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I'm standing on a bridge, I'm waitin in the dark I thought that you'd be here by now There's nothing but the rain , No footsteps on the ground I'm listening but there's no sound Isn't anyone tryin to find me? Won't somebody come take me home It's a damn cold night Trying to figure out this life Won't you take me by the hand take me somewhere new I don't know who you are but I... I'm with you "Goodnight, Natsumi-chan! See you tomorrow!" "Merry Christmas, Gin-chan!" she leaned close to kiss his cheek and laughed lightly when he blushed. Paul shook his head at the both of them as he closed the door, locking it behind them and hanging up the closed sign. As Ginji turned to leave, Paul grabbed his wrist, dropping a few more yen into it. "But-" Ginji protested, his eyes widening. "Off the books, aside from the tab..." Paul smiled slightly, letting go of his hand. "I know you've been working here behind the scenes so that you'd have the money to-" "Arigatou gozaimasu, Master!" Ginji enthused, throwing an arm around Paul's shoulders lightly before waving and bounding off down the street. "Be careful, Gin-chan!" Natsumi called after him as he looked back. "It's getting icy!" Ginji tried to take Natsumi's advice to heart, but he couldn't help but spend more time gazing at the holiday displays than his feet as he walked along the street towards the apartment he shared with his best friend. The store windows were already starting to frost over in the growing twilight, the warm air from the day's shoppers locked away from the brisk winter evening, lending to the curling spirals of ice across the panes. The streets were nearly deserted by the time he reached the door to their building, and glancing up at the sky, he marveled at the not quite full moon glistening behind a ring of snow clouds. Bounding up the steps, Ginji pulled the key from his pocket, fumbling to get it into the lock. He wasn't surprised to find the place dark, for although he had been busy trying to hide his work at the Honky Tonk from Ban, he wasn't oblivious to his friend's own absences. Ginji knew now, after several years, that Ban wasn't particularly fond of the holidays in the way he himself was. Whether it was old memories or over friendly strangers, the closer it came to Christmas and New Year's, the more withdrawn his friend became. In previous years he'd complained that a lack of money kept them from fully participating in the "season of greed", but this year that excuse was harder to cling to. Ginji mused over that thought as he ran around the apartment, flipping switches here and there to turn on the tree and lights he'd strung from one end of the room to the other. With all the twinkling color, it hardly seemed like the same place they lived in all the rest of the year, and he was quite proud of himself for having only blown a half dozen lights so far this year in his enthusiasm. I'd much rather look at the lights and the snow and the giving... I'd much rather see the side of the holidays where you do things for the people you love... than... than the way Ban-chan sees it... as people being self-centered and greedy... The last switch turned on the music as he bounced into their small kitchen, grinning at the short note Ban had left. "Pizza pizza yum yum pizza~~!" he sang to himself as he followed Ban's instructions for the oven and dropped the frozen pizza inside. It had taken ages to find the perfect present for Ban this year, and even as he wrapped it up and set it underneath the tree beside the other presents - for Kadsu-chan and Juubei, Shido-kun, Madoka, Emishi... - he worried that Ban wouldn't like it, wouldn't understand the significance. But I can hope... isn't that what people do this time of year... hope? Curliing an extra piece of ribbon around in his hands, Ginji twirled in circles around the room, singing loudly with the music, unaware than Ban had even entered the apartment until the music switched off abruptly. Dropping the ribbon, Ginji bounded toward Ban, who ducked away from him and sniffed suspiciously. "Baka!" he exclaimed, hurrying into the kitchen. "Did you forget the pizza?!" "Pizza?" Ginji looked puzzled for a moment, but as he followed Ban into the kitchen and saw the dark curls of smoke emanating from the oven, his face fell. "Waaaah! Ban-chan! I forgot! I was...wrapping and...singing...and... hey, what's in the bag? Is it for me? Nn! It is, it is, isn't it? It's for me!" He reached his hands out, but Ban slung the black bag over his shoulder, muttering as he went into their bedroom. "No, it isn't. Go