wasn’t overly sweet, but there was a nice vanilla taste.
“Kaito!” Aoko barked. “Quite standing around and make yourself useful!”
Hakuba handed Kaito the cone roller, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.
“I could use a hand,” he said. “It’d make this go quicker.”
“Thanks,” Kaito said before dropping his voice into a stage whisper. “She’d probably cut my head off if I went over to help her.”
Aoko glared over at them and the two boys ducked their heads sheepishly. Kaito snickered, glancing over at Hakuba who flashed him a wry smile. The blond was proving to be a good guy after all. If you could ignore his smug and proper British-ness, that is.
As the morning progressed, Kaito helped Hakuba make an assortment of treats (cookies, cakes, tarts, pies, ect.) that he’d never even heard of before, let alone be able to properly pronounce. Then, after a quick lunch, they moved on to helping Aoko decorate the living room/dinning room until they’d covered practically every inch of the large open space with Christmas things. Hakuba had glared at Kaito every time he had tried to hang up some springs of mistletoe. Ginzo had just avoided the room altogether, focusing on what was left of the cooking, until it was time to start putting all the food on the tables.
When people began to arrive and the party actually started, it was just as chaotic. Kaito did his best to keep his pranks to a minimum. He changed a few people’s tops into silly Christmas sweaters (frequently changing the color on Hakuba’s before allowing it to remain a warm brown color), put Santa and elf hats and jingly reindeer antlers on peoples heads and made mistletoe appear everywhere official and potential couples stood. Hakuba was not amused when Kaito did this while he was in Akako’s company. He spent a solid half hour trying to avoid the witch before she got her kiss (on the cheek. Hakuba was too damn up tight to give her a proper kiss).
Just when Kaito was ready to put on his usual Christmas magic show, the Nakamori’s front door opened and in walked his mother. Chikage Kuroba was dusting off a light coat of snow from her hair and shoulders, smiling at Ginzo as he came forward to take her coat. Kaito was torn between starting his show since his audience was gathered around him now, and running forward to hug his mother, whom he had not seen in months.
Chikage solved that problem for him, waving him on as she and Ginzo joined his audience. Kaito shuffled his special deck of cards and began his show. Because it was his father’s deck and he used it so rarely, his performance featured more card tricks than normal, but that was fine. His father had favored card tricks as well, and every Christmas was this performance acted as Kaito’s tribute to Toichi and the last gift he’d ever received from him.
After his show, he marched straight up to his mother and gave her a big hug.
“Merry Christmas, sweetie,” she said. “Sorry I’m so late. My flight was delayed.”
“That’s ok,” Kaito said. “How was Paris?”
He listened as his mother tittered on about some of Toichi Kuroba’s old magician friends that she’d run into on her tour around Europe before leaving her to reconnect with the friends she had here. They would talk more later. Hopefully she’d stick around until after New Years this time.
As the night wore on, the party’s guests started to thin out and Kaito found himself able to breath a bit more, huddled away in a corner to watch those that still remained – mostly adults that his mother talked to – drinking in her presence and soft laugh. He didn’t realize he was shuffling his father’s deck again until someone took a seat next to him and he nearly dropped the cards.
“I didn’t know you were still here,” Kaito grumbled, flipping through his cards to make sure he hadn’t lost any. “Thought you would have left to join your family to go to the Suzuki’s ritzy Christmas party.”
“Is my being here a problem?” Hakuba asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Kaito huffed.
“Yet it does bother you.”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“...” Kaito glared at the other boy. “Shouldn’t you be with your family?”
“Shouldn’t you be spending time with your mother?”
“She’s busy talking to old friends. What’s your excuse?”
“Mine hasn’t even noticed my absence.”
Kaito frowned, noticing for the first time that Hakuba was clutching a cellphone. Come to think of it, the blond had had it on his person at all times over the last few days…
“…They will eventually,” Kaito said softly. “Do they even know where you are? Parents tend to worry pretty badly when they don’t know where their children are.”
