A Christmas Birthday
Summary: One more week. Just one more week until he arrived. I have a plan. I just don't know how to set it up well. Tezuka had this set up for your birthday first! I'm glad…that I can spend the Christmas Holiday with you. Merry Christmas Mitsu…and I'm glad you are here…
Sequel to "He's Got Talent" This is going to be a two-shot considering how close Ryoma's birthday comes to Christmas. Happy birthday Ryoma! This two-shot is not going to be just focused around the Pillar Pair as it is the Christmas holidays, so I decided to include a bit of every pair that was mentioned before in earlier oneshots of the pairing.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. The anime and manga belong to their rightful owners. The only thing I own is the fanfiction story itself.
Word Count: 6378
"Now that that is settled!" she yelled standing up from her spot and going over to the side of the wall. "Let's have some fun for tomorrow!" she yelled bringing something else from the hallway outside.
"When did you buy that?" Tezuka asked with semi-wide eyes.
Hanako just giggled as she brought it into the room. It was a very large pine tree that reached the top of the ceiling and was as wide as an elephant.
"How did you even get that? I was with you this entire week planning for the other party, so how did I not notice you getting that?" Tezuka questioned staring as she somehow brought the large tree.
"How did you even fit that through the door?" Ryoma asked while blinking his eyes several times.
The rest of the group rubbed their eyes and blinked at the tree again to see that it was still there getting pulled in by Hanako. "How?" they all managed to say with shocked looks on most of their faces.
"I'm not telling," Hanako teased before placing the tree down in the middle of the room. "Time for decorating!" she said pulling out another few boxes from the hallway and then bringing them into the room.
"Did you plan this part too Mitsu?" Ryoma asked staring up at the boy hugging him around the waist.
"No," he answered which surprised the others a bit. "She must have thought it up."
"Yup! I sure did! I thought of decorating a Christmas tree for tomorrow," Hanako said happily bringing out a long piece of red tinsel. "Come on, it'll be fun," she said trying to coax the lot of them to help her hang decorations.
"Okay! Sounds fun!" Eiji yelled jumping up and grabbing everyone by the wrists and dragging them all near the boxes that Hanako had brought in.
"Come on then," Hanako said pushing a few boxes closer to them that were filled with all sorts of tree decorations.
"Oh! Oh! Put it here! Here!" Eiji yelled as Oishi was placing another crystal ball ornament on one of the tree's branches.
"Okay Eiji, okay," Oishi chuckled as he grabbed yet another ornament from the box Eiji was carrying and placed it onto the tree.
"Ooh! Put this one up next!" Eiji said looking into the box he carried and pulling out a piece of silver tinsel. He was about to hand it to Oishi until he saw the ladder shake a bit and the other started falling.
Setting the box down immediately, Eiji reached up and steadied his partner on the ladder before the vice captain fell off and onto the harsh ground.
"Are you okay Oishi?" Eiji asked before helping his partner get off the ladder and onto the ground safely.
"Yes, I'm fine Eiji," Oishi said with a grateful smile on his face. "Thank you for catching me before I fell," he said with a happy look.
"No problem," Eiji said back with a large grin on his face as he was able to help his partner avoid getting hurt. "Let's continue with the decorations then…but without that ladder…" Eiji chuckled.
"Right," Oishi said closing his eyes and laughing nervously. He did not want to think about what might have happened if he had actually fallen off the ladder in the first place. That would have surely hurt.
"Come on! Let's go!" Eiji yelled jumping onto Oishi's shoulders with a few decorations in his hands.
"Whoa!" Oishi yelled before steadying himself so that Eiji wouldn't fall off of his shoulders. That surely wouldn't end well either if he did fall.
"Careful Oishi!" Eiji laughed as he continued to put up several decorations on the tree.
"Right, right," Oishi chuckled as he kept Eiji steady as they both finished their side of the tree and then moving to a pair of seats on the room and sitting down on them.
