EDIT: I had wanted to put in this little intro earlier, maybe around, oh I dunno, when I posted the story, but things (read: I'm a doofus) kept me from doing as such. Anyway, around the time when Christmas cheer was in the air and everywhere you went someone was crooning 'White Christmas,' I got the hugely original idea of writing a Get Backers fluff!Chrismas fic. I had read other people's before, and really - I just figured if I was so worried about not getting to read one this year, why not write one myself? The rest was easy - a sappy Christmas plot was easy to come up with, because really; if you're not feelin' the love you could only be either a) Scrooge or b) Ban (unless of course you have the gayest/ex-most ridiculously omnipotent thunder god of a lawless gang-ridden dominion in Shinjuku sleeping with you. In a car, I mean.) So Merry Christmas, and enjoy the show (fic)!
"Hey, Ginji? Mind passing the ramen over here?"
"Eh? Oh, sure."
Squatting in front of an ancient mini-cooker, utterly broke, and huddled outside in the snow because the doors in the ladybug had frozen shut. Again.
It was not looking up to be a very pleasant Christmas.
Really, the trouble had begun with waking up, Ban reminisced, as he recalled starting his day by smacking his head on the ladybug's roof. A large pile of snow had fallen on the ladybug that morning and caught him off guard. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised. When one parks their car in the lesser populated areas of a park among so many trees, snow is bound to slide off at some point.
After nearly breaking the car door trying to get the frozen hinges open, Ban stepped out and immediately slipped on the frozen ground beneath him, landing ungracefully on his behind. It did not help that Ginji had been hysterical about the whole thing.
They had then gone to their usual haunt, and for a Christmas morning, Paul was certainly playing the part of Scrooge well. He did get them a present, however – a prehistoric battery-powered rice cooker (presumably from the back of the shop), and a block of uncooked ramen noodles for them to cook themselves. This was, of course, after informing them they had to leave the shop before they could even try and make the ramen.
"Gee, thanks." Ban had said. "We can't even cook it in here?"
Paul had let his cigarette dangle to the corner of this mouth. "At least this way I can say you didn't run up more of a tab in the Honky Tonk. You cooked it yourselves, outside of the restaurant. It's like hitting two birds with one stone." Natsumi had looked sympathetic, but was all the same nodding her head in agreement with Paul.
Before they could protest, Paul continued. "And anyway, it's Christmas. Some people have a life outside the restaurant, you know. They have people to be with. Friends, families, lovers. I don't have time to sit here and feed your sorry behinds." He had finished, taking one last look at his newspaper before folding it into his pocket.
"But, we didn't even find a job today! There's nothing out there!" Ban had argued.
Paul then gave a smirk. "Well, I'm sure there are possible jobs on Christmas. But do the Get Backers really want to be chasing after some purse-snatcher?"
Ban had stopped complaining then, but his scowl grew deeper. Standing up abruptly, he proceeded to stomp out of the Honky Tonk, leaving Ginji to grab the cooker and ramen, scrambling behind him. Even the carolers they passed aggravated him, trying to sing carols with such unrecognizable English and off-key tones. When they got back to the car and discovered that the car doors were frozen shut beyond all recognition, Ban had resigned to slamming his fist against a tree, cursing angrily and huddling deeper against his thin jacket to conserve whatever warmth he could muster. Ginji quietly sat down beside him, setting down the cooker and ramen.
And that left them where they were now. Marooned out of the only home they had, cold, hungry, and miserable.
"Hey, Ban-chan…" Ginji spoke up, after a considerable silence.
Ban ignored him, clearly not in the mood for conversation.
But Ginji was persistent. "Ban-chan…"
"What?" hissed Ban, shooting an irritated look towards Ginji. He immediately regretted his attitude as soon as he saw Ginji's face; Ginji's brown eyes looked so sad, and really, Ban thought, Ginji had to be as cold and miserable as Ban was…
"Sorry," he said, taking a gentler tone than before.
Ginji gave a small smile as he shook it off. "Well," he said, shuffling around in his jacket, "I managed to keep a few yen to myself before you snatched the last fee we got –" Ban gave an embarrassed grin. "—and I know it's not much, but, uh, here." Ginji shoved a small card at Ban and twiddled his thumbs.
Ban, shocked, opened up the small card and saw Ginji's messy, childish writing scrawled in the center. "Merry Christmas to Ban-chan!" It said, with a small doodle at the bottom of what Ban could only assume was snow falling down on the ladybug, with two little faces inside – a blond, grinning one, and a sort of surly looking spiky haired one with purple glasses and a smirk.
Ban had to laugh despite himself– the frozen car, the lack of pay, the uncooked noodles – and it had simply taken such a simple gesture from Ginji to make his day. No – his Christmas.
"You…you like it?" Ginji asked tentatively, unsure how to decipher Ban's amusement.
Ban gave a huge grin. "I love it." He said, jumping to his feet. Ginji grinned back, looking relieved.
"Tell you what," Ban said, standing up and then pulling Ginji to his feet, dragging him away from the ladybug. "My little Christmas present to you is breaking down the Honky Tonk door so we can spend a warmer Christmas indoors."
Ginji laughed. "Paul's going to murder us."
"Not while we have that massive tab to pay up—" Ban began, stopping short as soon as he reached the front of the restaurant, staring at the door.
"Ban-chan?" said Ginji, worriedly looking at Ban's surprised expression.
"Well." said Ban, incredulously. "What do you know."
Ginji walked up beside Ban and noticed a small sign taped to the door of the Honky Tonk. In Paul's neat, concise writing, it read:
"Ban and Ginji – I know you two sorrylugs are probably blubbering outside the Honky Tonk door right now. So, instead of breaking the door down, I've left it unlocked so you don't freeze overnight – you can't pay a tab if you're frozen, right? There's some soup on the counter. You had better not eat anything else. Merry Christmas." Natsumi had signed the bottom too, with a small scribble of a cat giving a peace sign.
Ginji managed a shocked smile. "Wow. Thanks, Paul."
After they had inhaled their soup (and perhaps some leftover noodles in the freezer) Ban and Ginji had settled down on the same side of a booth, looking out the window, quietly watching the snow fall.
20 minutes later found Ginji's head on Ban's shoulder, sleepily listening to the carolers outside go through both familiar and unfamiliar songs.
"Hey, Ban-chan…" Ginji murmured, shifting so as to catch eye-contact with Ban.
"Mmm?"
"This was a great Christmas present. Thanks."
Ban raised his eyebrow. "Aww, I didn't do anything. This was really more Paul's present."
Ginji shook his head. "No…no, I meant…just being here with you. It means a lot to me."
Ban's eyes widened for just a moment, before letting his face melt into a warm smile. "Yeah, it…it means a lot to me too."
Ginji leaned his head on Ban's shoulder again. "Merry Christmas, Ban-chan."
"Merry Christmas, Ginji."
As they resumed looking out the window, the strong, clear voices of carolers rose up, speaking in clear English and sweet harmony:
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas
To You