As if to prove his point, Chikage looked up from her conversation, eyes scanning the room until they landed on Kaito. Her smile brightened and she waved. Kaito waved back.
“I’ve left several voice mails and texts on both my mother and father’s phones,” Hakuba answered.
Kaito pursed his lips. That wasn’t right. Christmas was a time to spend with family. From what he’d gathered, Hakuba had a rather large one. Didn’t anyone miss him?
Kaito opened his mouth, to say what he wasn’t sure yet, but Aoko chose that moment to walk over to the couch they were occupying and plopped down on the other side of him. Kaito did drop his cards this time and scowled as he bent over to pick them up. Hakuba helped.
“Nice, Ahoko,” he grumped. “As graceful as usual.”
“Sorry!” she squeaked, hurrying to help him as well.
“These cards are rather unique, Kuroba,” Hakuba commented as he looked at a few of them, eyeing the silvery dove design on the backs. “And they look well used.”
“…They were my father’s,” Kaito said, taking cards back from Aoko. “The last Christmas present he ever gave to me.”
Hakuba nodded solemnly, examining them one more time before handing them back to Kaito.
“I saw one of his shows once, you know,” Hakuba said suddenly.
Kaito stared at him, wide eyed. “What?”
“He was performing in London,” Hakuba mused. “I was six. My mother took me to see the show as a reward for making the honor role that year. …I’ve to this day never seen a show quite like his. His finale is the only magic trick that I have never been able to figure out how it was done.”
Kaito swallowed. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked softly.
“Because I recognized his cards,” Hakuba said. “I have a eidetic memory and don’t forget small details like that easily. You pull off some of his more difficult card tricks quite well.”
Kaito fanned the cards out in his hand, staring at the worn edges of the cards, smiling faintly at the compliment. He supposed Hakuba would know.
Aoko remained silent, watching her two friends interact, happy that they were getting along. After a moment the boys seemed to come out of their melancholic state.
Kaito shook himself, and then held the fan of cards out to Hakuba.
“Pick a card.”
Hakuba blinked in surprise for a moment before selecting one. He looked at it for a moment before wordlessly putting it back in the deck. Kaito shuffled again and then began his trick. He was deeply pleased with himself when he magiced Hakuba’s card out from Hakuba’s wallet (which had been in Hakuba’s back pocket the entire time) and earned a stunned stare from the blond and an awed gasp from his best friend. Ha! Try and solve that trick, Mr. Detective.
“…Do I want to know how you managed that?” Hakuba sighed with a rueful chuckle.
“I’m surprised you aren’t demanding to know.” Kaito grinned.
“Just like your father,” Chikage sighed, making them all jump as she budged in between Kaito and Aoko and wrapped her arms around her son.
Kaito sank back into her hold, “magicing” away his father’s deck of cards.
“Merry Christmas, Mom,” Kaito said.
“Merry Christmas, Kaito.”
Kaito felt movement on his other side and looked up in time to see Hakuba try to leave them.
“No! Sit, dear, I didn't mean to scare you away,” Chikage said, looking after the blond with a touch of concern.
Hakuba hesitated for only a second, but it was long enough for Kaito to roll his eyes and yank the boy back down.
“Ignore him, Mom,” Kaito shrugged. “He’s weird like that. He wanted to give us some privacy, I’m sure.”
Hakuba spluttered indignantly at the “weird” comment and Aoko laughed.
Chikage pursed her lips, but said nothing. She reached over and ruffled Hakuba’s hair, getting a shocked expression in return. Kaito and Aoko snickered. Seriously, the guy was way to up tight.
“I missed you,” Kaito chuckled, sighing fondly at his mom.
“Missed you too, sweet heart,” she said, nuzzling his hair.
“How long are you staying this time, Chikage-baa-chan?” Aoko asked, leaning against Chikage as the woman wrapped an arm around her as well.
“For a couple of weeks at least,” Chikage said, grinning down at her son. “I was gone for too long this time. I need some Kaito cuddles.”