"This is really fun neh Oishi?" Eiji asked looking as everyone decorated the tree that Hanako had somehow brought in.
"This is turning out to be a great party," Oishi said before leaning against the chair.
"Neh! Do you think we'll do this again next year?" Eiji said jumping off his chair and right onto Oishi's.
"Maybe," Oishi chuckled before wrapping an arm around Eiji's waist to make sure the acrobat didn't fall off the chair.
"Raise that decoration three centimeters higher and it will be symmetrical," Inui commented as he was writing in his notebook while looking as Kaidoh was setting up the decorations on his portion of the tree.
"Here?" Kaidoh asked with a blank tone as he raised the hanging ornament a bit higher and touched another tree branch.
"Yes, that is fine. It's perfectly symmetrical now," Inui said with a hint of interest in his voice as he watched Kaidoh jump down from the top of the couch he was standing on to reach the higher portion of his part of the tree.
"What ornament is next senpai?" Kaidoh asked staying atop the step he was using to reach the top of the tree.
Inui glanced at his notebook before taking a look at the sketch he had been making of their decorations. "Let's put a few Christmas animal decorations then," he said knowing that Kaidoh loved animals.
He was right as the snake-like player hissed quietly with a small tint of pink. "Which one?"
"How about the cat with the hat?" Inui asked gesturing with his pen at the two ornaments at the top of the box of decorations they were passed.
Kaidoh just nodded his head as he grabbed the two and put them where Inui had said to put them. As soon as he was done with those decorations, he continued to grab a few more that Inui said would look well with the others.
"What's next senpai?" Kaidoh asked standing next to the tallest of the team after getting off the step he was using. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he glanced over at the other from the corner of his eyes and waited for a response.
"I think we are doing fine with our portion. You did very well," Inui said before patting Kaidoh's shoulder encouragingly.
Kaidoh's cheeks had a small tint of pink from embarrassment before he took a look at their work.
It was completely symmetrical with the tinsel making a zigzag pattern on both sides of their portion along with ornaments both above and below the tinsel. There wasn't one ornament out of place or that looked like it didn't belong.
"It's perfect," Inui commented before motioning Kaidoh toward the couch to sit down while the others finished their portions of the tree.
Nodding, Kaidoh went ahead and sat down on one end of the couch only to glance over at Inui when the taller sat down next to him.
"A little higher please Taka-san," Fuji said looking down at the boy supporting him.
Kawamura had his hands on top of each other with Fuji stepping on them in order to reach the higher portion of their side of the tree.
"I can't raise my hands any higher…they are starting to hurt a bit from being like this for a while," Kawamura admitted shyly.
"Is that so?" Fuji questioned with a concerned look on his face for his tree partner before jumping off his hands. "We still have to decorate the tree though…"
"I can't really move my hands anymore though," Kawamura said with an apologetic tone as he tried to flex his fingers.
"Ah! I have an idea," Fuji said snapping his fingers before turning to Kawamura. "Can you kneel down for a minute?"
"Umm…sure," Kawamura hesitantly said as he kneeled down on one knee.
"Okay then," Fuji said before walking behind him and then climbing to sit upon his shoulders. "This should work right?" he questioned as he made himself comfortable on his partner's shoulders.
"That's…fine…" Kawamura said with a bit of a blush as he gently gripped onto Fuji's legs so that the shorter wouldn't fall off.
"Hand me the…candy cane decorations please Taka-san," Fuji said reaching a hand down in front of Kawamura in order to grab the next decoration.
"Okay," Kawamura said bending down a bit to reach the box before pulling out a few decorations and then handing them to Fuji.
"Thank you Taka-san," Fuji said with a large smile on his face as he started putting them on the tree.
"No problem Fuji," Kawamura said making sure to move to different sections of the tree so that Fuji could put them anywhere he wished.
"What do you think you'll do in university Fuji?" Kawamura asked after a few minutes of silence between the two.
"University huh?" Fuji questioned back with a thoughtful tone as he put yet another decoration up. "I might go into photography or maybe go pro in tennis. I'm not sure about it right now. What about you Taka-san?"