open the windows so we can air this place out. It smells horrid." Even Ban's irritation could barely dampen Ginji's high spirits, and he yanked open the bedroom window, then the kitchen, then the balcony door in the living room, breathing in the cold air deeply with a satisfied sigh. He was still hanging his head out the door when Ban punched his shoulder, the blackened pizza in one hand. "I'm really sorry, Ban-chan," he started again. "Save it," Ban sighed with a shake of his head. "Let's go see if the real pizza place is still open..." A short car drive later and a cell phone call in route found them departing the soon to be closing pizza place with a fresh pie. Ban deposited the pie onto Ginji's lap with a warning before crossing around to his side of the car. "Do not eat a single bite until we're home." "Hot hot hot hothothotHOT!" Ginji whined, shifting the box from knees to hands to knees. "And whose fault is that?" "Baaan-chan... can we get eggnog? That store on the corner is still open, and I-" "No." He put the keys in the ignition and waited for the next protest. "But!" "No!" "Pleeease?!" Ginji had turned wide brown eyes on his friend and Ban finally sighed, withdrawing his hand from the ignition to ruffle Ginji's hair lightly. "I suppose if I don't, I'll have to listen to you whine all night..." Ginji happily climbed out of the car again, dumping the pizza on the seat and hitting the lock as he closed the door. "Hurry hurry before it closes~!" he sang, running down the street. "Baka! Wait up!" Ban slapped the door shut and took off after him, just barely able to keep the smile from his face. No matter how he felt this time of year, Ginji's cheer was always infectious. By the time he reached the door, Ginji had already been in and out, the largest bottle of egg nog imaginable cradled in his arms. "Egg Nog Get!" he exclaimed and Ban chuckled. "Come on, let's go, before the pizza gets cold..." They walked back to the car, Ginji puffing breaths into the air and laughing softly at every single one that frosted. "Uh oh...Ban-chan...is that..." He pointed down the street where, sure enough, their favorite policeman was writing tickets to illegally parked cars, even on Christmas Eve. "Shimata!" Ban cursed, taking off down the street and reaching into his pocket for the keys. Ginji stood bouncing from one foot to another as Ban slid a hand first into one pocket...then the other... "Baaan-chaaan! What are you doing? Hurry up! He's almost here!!" Ban pulled his hand from his pocket empty handed and rubbed warm fingers against the frosted window, peering into the interior. "Kuso..." he muttered softly. "Baaaaaan-chaaaan!" Ginji continued to wail tragically as the policeman approached, a smirk painted across his face. "Where are the keys?" "Inside the car." Ban's face was expressionless, his voice too calm to betray the anger surging up in him. "Whaat? How did they...did you...?" Ban gave Ginji a moment to put the pieces together and then he started giggling softly, singsonging yet again. ‘Ban-chaaan.... Locked the keeys in the car.... He did, he did, lock them up!" "Stop singing!" Ban growled, straightening up to glare at Ginji. "This is your fault!" "Eh?" Ginji looked truly puzzled and Ban growled softly again. "If you weren't so whiny about the egg nog, I wouldn't have... no, better yet - if you weren't so completely useless, the pizza wouldn't have been burned in the first place and we wouldn't be here!" Ginji's expression was slightly hurt at this remark, but he shook his head, setting the eggnog down on the ground. "We'll... find a way to get inside..." he started. "Not before the policeman gets here and writes us another ticket!" he exclaimed, gesturing to the man who was now only two cars away. "We'll find a way..." Ginji continued to rally until Ban held up a hand to silence him, already trying to work the fingers of his other hand between the window and the frame of the roof, not wanting to break the window and damage his precious car. "Stop. There's no way you can be of any use to me whatsoever right now." Ban looked up just in time to see Ginji's face fall completely, but he was too angry to apologize, and after a moment, Ginji turned away, running off down the street towards the policeman. Ban didn't think there was anything that could be said to sway the policeman from his ticket writing spree, but apparently Ginji had come up with something, for a moment the later the two went racing in the opposite direction around the corner. Sighing as it became obvious his hand was not going to fit into the small space, Ban looked around. A