Kaito laughed as his mother let Aoko go again in favor of wrapping her small frame around her son, hugging him close.
“You haven’t been too lonely, I hope,” Chikage asked. “I’m sorry I’m away so much, dear.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kaito said. “I always have Aoko to pester me and it seems that she’s roped Hakuba into babysitting me too.”
Hakuba blushed bright pink at that, making Kaito smirk.
“Aww!” Chikage cooed. “Aren’t you adorable? I think we’ll keep you.” She then reached over and pulled Hakuba down next to Kaito.
Kaito snickered at how red Hakuba’s face was. It was nearly purple. If the guy kept blushing like that he was going to burst a blood vessel.
“Careful, Hakuba,” Kaito mock-whispered. “She just might decide to keep you one day and never let you go. That’s how I got stuck with Aoko.”
He got a hard slap on the shoulder for that comment, but his mother only cooed again and used the opportunity to drag Aoko into the hug she already had the boys in.
“Such good children,” she trilled. “I’m going to get you three a treat. Be right back.”
Somehow Chikage managed to slip out from beneath the three teenagers and skipped away somewhere.
“Kuroba, is your mother always, so… affectionate?” Hakuba chocked, making a valiant effort at trying to reign in his blush.
“Most of the time,” Aoko giggled.
“Careful, she likes to cuddle,” Kaito snickered. “If you want to get away, run now or you may never leave tonight.”
Hakuba eyed him warily, not entirely sure if he should believe him to not. Kaito shrugged, and with a sign he sank back down against the couch cushions, dragging Aoko and Hakuba back with him. Either way, it didn’t matter to him.
Hakuba did end up staying the night, though. The three of them and Chikage made a nest of pillows and blankets on the couch before falling asleep where they crashed. Ginzo only shook his head and headed upstairs, but not before taking a picture of the four of them with his camera. He wasn’t going to join in that madness. His back would never forgive him. It hurt just looking at Kaito and Chikage in their weird sleep contortions, sprawling over his daughter and the Hakuba boy.
When Kaito woke up the next morning between his mother and Hakuba, he smiled, feeling at peace because he was surrounded by those he’d come to care about most in him life. Even if Hakuba was a critic detective. Because Hakuba was his detective and rival, just as Aoko was his best friend and Chikage was his mother. Thieves were possessive of those they considered theirs. As long as he had these people in his life… he could handle not having his father until they met again in the next life. And he was sure that they needed him as much as he needed them.
Kaito Kuroba waved goodbye to his classmates as they exited the schoolyard. School was finally over until after New Years and everyone was anxious to get home and start celebrating the winter holidays. His best friend, Aoko Nakamori, was no different. In fact, she was probably the worst one in the entire city.
“Come on, Kaito! We don't have time to waste! Christmas is only a few days away and you promised to help Aoko with her party!” she cried, yanking on his arm.
“What’s your hurry, Ahoko?” Kaito huffed. “It’s not like the stores are going to close in the next couple of hours. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’re open an hour or two longer because of the holidays.”
“Bakaito!” Aoko yelled. “If we don’t hurry, the things Aoko needs might be out of stock!”
“Than you should have bought things ahead of time instead of waiting until the last minute,” Kaito sighed. Honestly. Did this girl ever learn? Her family threw a Christmas party every year. You’d think she’d be a pro by now.
“S-shut up!” Aoko spluttered at him from over her shoulder, blushing, before turning back around and crashing into someone. “Oh! Aoko is so sorry!”
“It is not a problem, Nakamori-kun,” the one she ran into said pleasantly.
Kaito scowled, seeing that it was Saguru Hakuba of all people standing there, brushing nonexistent dirt off his school uniform.
“Hakuba-kun!” Aoko cried, her expression brightening upon seeing their classmate.
“And where are you two off to in such a hurry?” the blond half-Brit asked.
“Oh! Right! The store!” Aoko cried. “Come on, Kaito, we need to get there now!”