"I'm planning on learning from my dad for the sushi business," Kawamura answered with a small smile on his face. "I don't know what else I can do."
"Can you try making up more recipes for wasabi sushi?" Fuji asked happily before jumping off Kawamura's shoulders and landing right next to the taller male.
"I can try," Kawamura answered rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile on his face.
"That would be much appreciated," Fuji said with a smile on his face as he stared up at his partner and gave him a small peck on the cheek in appreciation.
Kawamura continued to blush further while Fuji just chuckled in amusement.
Momo sighed as he continued to put up decorations.
"Is something the matter Momo-kun?" Hanako said as she walked up to him with a box of decorations in her hands.
"Ann is not here," he said with another sigh.
Hanako raised an eyebrow before putting the decorations down and helping him with his portion of the tree. "Sighing this much does not fit you, you know that?" she questioned glancing over at him.
"What do you suggest when my girlfriend isn't here to celebrate the holidays with me?" Momo sighed out once more.
"Where is Ann anyway?" Hanako asked trying to figure out some more information.
"She's at her relatives for the holidays," Momo answered as he put up another ornament.
"Is that so?" Hanako questioned glancing at him. "Then why not call her tomorrow and wish her a Merry Christmas?"
"What will that do?" Momo asked turning to Hanako for an answer.
"Well. You may not be with her in person, but I'm sure that she would like it if you took the trouble to call her while she was at her relatives and wish her a happy holiday. A lot of couples do that when they are separated during holidays. I find it sweet, cute, and adorable at the same time," she explained with a large smile on her face. "I find it cute and loyal to at least wish each other a happy holiday."
Momo just nodded his head slightly in understanding before turning back to the tree. "She didn't give me a number to call though. She gave me her cell phone, but she said she would mainly keep it off during the holiday so she wouldn't be attracted away from her relatives during the holidays."
"You know the family name she is staying with?" Hanako asked giving him another piece of tinsel to hand on the upper portion of the tree.
"Yes. She told me the family name of the people she is staying with," he answered taking the decoration and putting it up.
"Then research it and call her tomorrow," Hanako said with a sigh of exasperation. It was that simple. Just look the number up and call it. How could he not get that? Wait…I can't be one to talk, I usually forget to do that too…
"Oh! That'll work!" Momo yelled with large grin on his face. "Thanks for the advice Hanako!"
"No problem! Now let's finish our side of the tree," Hanako said pulling out a few more decorations with a smile on her face because of how happy Momo looked now. 'Looks like that did the trick,' Hanako said happy that she got Momo to be himself again.
"How far do you think the others are on their side of the tree?" Ryoma said as he placed his hands on his legs after putting up another decoration.
"Not sure," Tezuka answered handing yet another decoration up to Ryoma.
Ryoma was sitting on Tezuka's shoulders from the very beginning of the tree decorating. Ryoma was pretty short, so they both felt that it would be best for Ryoma to get on Tezuka's shoulders for the higher part while Tezuka worked on the lower part of the tree.
"What else should we put on the tree?" Ryoma questioned leaning down a bit to hang over Tezuka and look him in the eye, even though Ryoma's head was upside down at this point.
"How about we go ahead and put the star on the top of the tree. Hanako placed the star in our box of decorations," Tezuka suggested making sure not to let Ryoma fall off his shoulders.
"Sounds good," Ryoma said straightening back up and reaching down for the star ornament.
Passing the decoration up, Tezuka stepped over to the nearby empty couch to allow Ryoma to step down on it. Considering the tallest part of the tree, the tip, was all the way at the ceiling, it seemed as though Ryoma would have to stand on top of Tezuka's shoulders for him to reach it. Heck, anyone would have to step on someone's shoulders in order to reach the tip of that tree. Which once again brings the question of: How the hell did Hanako get the thing into the house in the first place?
