Secret Santa

T'was the night before Christmas, and all—yeah, just kidding. But in all honesty, it was the night before Christmas, most commonly referred to as "Christmas Eve." However, there were no chestnuts roasting and no hallways were decked. In fact, one might mistake the day to be as plain and ordinary as any other. But that was how Shizuo and Izaya liked things. No fancy decorations, no bulbous lights; just the company of one another was fine.

Cuddled up on the sofa with cups of cocoa and tea in hand, the two relished in the warmth of each other and the jovial nature of idle chitchat. Their conversations ranged from serious subjects such as recent deaths in the family to much lighter subjects such as the weather. Their current topic of choice was high school.

"Ne, Shizu-chan?" Izaya questioned, rubbing one of his socked feet along the flannel fabric of Shizuo's pajama pants.

"Hmm?" Shizuo hummed, taking a sip of his cocoa.

"Remember in our third year of high school how we had to participate in that 'Secret Santa' event?"

Shizuo's eyebrows knit together pensively, trying to recall the memory. Ah, yes. How could he forget? After all, he had received the greatest Christmas present ever.

"Izaya-kun! Izaya-kun! Who's your Secret Santa recipient?" Shinra piped up curiously.

Rolling his eyes, Izaya peered from over his History book and said, "The substantial basis of Secret Santa is that it's supposed to be a secret, Shinra."

"Well, yeah, a secret to the person that you're going to buy a present for, but not for everyone else! Come on! Tell me who you got! I got Kadota!"

Standing from his desk, Izaya placed his textbook into his school bag and slung it onto his shoulder. "I'm not telling you, so just drop it, okay?"

Izaya had made it to the doorway of his classroom, before Shinra's next words had stopped him cold in his tracks.

"You didn't get Shizuo-kun, did you?"

For the most subtle of moments, Izaya had bit his lip. Turning to look back at Shinra, he wore a crooked smile, one that demeaned the receiver of it considerably. "Yeah right, Shinra," he scoffed, "like I would ever buy a present for that beast." Fitting his hand into his pant pocket as he exited the room, Izaya crumpled up the small piece of paper that lay dormant there before tossing it into a trash can. Like he would need that little piece of scrap to remind him of the most humiliating scenario of his life.

"Do you still have it?" Izaya giggled. Shizuo had pecked the tip of his nose mid-sentence.

"Of course. It's at the top of my closet," Shizuo said. "Do you want me to go get it?"

Without much thought, Izaya nodded. "I think it'll be nice. It'll bring back some memories."

With a noise of agreement, Shizuo kissed the top of Izaya's head and placed his mug down onto the coffee table. Stretching his muscles and bringing himself to a stand, Shizuo set off down the hall to fetch his most precious gift.

'This is stupid,' Izaya told himself. 'It's stupid, he's going to hate it. He'll probably try even harder to kill me, because of it.'

"Alright, class!" their teacher declared. "Did everyone bring in their gifts?"

"Yes," they toned.

"Good, good! Now is the time for you to go and present your gift to your recipient!"

With a large sigh, Izaya was the first to stand from his desk. He just wanted to get this moment over with as quickly as possible. It didn't take him very long to realize, however, that everyone was staring at him. What? Weren't they going to give out their presents, too? Or were they all just so curious as to who would be receiving a present from the ever so mysterious Izaya?

He wasn't the type to get embarrassed, but in these sorts of situations, he could feel his heartbeat in the tips of his fingers. With long strides, Izaya made his way across the classroom. The teacher was about to suggest that everyone else should begin exchanging their presents as well, when she bit her lip in some sort of defensive, sympathetic type of emotion.

The class gasped in unison. It was like something straight out of a manga, only worse. It was real. Not daring to look Shizuo in those predator-like eyes, Izaya extended his arm forward and handed Shizuo his hand-wrapped gift.

"What do you think you're doin', flea?" Shizuo bit out. When Izaya had caught a glimpse of his face, he had to stop himself from bursting out into laughter. Shizuo was blushing madly, straight up to his ears.

"What does it look like I'm doing, stupid? I'm giving you your present, so take it."

"If it's from you, I don't want it."