And they were off again, Hakuba tagging along for whatever reason, eyebrows raised in inquiry.
“Why are you coming?” Kaito asked.
“I happen to be heading in this direction as well,” Hakuba said with a shrug. “I need to do some last minute Christmas shopping, myself.”
“Funny,” Kaito huffed, ignoring the loss of feeling in his arm that Aoko still had a hold of, “you strike me as the sort of person that buys their Christmas gifts at least a month in advance.”
“Oh, I already took care of that sort of thing back in October,” the blond said with a smirk. “What I wasn’t prepared for, was the fact I’d be spending Christmas here in Japan, instead of back home in London with mother’s family.”
“So you’re not going back to England for the holidays?” Aoko asked, loosening her grip on Kaito’s arm a bit as she gave their conversation a part of her attention.
“No,” Hakuba sighed. “My mother has decided that we are going to spend the holidays here instead. She’s asked me to pick up a few things for her Christmas party that she forgot to order from her caterer.”
“You’re having a Christmas party too?” Aoko asked.
“Not on Christmas day,” Hakuba said, shaking his head. “My family has plans to go to the Suzuki Christmas party that evening. My mother is insisting that we host a party on Christmas Eve instead, like we do with her family back in England.”
“Why on Christmas Eve?” Aoko asked.
“Because my mother and I go to midnight mass on that night. Back in London, our family gets together Christmas Eve day and celebrates the holiday until it’s time to go to mass,” Hakuba explained. “When we get back, we all go to bed and then the festivities start all over again Christmas Day until everyone is ready to go home. Personally I think it’s just an excuse to party and drink longer, but that’s how my mother’s family has always done Christmas. This year, instead of my mother’s relatives, my parents are inviting my father’s family and a few close family friends to stay with us through to Christmas day.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Aoko smiled.
“More like a bloody nightmare,” Hakuba huffed. “At least back home in England I have cousins my age. Here, all of my cousins are significantly younger than I am.”
“How young is significantly younger?” Kaito asked, curious in spite of himself. Hakuba never really talked about his family situation. Due to the research he’d done as Kid, all he knew was that Hakuba’s parents were separated – all but legally divorced.
“My father’s only sibling is a younger sister and she has three children. Her eldest boy is 8 and her twin daughters are 4,” Hakuba answered. “I don't get along with them at all.”
“Why? Because they’re younger than you and aren’t old enough to play detective?” Kaito asked, rolling his eyes.
“No,” Hakuba said with an impressive scowl. “My aunt hates my mother and the feeling is mutual. She’s raised her offspring to be antagonistic towards me. When I was small, she had been spreading rumors that I was not really my father’s child because I look nothing like him. My father forced me to take a paternity test to prove her wrong and get her to shut up about it.”
Kaito winced, hearing the honest bitter sorrow in his classmate and rival’s voice. “I bet that went over well with your mother.”
“It did not,” Saguru huffed. Clearly.
“That’s awful,” Aoko said, sympathetically.
“It is what it is,” Hakuba shrugged, looking mildly uncomfortable, meaning that the other teen had probably shared more about himself than he was comfortable with.
“Well if you need an escape, just call Aoko,” Kaito suggested. “We’ll come rescue you.”
“Yes!” Aoko cried, whirling on the two boys. “You can help prepare for Aoko’s Christmas party!”
“…Sure,” Hakuba stammered in the face of Aoko’s bright excitement.
“Well, what are we waiting for?!” Aoko grabbed Hakuba’s hand and renewed her hold on Kaito before dragging them off towards the shopping center once more.
“What have you gotten me into, Kuroba?” Hakuba asked him.
Kaito only grinned mischievously back. At least he wasn’t going to suffer Aoko’s holiday peppiness alone.
Aoko moved them through the stores like a general leading an army, sending Hakuba and Kaito off wherever she needed them to get supplies for her party. After a while, once she was sure that both were occupied with their tasks, Aoko sought out Hakuba.
“Did you need me to get something else, Nakamori-kun?” he asked her.