Stepping up carefully onto his fiancé's shoulders, Ryoma made sure that he didn't move as Tezuka got a good grip on his feet and walked over to the tree.
Leaning against the tree for support, Ryoma reached up and gently touched the star ornament onto the tip of the tree. Leaning a bit more forward, he was able to fully get the ornament on top of the tree without the ornament possibly falling off.
"Got it," Ryoma said leaning back to examine how sturdy the star was. He seemed to forget that he wasn't on the ground as he leaned back a little too far and loosened the grip that Tezuka had on him. "Ah!" he nearly shrieked as he started falling backward.
Ryoma closed his eyes as he knew he was going to hit the ground either head first or back first and braced himself for any pain.
Instead he felt two arms around his waist pulling him up into a warm chest. Opening his eyes and looking up, he noticed that Tezuka was the one who pulled him up from his fall. Sighing in relief, Ryoma said, "Thanks Mitsu."
"It was no problem Ryo," Tezuka said relieved that he was able to save Ryoma from getting hurt from the fall. "Are you alright?" he asked tightening the grip he had on the freshman in his arms.
"I'm fine since you saved me Mitsu," Ryoma said snuggling into Tezuka's chest lightly in appreciation. Leaning his head up against Tezuka's shoulder, he saw that the star was placed properly on the tree.
"That was close neh Ryo?" Tezuka commented as they sat down on the couch they had used as a step earlier.
"Yeah, pretty close," Ryoma said sitting on Tezuka's lap and snuggling into the taller's chest.
"What do you think Hanako will have us all do now?" Tezuka questioned.
Ryoma opened one eye and stared up at Tezuka. "I thought you were the one planned the party," Ryoma said with a hint of amusement at his love's question.
"I just planned your birthday party," Tezuka answered and explained at the same time. "I never came up with what happened afterward," he added for emphasis.
"Well, I'm just glad that you threw a party for me Mitsu," Ryoma said as he snuggled further into Tezuka's chest.
"It's the least I can do for your birthday Ryo. After all, you did throw a party for me without me asking," Tezuka commented as he placed his head atop of Ryoma's and just hugged Ryoma around the waist bringing him in closer.
"I'm glad," Ryoma said with his eyes closed as he relaxed against the chest he was leaning on.
"About what?"
"That I can spend the Christmas Holiday with you," Ryoma explained opening his eyes to give Tezuka a soft look and then raised one hand to lie on the arms around his waist. "It's nice to spend time with you."
"I'm happy you think so," Tezuka said with a soft smile on his face as he nuzzled his love's black-emerald hair.
Tezuka and Ryoma's question was answered as Hanako brought in a small bag into the room from the hallway.
"Time for a movie everyone!" she yelled out getting everyone's attention.
"What movie are we watching?" Eiji asked excitedly hanging around Oishi's shoulders like usual.
"Yeah, what movie are we watching?" Kawamura asked tilting his head to the side curiously.
"We'll be watching a Christmas movie," Hanako said pulling out two DVD cases, "actually a pair of Christmas movies. It's the 'Home Alone' movie pair," she explained letting them see the two movies she had.
"The 'Home Alone' pair?" Fuji asked opening his eyes just slightly.
"Yup! I love this movie!" Hanako yelled happily popping the DVD into the player for the rest of the group.
"Wait that kid got left alone again?" Eiji said as they finished watching the first movie and moved on to the second.
"Yeah~," Hanako drawled out with a grin on her face. "That is why it is called 'Home Alone 2' after all."
As they continued watching the movie, they couldn't help but commentate.
"Those same two people from the first movie?" Momo said with a raised eyebrow. "They do realize that it is the same kid right?"
"Shh!" Hanako hushed him before turning her attention to the movie once more. "Come on~. Go for it you darn crooks!"
"Why do you want the crooks to try and rob that boy again?" Oishi said worried about Hanako's statement.
"Because I want to see them get their butts whooped another time by that smart little boy haha!" Hanako laughed out as she pointed at the screen at the first prank the boy played on the two men.