"Seriously? You're going to pull that? Just take it so that everyone can stop staring at us." Izaya had exaggerated his voice on the latter words that he spoke with the hopes of making his fellow classmates feel guilty for being so nosy.

With slight hesitation, Shizuo grabbed the present and shoved it into his school bag.

"You're not going to open it?"

"You said take it. You never said I had to open it."

Izaya shrugged his shoulders and decided it would be best to just head on back over to his seat. "Fine, then. Suit yourself."

It took a few minutes for the rest of the students to kick into gear and begin handing out their presents to one another. Kyohei, of course, wasn't surprised as to who his secret Santa was.

"I've known all along, but thanks for the present," he chuckled.

"What do you mean you knew?! Did Izaya-kun tell you?" Shinra whined.

"No. I overheard you telling him that it was me, though."

Scratching the back of his head at the obviousness of the situation, Shinra laughed uncomfortably. "That makes sense, I guess."

Izaya's secret Santa had been none other than Kyohei himself. It was kind of bizarre how their small circle of friends were all gifting one another presents, but none of them paid much mind to it.

Handing Izaya the bag, Kyohei said, "It's just a gift card. One of those neutral kind that you can use just about anywhere."

Taking the bag with a nod, Izaya smiled and thanked Kyohei for the present. Although his words of gratitude were spoken up to his friend, his eyes were elsewhere. They were focused on Shizuo. The boy's lip was pouted and his nose was wrinkled as if he had just smelt something really bad. 'Such a sour puss,' Izaya thought amusedly.

"Took you long enough," Izaya said upon Shizuo's reentry.

"Yeah, sorry. It was a little dusty, so I decided to clean it a bit," Shizuo stated. Joining Izaya once more on the couch, he placed the gift that he had received nearly a decade ago onto the coffee table.

"How shocked were you when you opened it?" Izaya asked, a sense of expectation in his eyes.

"Very," Shizuo admitted.

Because really, who would expect to get a cow bell for Christmas?

However, it wasn't the bell that had stood out in his memory the most, but the letter that had come along with it.

Holding the fine brass bell in his hands, Shizuo couldn't remember just when he had decided to open the present that Izaya had given him. He also couldn't remember just how long he had been staring at it. Honestly, it was one of the most random, yet interesting presents that he had ever received.

With inspective eyes, Shizuo lifted the bell and gave it a ring. Nothing. That didn't seem right. Turning the bell to scope out its inside, he was slightly taken aback by the crumpled up piece of paper that had been stuffed within. Pulling it out and pressing it flat, Shizuo placed the bell off to his side and began to read what the note had contained.

Dear Shizu-chan,

Now, I really didn't know what to get you for Christmas. We hate each other, right? Right. But you know, this project has made me have to think about you more than I would like to admit to. Regardless, let me tell you why I chose to get you what I did.

You like milk, right? You're always drinking it at lunch and stuff, so I really just figured that you like milk a lot. Hence the cow part. Cow's make milk.

Also, if you ring the bell, holy crap, is that thing LOUD. But you know, that reminds me of you, too. When you're yelling at me, I swear, the earth moves.

At first, I really debated the idea of writing you a letter to explain why I had gotten you what I did. I thought, 'Just screw it! He won't care!'

But that's when I realized that I do.

- Izaya

Melting into the sensations of one another's touches, Izaya pulled Shizuo in to a quick, yet passionate kiss. "Ne, Shizu-chan," he breathed in parting, "do you think it still rings as loud as it did back then?"

Collecting his breath before giving an answer, Shizuo said, "Why don't we find out?" Shifting over to grab the bell from the coffee table, he took it by the handle and gave it three rapid, though controlled, shakes.

Yup. Still as ear-splitting as ever.

Hello everyone! Chappy here! :D

I hope you are all having a very Merry Christmas! I know I am! (:

Do you guys realize how lucky you are?! Two Christmas-themed fanfics from me with a third on the way? Honestly, just wow. XD

This fanfiction, however, is my own special present to all of you guys! You're amazing and I am so thankful to you for reading my stories. (:

Have a happy, healthy, and safe Christmas, everyone!

And as always, thank you for taking the time to read!

- Chappy