“Uh, no, not really,” she said. “Aoko was just wondering, since you’re going to be spending the holidays here and all… would you mind helping Aoko keep Kaito company?”
He blinked in surprise, head tilting slightly in confusion.
“It’s just… he can get really depressed this time of year,” Aoko explained. “We never know when his mother is coming home or when she’ll leave again and… it’s always a constant reminder that his father’s not here to celebrate with them anymore.”
Hakuba nodded slowly, a contemplative look appearing in his eyes, but there was also apprehension. Not that she could blame him. Hakuba and Kaito didn’t really get along very well even at the best of times…
“It’s all right if you say no,” she said quickly. “Aoko understands that you’d rather spend time with your family-!”
“No, Nakamori-kun, that’s not it,” Hakuba said, cutting her off. “I would welcome the chance to escape what is guaranteed to be a disastrous affair at home. It’s just that… I’m not sure if he’d want my company. He doesn’t exactly like me, you know.”
“Well… maybe this can be a good opportunity to change that and get to know each other better,” Aoko suggested tentatively.
“…Very well, then,” Hakuba agreed. “I’ll do what I can.”
“You will?!” Aoko asked excitedly.
Hakuba nodded and nearly fell over when Aoko tackle-hugged him.
As it got closer to Christmas Day, Kaito did his best to remain upbeat, at least for Aoko’s sake. He knew that she enjoyed the holiday because it was the one time of the year that she was guaranteed to have her father home. Kid was never active during the 23rd through the 26th, as a sort of present to his task force. Having spent nearly every Christmas with Aoko and her father since his dad had passed away, he was used to the chaos that was his best friend’s usual holiday preparations.
This year was proving to be very different, however, because Hakuba kept showing up, getting roped into Aoko’s holiday spontaneity. Kaito didn’t particularly mind because that meant that Aoko’s usual focus and worry wasn’t always on him, but he was still a little uneasy around the half-Brit, because Hakuba was observant, damn him. He noticed things. Kaito had to be extra careful about maintaining his poker face.
The only time he had a moment alone really during the days leading up to Christmas was when he went home to sleep. During those nights he would open the drawer in his nightstand and pull out a special deck of playing cards, holding them reverently in his hand. It had been his first deck of magic playing cards that his father had given him the last Christmas he’d been alive for. Kaito never used them for his everyday tricks and pranks. These were special cards. They’d been his father’s and he only ever used them himself for the show he always put on at Aoko’s Christmas party. Every night leading up to Christmas he would flip through the cards, and shuffle them a couple of times before returning them to their box and the drawer.
Christmas morning he pocketed the deck of cards and headed over to the Nakamori’s to help with last minute party preparations. As usual, Aoko and her father were slaving away in the kitchen. What was unusual was the fact that Hakuba was already there and was baking something as well. If Kaito still half-awake mind hadn’t been so thrown by the other boy’s presence, he might have snickered at the pink apron and the gaudy green Christmas sweater the half-Brit was wearing. It looked hand nit.
“Kaito!” Aoko cried when she spotted him. “It’s about time you showed up. Aoko was about to send Hakuba-kun to go get your lazy butt out of bed.”
“Some people like to sleep past seven in the morning when they’re on winter break, Ahoko,” Kaito huffed. “Good morning, Nakamori-jii-san.”
“Morning, Kaito-kun,” Ginzo Nakamori grunted as he cut up some vegetables for whatever he was making.
“Morning, Hakuba,” Kaito sighed as he came over to what had apparently been designated Hakuba’s workspace. “I see Aoko’s got you slaving away already. How long have you been here?”
“Not long,” Hakuba mused. “I’ve been here since 7:30.”
Kaito glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 9 o’clock. Not long his ass. Was the guy that determined to avoid his family?
“Whatcha making?” he asked, looking at the batter Hakuba was pouring onto a fancy looking waffle iron.
“Krumkake.”
“Ku-ru-mu…kaka?” Kaito frowned.