"This is very interesting," Fuji said opening his eyes slightly to take it all the details of what was happening in the movie. "Perfect for a few…tricks of my own…" he commented scaring the daylights out of all of the Seigaku regulars in the room.
"I think it was a bad idea for Hanako to bring those two movies now," Eiji said backing up a bit right into Oishi and falling into the vice captain's lap. "Ah! Sorry Oishi!"
"It's fine Eiji," Oishi said with a reassuring smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around the red-head's waist and pulled him in for a hug.
"Which of you are couples now since I last saw you a few months ago?" Hanako asked curiously. It had been two months since she had last seen them after all, and a lot can change even in a short time.
"Well you already know about Tezuka and Ryoma," Oishi commented with a nod.
"Yes, considering I was the first to do a portrait for the both of them together," Hanako said to the amazement of the others.
"You were!" they questioned with loud voices.
Hanako flinched before saying, "Yes, that's how I met them after all! Now then, who else is a couple?"
"Oishi and Eiji got together a few days before Thanksgiving break," Ryoma commented gesturing at the two.
"And I believe that Fuji and Kawamura have gotten together since the day you took our portraits," Inui said getting his notebook again.
"Actually we dated a few weeks before that," Fuji corrected much to Inui's disappointment about how his data was wrong about the tensai…again…
"Oh that has got to hurt," Ryoma commented seeing as the two crooks had gotten hit by another object thanks to the boy. "That boy is good to defend against a crook."
"During Christmas as well," Tezuka commented wrapping his arms around the boy's waist and placing his head on top of the other's head.
Ryoma just gave a small smile before raising both of his hands to lie on top of Tezuka's own hands.
"It's getting late everyone," Hanako said taking a look at the clock. "Almost midnight. How about we continue the party tomorrow?" Hanako suggested with a small smile on her face as she turned to look at everyone.
"Fine with me. We have a few guest rooms," Ryoma said with a shrug at the suggestion. He didn't mind his senpai-tachi staying. It was the holiday season after all…
"What about the room assignments?" Eiji questioned with a curious look on his face.
"Oh that's easy," Hanako said waving him off. "Tezuka, you do the honors of naming who is rooming with whom."
Tezuka just sighed before opening his eyes to see his team staring at him. "Eiji with Oishi, Kawamura with Fuji, Inui with Kaidoh, and Momo will have his own room," he said bluntly trying to avoid talking too much about this.
"What about you buchou?" Momo said oblivious to the obvious answer.
Kaidoh hissed in response before growling off, "Idiot Momoshiri, he's going to room with Echizen."
"What did you say Mamushi?" Momo said with a sneer about to cause another fight with Kaidoh…again…
"Enough!" Hanako yelled surprising the two of them.
Tezuka continued for her and said, "Momo! Kaidoh! Stop or it is 30 laps around the temple."
This seemed to stop the two immediately as they settled down back in their own chairs with only a grumble about the other.
"Well then, for a recap: Eiji with Oishi, Fuji with Kawamura, Inui with Kaidoh, Tezuka with Echizen, Momo is in his own, and I am in my own guest room," Hanako concluded from the discussion. Looking over at Ryoma, she got a nod from him in response and nodded back. "Well then, see you all tomorrow morning then!"
"Wait! What about your own parents?" Oishi asked concerned that she wasn't even spending the holiday with her own family.
"They won't mind that I stay the night. I'll be going back tomorrow for our own Christmas party," Hanako said waving the concern off dismissively. "Good night everyone," she said as she walked to her guest room.
"Looks like it is time to go to sleep then," Tezuka said standing up with a sleepy Ryoma already leaning against him for support. "Let's go everyone," he said before leaving the room with an arm around Ryoma's shoulders to keep the younger steady as they walked up the stairs to Ryoma's room.
As soon as Tezuka lay Ryoma down on the bed and was about to pull up the covers, Ryoma wrapped his arms around Tezuka's neck and pulled the taller into the bed next to him.