mischievous glint came into his eyes as he spotted the no parking sign, and he sauntered over, yanking it from the ground with one sharp tug. Bending the end of the metal into a slight hook, he wedged the pole between the window and the frame, winching as it scratched the paint slightly. In another minute, he had caught the lock with the hook and the door was open. Tossing the poll down in disgust, he leaned against the car and waited... And waited... After a half hour had passed, he frowned, opening the door of the car and wondering if Ginji had simply walked home after the escapade. Putting the car into drive, he sped back to their apartment, sighing at the now cold pizza sitting forgotten on the passenger seat. The apartment was still brightly lit when he unlocked the door, but after a quick walk he realized that Ginji was nowhere to be found. He dropped the cold pizza on the kitchen counter and sat down on the couch, guilt beginning to creep up in him. Here it is, Christmas Eve, one of Ginji's favorite days... He couldn't quite bring himself to share Ginji's opinions on the holidays, but that didn't mean he wanted to ruin his fun either. Sure, Ginji was careless and forgetful about ordinary everyday things, but Ban supposed he really could have been a little kinder in his choice of words, especially tonight. Another half hour later he him even more worried and guilty, and although he hated to do it, he yanked his cell phone out of his pocket. "Thread Spool...? Yeah, it's Ban - listen, have you seen Ginji? We...uh... lost track of each other about an hour ago..." Kadsuki's reply was in the negative, but he said he'd let Ginji know to check in if they did see each other, and that he and Juubei would be by sometime between lunch and dinner tomorrow. "Yeah...see you then..." Ban held the silent phone in his hand again and frowned. No, he wasn't quite desperate enough to call Shido...yet. ******* If there was one thing Ginji and Raitei had in common, it was a simply magnetic presence. No matter the lame excuse, the policeman had not stood a chance when Ginji turned those worried eyes and wringing hands in his direction. Of course, when the supposed graffiti-writing Christmas decoration destroyer was nowhere to be found, the winsome smile was enough apology for the policeman, forced to crack his own smile, shake his head and walk away. Ginji didn't know why he didn't head back to the car immediately. Surely Ban's words were only spoken out of frustration with the situation, and surely Ginji knew better than to think Ban didn't need him... Didn't he? But the truth was that Ban had been distant the past few weeks, and whether or not Ginji wanted to blame it on the holidays, he still felt suddenly insecure, the way he remembered feeling years ago. His wandering brought him to a familiar place, a small bridge with a clear view of the darkened peaks of Mugenjou. He hadn't really known what Christmas was then... hadn't ever celebrated New Year, hardly remembered his own birthday. Any day when no one was killed was a day to be grateful, and once Ginji had left that world behind, every day out under the wide skies was a day to celebrate. It seemed only natural to find every excuse to do so... not that Ginji ever really needed an excuse to shower his friends with hugs, smiles and kind words. Closing his eyes, his hands resting on the cold metal of the railing, he let himself get lost. There was one year, the very last year he'd spent in Mugenjou, when the Volts were strong and the danger was not so bad... He remembered MakubeX bringing him a discarded strand of lights, a piece of trash that had somehow found its way inside. He'd taken those lights between his hands, to the delight of all the children, and made them burn bright between his palms. At their looks of wonder, he had smiled, and for just a moment, there had been happiness. Pure, true happiness from that light in the dark. That was why Ginji loved Christmas. It wasn't the presents, it wasn't the food, it wasn't the music... It was walking around the city and seeing hundreds of thousands of tiny twinkling lights. It was seeing everyone, just for a moment in the year, stop and believe, hope, dream... It was a sign of people reaching out to each other. It was something magical... He would be lying if he tried to pretend that there wasn't a part of him that missed those days. They were all his precious friends - MakubeX, Sakura, Emishi, Juubei, Kadsuki, Shido...and plenty of people who were no longer here at all... and that was a time when they had all been together. Now here, in the outside world, they