“Norwegian waffle cookie,” Hakuba elaborated. “It’s my Great Grandmother’s recipe.”
“And you’re making it because…?”
“Because Nakamori-kun asked me if I could make some of the things my mother’s family likes to bake this time of year.”
Kaito watched Hakuba use a spatula to scoop two round flat disks off the waffle iron and onto the wood block counter, using a cone shaped implement to roll the wafer into a cone shape.
“You’re making ice-cream cones?” Kaito frowned.
“I suppose they could be used as such,” Hakuba said with a shrug. “My mother likes to put fruit and whipped cream in hers. I personally think the wafer on it’s own is enough.”
Kaito looked at a tray full of Hakuba’s krumkake cookies and took one, taking a bite.
“Not bad,” he mused. It wasn’t overly sweet, but there was a nice vanilla taste.
“Kaito!” Aoko barked. “Quite standing around and make yourself useful!”
Hakuba handed Kaito the cone roller, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips.
“I could use a hand,” he said. “It’d make this go quicker.”
“Thanks,” Kaito said before dropping his voice into a stage whisper. “She’d probably cut my head off if I went over to help her.”
Aoko glared over at them and the two boys ducked their heads sheepishly. Kaito snickered, glancing over at Hakuba who flashed him a wry smile. The blond was proving to be a good guy after all. If you could ignore his smug and proper British-ness, that is.
As the morning progressed, Kaito helped Hakuba make an assortment of treats (cookies, cakes, tarts, pies, ect.) that he’d never even heard of before, let alone be able to properly pronounce. Then, after a quick lunch, they moved on to helping Aoko decorate the living room/dinning room until they’d covered practically every inch of the large open space with Christmas things. Hakuba had glared at Kaito every time he had tried to hang up some springs of mistletoe. Ginzo had just avoided the room altogether, focusing on what was left of the cooking, until it was time to start putting all the food on the tables.
When people began to arrive and the party actually started, it was just as chaotic. Kaito did his best to keep his pranks to a minimum. He changed a few people’s tops into silly Christmas sweaters (frequently changing the color on Hakuba’s before allowing it to remain a warm brown color), put Santa and elf hats and jingly reindeer antlers on peoples heads and made mistletoe appear everywhere official and potential couples stood. Hakuba was not amused when Kaito did this while he was in Akako’s company. He spent a solid half hour trying to avoid the witch before she got her kiss (on the cheek. Hakuba was too damn up tight to give her a proper kiss).
Just when Kaito was ready to put on his usual Christmas magic show, the Nakamori’s front door opened and in walked his mother. Chikage Kuroba was dusting off a light coat of snow from her hair and shoulders, smiling at Ginzo as he came forward to take her coat. Kaito was torn between starting his show since his audience was gathered around him now, and running forward to hug his mother, whom he had not seen in months.
Chikage solved that problem for him, waving him on as she and Ginzo joined his audience. Kaito shuffled his special deck of cards and began his show. Because it was his father’s deck and he used it so rarely, his performance featured more card tricks than normal, but that was fine. His father had favored card tricks as well, and every Christmas was this performance acted as Kaito’s tribute to Toichi and the last gift he’d ever received from him.
After his show, he marched straight up to his mother and gave her a big hug.
“Merry Christmas, sweetie,” she said. “Sorry I’m so late. My flight was delayed.”
“That’s ok,” Kaito said. “How was Paris?”
He listened as his mother tittered on about some of Toichi Kuroba’s old magician friends that she’d run into on her tour around Europe before leaving her to reconnect with the friends she had here. They would talk more later. Hopefully she’d stick around until after New Years this time.
As the night wore on, the party’s guests started to thin out and Kaito found himself able to breath a bit more, huddled away in a corner to watch those that still remained – mostly adults that his mother talked to – drinking in her presence and soft laugh. He didn’t realize he was shuffling his father’s deck again until someone took a seat next to him and he nearly dropped the cards.