"Ryoma?" Tezuka questioned moving his head a bit to see that the first year was still asleep.
"Sleepy…" the boy murmured before nuzzling his fact against the crook of Tezuka's neck as he drew the taller in closer.
Tezuka just gave a soft smile at the boy before leaning up to lay a gentle kiss on Ryoma's forehead before lowering himself onto the bed and pulling the covers over them both to sleep for the night…or what was left of it anyway.
The next morning, everyone woke up to smell something cooking. Making their way downstairs, they saw a few people already inside the kitchen working.
"Like this Kawamura-san?" a female voice questioned as they were working with something.
"What's going on?" Ryoma yawned as he came into the room with Tezuka following behind him.
"Ah! Good morning Echizen-kun!" Hanako greeted turning around to face Ryoma. She was wearing a now dirty apron over his clothes and had a small ball of dough in her hands.
"What are you doing?" Tezuka questioned now as Ryoma was still trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes using the back of his hand.
"Well, I was watching Kawamura make breakfast, and I asked whether he knew how to bake cookies. He said yes, and I asked him to teach me so here I am," Hanako answered with a large smile.
"In the morning though? Isn't it a bit too early for cookies?" Oishi questioned with a confused look on his face.
"Well, I'm going back home after lunch, so I want to make some cookies for my parents and siblings back home," she said with the same smile on her face as she closed her eyes happily thinking of her family.
Eiji walked up to see her cooking. "Smells nice nya~."
"Get away from the batter," Hanako said with a giggle as she pushed Eiji away with one hand accidently coating part of his clothing in cookie batter. "Woops."
"My favorite shirt!" Eiji shrieked a bit before grabbing some of the batter and trying to smear in on Hanako's shirt.
Hanako shrieked herself before ducking out of the way and allowing the batter to be thrown onto Kawamura who had just placed another few pieces of fried fish on the plate.
The plate tipped over before one of the fried fish went flying through the air right into Momo's face who stepped back because of it. His few steps back caused him to step right on Kaidoh's feet who hissed in response before pushing Momo away and growling.
"What was that for Momoshiri?" he growled out with a hiss.
"I didn't mean it!" Momo yelled back taking the fried fish out of his face and throwing it somewhere in the room.
What he didn't notice was that he threw it into the middle of the floor right in someone's walking path.
Inui was walking around with a pitcher of another type of Inui juice as he asked, "Who would like to test my new creat-"
He tripped on the fried fish and stumbled forward which knocked the pitcher out of his hands and straight at someone.
"Uh oh!" that person yelled until the pitcher stumbled into him and the drink poured down his throat. Widening his eyes, he started gagging on the drink and reaching toward the sky in pain attracting the attention of a few people.
"Oishi!" Eiji yelled before placing the batter down on the counter and then rushing over to Oishi's side to help his doubles partner. In the process, he ran past several tables causing them to shake unsteadily as stuff started falling.
"Oh dear!" Kawamura said as he flinched at the items hitting the ground. Thankfully most of them didn't break but the few that did sounded loud enough to match the chaos going on at the moment.
Ryoma was watching with a tick mark growing bigger and bigger on his forehead with closed eyes trying to hide the anger he was trying to subdue. Tezuka was the same except his eyes were twitching in that way they would when he was annoyed. Hanako was just shaking her head with a sigh as she stared at the destruction.
"Enough already!" Hanako yelled out causing the entire crowd to stop as she never got too loud very many times.
Tezuka stepped in like she wanted him to and ordered, "Stop or it will be 100 laps around the temple for this mess!"
"Right buchou!" several of them yelled before stopping what they were doing.
"My dear goodness, that was annoying," Hanako said with a hand over her chest as she took a deep breath. Walking over to the fallen objects, she noticed that most of them were wrapped gifts with the broken ones just being a few old plates and vases that could be easily repaired later.
"Let's just open presents before everything gets even more hectic," Tezuka said as he pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand while keeping the other wrapped around Ryoma's shoulders.