“I didn’t know you were still here,” Kaito grumbled, flipping through his cards to make sure he hadn’t lost any. “Thought you would have left to join your family to go to the Suzuki’s ritzy Christmas party.”
“Is my being here a problem?” Hakuba asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Kaito huffed.
“Yet it does bother you.”
“I didn’t say that either.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“...” Kaito glared at the other boy. “Shouldn’t you be with your family?”
“Shouldn’t you be spending time with your mother?”
“She’s busy talking to old friends. What’s your excuse?”
“Mine hasn’t even noticed my absence.”
Kaito frowned, noticing for the first time that Hakuba was clutching a cellphone. Come to think of it, the blond had had it on his person at all times over the last few days…
“…They will eventually,” Kaito said softly. “Do they even know where you are? Parents tend to worry pretty badly when they don’t know where their children are.”
As if to prove his point, Chikage looked up from her conversation, eyes scanning the room until they landed on Kaito. Her smile brightened and she waved. Kaito waved back.
“I’ve left several voice mails and texts on both my mother and father’s phones,” Hakuba answered.
Kaito pursed his lips. That wasn’t right. Christmas was a time to spend with family. From what he’d gathered, Hakuba had a rather large one. Didn’t anyone miss him?
Kaito opened his mouth, to say what he wasn’t sure yet, but Aoko chose that moment to walk over to the couch they were occupying and plopped down on the other side of him. Kaito did drop his cards this time and scowled as he bent over to pick them up. Hakuba helped.
“Nice, Ahoko,” he grumped. “As graceful as usual.”
“Sorry!” she squeaked, hurrying to help him as well.
“These cards are rather unique, Kuroba,” Hakuba commented as he looked at a few of them, eyeing the silvery dove design on the backs. “And they look well used.”
“…They were my father’s,” Kaito said, taking cards back from Aoko. “The last Christmas present he ever gave to me.”
Hakuba nodded solemnly, examining them one more time before handing them back to Kaito.
“I saw one of his shows once, you know,” Hakuba said suddenly.
Kaito stared at him, wide eyed. “What?”
“He was performing in London,” Hakuba mused. “I was six. My mother took me to see the show as a reward for making the honor role that year. …I’ve to this day never seen a show quite like his. His finale is the only magic trick that I have never been able to figure out how it was done.”
Kaito swallowed. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked softly.
“Because I recognized his cards,” Hakuba said. “I have a eidetic memory and don’t forget small details like that easily. You pull off some of his more difficult card tricks quite well.”
Kaito fanned the cards out in his hand, staring at the worn edges of the cards, smiling faintly at the compliment. He supposed Hakuba would know.
Aoko remained silent, watching her two friends interact, happy that they were getting along. After a moment the boys seemed to come out of their melancholic state.
Kaito shook himself, and then held the fan of cards out to Hakuba.
“Pick a card.”
Hakuba blinked in surprise for a moment before selecting one. He looked at it for a moment before wordlessly putting it back in the deck. Kaito shuffled again and then began his trick. He was deeply pleased with himself when he magiced Hakuba’s card out from Hakuba’s wallet (which had been in Hakuba’s back pocket the entire time) and earned a stunned stare from the blond and an awed gasp from his best friend. Ha! Try and solve that trick, Mr. Detective.
“…Do I want to know how you managed that?” Hakuba sighed with a rueful chuckle.
“I’m surprised you aren’t demanding to know.” Kaito grinned.
“Just like your father,” Chikage sighed, making them all jump as she budged in between Kaito and Aoko and wrapped her arms around her son.
Kaito sank back into her hold, “magicing” away his father’s deck of cards.
“Merry Christmas, Mom,” Kaito said.
“Merry Christmas, Kaito.”
Kaito felt movement on his other side and looked up in time to see Hakuba try to leave them.
“No! Sit, dear, I didn't mean to scare you away,” Chikage said, looking after the blond with a touch of concern.
Hakuba hesitated for only a second, but it was long enough for Kaito to roll his eyes and yank the boy back down.
“Ignore him, Mom,” Kaito shrugged. “He’s weird like that. He wanted to give us some privacy, I’m sure.”
Hakuba spluttered indignantly at the “weird” comment and Aoko laughed.
Chikage pursed her lips, but said nothing. She reached over and ruffled Hakuba’s hair, getting a shocked expression in return. Kaito and Aoko snickered. Seriously, the guy was way to up tight.
“I missed you,” Kaito chuckled, sighing fondly at his mom.
“Missed you too, sweet heart,” she said, nuzzling his hair.
“How long are you staying this time, Chikage-baa-chan?” Aoko asked, leaning against Chikage as the woman wrapped an arm around her as well.
“For a couple of weeks at least,” Chikage said, grinning down at her son. “I was gone for too long this time. I need some Kaito cuddles.”
Kaito laughed as his mother let Aoko go again in favor of wrapping her small frame around her son, hugging him close.
“You haven’t been too lonely, I hope,” Chikage asked. “I’m sorry I’m away so much, dear.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Kaito said. “I always have Aoko to pester me and it seems that she’s roped Hakuba into babysitting me too.”
Hakuba blushed bright pink at that, making Kaito smirk.
“Aww!” Chikage cooed. “Aren’t you adorable? I think we’ll keep you.” She then reached over and pulled Hakuba down next to Kaito.
Kaito snickered at how red Hakuba’s face was. It was nearly purple. If the guy kept blushing like that he was going to burst a blood vessel.
“Careful, Hakuba,” Kaito mock-whispered. “She just might decide to keep you one day and never let you go. That’s how I got stuck with Aoko.”
He got a hard slap on the shoulder for that comment, but his mother only cooed again and used the opportunity to drag Aoko into the hug she already had the boys in.
“Such good children,” she trilled. “I’m going to get you three a treat. Be right back.”
Somehow Chikage managed to slip out from beneath the three teenagers and skipped away somewhere.
“Kuroba, is your mother always, so… affectionate?” Hakuba chocked, making a valiant effort at trying to reign in his blush.
“Most of the time,” Aoko giggled.
“Careful, she likes to cuddle,” Kaito snickered. “If you want to get away, run now or you may never leave tonight.”
Hakuba eyed him warily, not entirely sure if he should believe him to not. Kaito shrugged, and with a sign he sank back down against the couch cushions, dragging Aoko and Hakuba back with him. Either way, it didn’t matter to him.
Hakuba did end up staying the night, though. The three of them and Chikage made a nest of pillows and blankets on the couch before falling asleep where they crashed. Ginzo only shook his head and headed upstairs, but not before taking a picture of the four of them with his camera. He wasn’t going to join in that madness. His back would never forgive him. It hurt just looking at Kaito and Chikage in their weird sleep contortions, sprawling over his daughter and the Hakuba boy.
When Kaito woke up the next morning between his mother and Hakuba, he smiled, feeling at peace because he was surrounded by those he’d come to care about most in him life. Even if Hakuba was a critic detective. Because Hakuba was his detective and rival, just as Aoko was his best friend and Chikage was his mother. Thieves were possessive of those they considered theirs. As long as he had these people in his life… he could handle not having his father until they met again in the next life. And he was sure that they needed him as much as he needed them.
~ Fin ~
I must have rewritten the ending at least 4 times before settling on this one. I usually write Hakuba so he was feeling jelly and tried to bugger in more and then Chikage wanted in on the fun and then it ended in cuddles... Happy Christmas? Aoko was the only one not vying for attention really. XD I hope you enjoyed this story and had a Merry Christmas. Have a Happy New Year!
I must have rewritten the ending at least 4 times before settling on this one. I usually write Hakuba so he was feeling jelly and tried to bugger in more and then Chikage wanted in on the fun and then it ended in cuddles... Happy Christmas? Aoko was the only one not vying for attention really. XD I hope you enjoyed this story and had a Merry Christmas. Have a Happy New Year!