"Alright buchou," several said trying not to anger the buchou any more than he already was.
"I brought something back for everyone from the states," Ryoma said starting off the gift trading.
The gift trading kind of went like this. Everyone would sit in a circle around the table, except for Hanako as she had to go home at the moment, and Ryoma would be the starter. He would hand a present to the person next to him, who would then give a present to the next person, and so on and so forth.
It continued like this until all of the presents were handed out successfully and safely to the receiver without too much damage to the presents except for earlier during the ruckus caused by the near food fight disaster.
"This is so cute Ochibi!" Eiji said as he glomped Ryoma for the gift he had gotten from the boy.
Several comments like this were made from several people in the room as they commented about the gifts they had each gotten from the others, even showing them off if the males felt like it.
"So what are we going to do now?" Eiji asked excitedly jumping up and down after making sure that the presents he had gotten from the others were safely stashed in his guest room to take home after the Christmas holiday.
"How about we just relax and watch the animals outside?" Fuji commented as he brought out a camera from his bag and pointed outside.
"It is pretty nice outside," Kawamura said walking over and sitting on the patio. He blushed when Fuji decided to sit on his lap before turning toward the backyard and snapping pictures of any animals that decided to venture by.
Kaidoh just leaned against the doorframe with Inui behind him as the taller continued to take notes of the layout of Ryoma's temple home. Kaidoh just sighed in content as he stared out into the peaceful sigh before he felt someone gently grip his shoulder before gently making him lean back into a chest. Knowing who the person was, Kaidoh didn't bother struggling.
Oishi was trying to calm Eiji down who was running all around the backyard laughing happily.
"Calm down Eiji!" Oishi yelled out with a small smile on his face as he continued to chase his partner around.
"Come on Oishi! Stop being a worry-wart and have some fun!" Eiji yelled while continuing to run away from his partner in what looked to be a game of tag.
"Eiji!" Oishi yelled back. He sighed as he slightly shrugged his shoulders at the other before continuing to chase his partner around the backyard.
Momo was at the phone after he had researched a few things. He was calling Ann at the moment at her relatives' house.
"Hello? Is Ann Tachibana there?" Momo asked once the other side picked up.
"Yes, she is here. May I ask who is calling?" a female voice on the other side replied.
"I'm Takeshi Momoshiro. I would like to tell her something," Momo said a bit nervously as he tugged slightly at the coiled telephone wire.
"Oh! Hi Momoshiro-kun," the female greeted him with a happy voice. "I'll get her right away," he heard before the female called out, "Ann! Momoshiro is on the phone for you!"
"Coming!" he heard from the other side of the line faintly. "Hello?" that same voice greeted as they took the phone.
"Ann! Hello!" he greeted trying to keep the smile off of his face.
"Hello Momo!" Ann greeted back. He could practically see the smile on her face.
"I just wanted to find out how you were doing," Momo said not saying that he wanted to wish her a happy holiday.
"I'm fine Momo. I've had a lot of fun with my relatives," he heard her say happily. "Is that all you called to say?" he heard her question with a tint of something in her voice.
'Come on. What should I say now?' Momo thought to himself before he remembered Hanako's words.
'I'm sure that she would like it if you took the trouble to call her while she was at her relatives and wish her a happy holiday…I find it sweet, cute, and adorable…'
'Come on Momo…you can do this.'
Gathering his resolve, he said into the phone, "I wanted to wish you a happy holiday Ann-chan."
"Momo…" he heard from the line. He got scared until he heard the next line. "Thank you very much Momo. Happy holidays to you too. I hope to see you soon Momo!" Right before she hung up, Momo could have sworn that she blew a kiss into the phone before the call ended.
Momo put the phone down gently before his lips turned into the biggest smile he could muster at the moment. He felt really happy that he was able to wish his girlfriend a happy birthday. He heard the surprise in her voice as well as a bit of gratitude and happiness. He couldn't wait to see her again.
"Looks like everyone is having a good time," Tezuka said wrapping his arms around Ryoma's waist as they remained in the living room while staring out the door into the peaceful backyard.
"It seems so," Ryoma said leaning his side against Tezuka's chest as he sat in the older's lap. Closing his eyes peacefully, he couldn't help but take in a deep breath of fresh air as the cool wind blew in from the open door.
"This is nice," he commented as he just continued to lie in Tezuka's lap without a care in the world at the moment.
"I must agree," Tezuka said placing his head on top of Ryoma's and nuzzling it gently. Taking in a breath of Ryoma's scent, he said, "I could have sworn that Fuji was planning something."
"Oh? What happened while I was gone?" Ryoma said glancing up at his love to see the slight confusion in the other's eyes.
"While we were planning the Christmas party, there was a look in his eyes that I couldn't really decipher," Tezuka explained as he turned his stare to Fuji who was still taking a few pictures of the outside scenery that he could see from his position in Kawamura's lap.
"I hope it isn't anything too bad. The haunted house on Halloween was bad enough with his trick with Karupin and the haunted house itself," Ryoma commented with a small pout as he remembered how mad he had been thanks to Fuji and Hanako's little prank on him. "Why they had to use Karupin, I'll never know, but I am going to get them for it," he mumbled to himself as he snuggled further into Tezuka's embrace.
Tezuka smiled softly at Ryoma before ruffling the boy's hair lightly and embracing the boy a bit tighter before glancing over to see the look on Fuji's face. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he noticed that Fuji had a sort of gleam to them.
"Everyone!" Fuji yelled out grabbing everyone's attention and drawing it to him. "I believe that there is a Christmas tradition in America right Ryoma? About a certain plant?"
"What plant are you talking about Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma said turning his head a bit to answer. "There are several Christmas plants."
"The one that currently eight of us are under right now," he answered smiling sweetly as he pointed above his head.
Confused, everyone looked up to see what he was talking about only to widen their eyes in shock at the little plant hanging from the ceiling.
"What plant is that?" Momo questioned as he wasn't underneath one at all.
"A mistletoe senpai? Really? Mistletoe?" Ryoma said lightly putting his face in his hand and shaking his head slightly.
Fuji just kept that smile on his face before leaning toward Kawamura and giving him a light kiss on the lips causing the other to blush a full red on his cheeks.
When Fuji pulled away, Kawamura sputtered before asking, "What was that about?"
Ryoma groaned aloud getting everyone's attention before saying, "It's a Christmas tradition that when two people are underneath a mistletoe that they kiss…"
Four pairs of eyes widened before they stared at their partner's.
Oishi and Eiji blushed before looking down at the ground while Inui and Kaidoh just glanced at each other from the corners of their eyes.
"Come on everyone. You heard the tradition. I kissed Kawamura, so you have to kiss your partners now," Fuji said with a sweet smile on his face, his eyes closed, and his attention fixed on the three other pairs underneath the small Christmas plant.
Oishi and Eiji blushed redder before leaning in slightly and giving each other a chaste kiss before pulling away with an even deeper blush on their cheeks.
Inui leaned in toward Kaidoh and gave the other a chaste kiss as well before pulling away with a miniscule amount of pink on his cheeks. He heard hissing coming from the other boy and glanced to also see a tint of pink on his cheeks.
"Last pair," Fuji said turning his attention to Tezuka and Ryoma.
"He so planned this," Ryoma commented under his breath as he turned to face Tezuka. "Not that I mind in the slightest," he whispered so that only Tezuka would hear.
"I agree," Tezuka whispered back before leaning in a bit. "Merry Christmas Ryoma," he said loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Merry Christmas Mitsu…and I'm glad you are here," Ryoma whispered back before locking his lips with the other and completing the Christmas tradition.
'What a happy ending to a happy holiday,' several people thought as once as they were either a part of the kiss or watched the kiss between Tezuka and Ryoma.
"Happy holidays to all…"