had drifted, because that was what most people seemed to do. It was always at night, and usually when he was alone that he found himself missing them most. ******* A few minutes after his phone call to Kadsuki, Ban realized that sitting around the apartment would only make him feel more frustrated, and so he shoved the keys into his pocket and got up to leave. He paused, his hand moving to the lights, but then he hesitated and left them burning. It was Christmas Eve, after all... The streets were nearly deserted as he walked along, checking the usual spots - the Honky Tonk was closed, the park benches empty, the playground silent. He had been hoping to find Ginji in one of those places, because the last place he wandered to was always the one that left him the gloomiest. Sure enough, he found Ginji bent over the railing of the bridge, eyes closed, expression tight, and he felt something deep within him turn painfully. "Ginji..." he called out softly. Ginji's head snapped up at the sound of his name and he stepped back from the railing to lift a hand in greeting. "Ginji..." Ban started again once they were facing each other. All kinds of things filled his head... Apologies to lectures to declarations of sentiment, and he ignored them all. "...Let's go home." "Ban-chan, I'm sorry I -" he started as Ban turned to leave. Ban held up a hand to silence him and shook his head. "I didn't mean it." "I know." It was as close to an apology as he could come right now, but Ginji smiled, reaching out to take the hand Ban had held up, squeezing it lightly. Normally he would never walk down a street hand in hand with anyone , but there was no one around. And it was Christmas Eve. And he felt bad for hurting Ginji. His mind fed him excuse after excuse for letting Ginji keep his hand as they walked along, but could find none for the gentle squeeze he offered back. Back at the apartment, Ban threw the pizza in the oven to warm it up, and Ginji sat silently at the table, looking alternately sad or lost in thought. It was a far cry from his earlier exuberance, and as they ate in silence, Ban mentally kicked himself again and again. There was little that cracked him easier than Ginji's wonder and enthusiasm for the smallest things, and he felt as if he had somehow crushed that with his earlier words. He had to find a way to snap him out of it. After dinner, Ginji had wandered out to the balcony, sitting down on the stone to gaze out at the city and all its tiny lights. When he says something like that... like I'm a baka... or that I'm useless... he's joking around. But tonight... that didn't seem like a joke. And it made me wonder, made me wonder if I'm doing anything with this life. Shido has Madoka now, he takes care of her house and goes to her concerts and I bet someday they'll get married... And Kadsu-chan was talking about building a house with Juubei, way up in the mountains somewhere...now that things have changed, I bet he would leave Mugenjou too. And then Natsumi is going off to college soon and Emishi's talking about going along with her to that other city and trying to really be a joker, up on the stage and all... "Ho ho ho!" Ginji looked up with a start to see a white-gloved hand dangling a set of jingle bells out the balcony door and called in a hesitant and puzzled voice. "B...b...ban-chan?" Poking his head out the door, his voice low and booming, Ban shook his head. "Do I look like the incredible powerful Mido Ban-sama to you? I'm Santa Claus, of course! Meerrrry Christmas!" Ginji gaped at the dangling bell, his eyes drifting up the red arm to find a white beard and an equally red hat. Turning so that he was on his hands and knees, he crawled towards the door with incredulous disbelief. "But...but... I thought... I thought that... you weren't real?!" His voice had elevated to a squeak by the last word, wonder starting to return to his eyes. Ban smacked him lightly on the head. "Does this feel real?" Still stunned, Ginji sat back and yelped. "Y-y-yes, Santa Claus!" he chirped, eyes wide and hands clasped in front of him, lost for a moment in the steamy frost from his own breath. Not sure if Ginji was being serious or not, Ban nearly laughed from behind the beard. "So, Gin-chan - I hear you've been a good boy this year. From most accounts. There's one person who seems to think you're a very BAD boy... but in a really GOOD way, so I guess that's all right too..." Momentarily puzzled by this remark, Ginji stopped to think for a moment before replying. "Well, I... I *try* to be good... be nice to my friends and... not eat the last slice of pizza... help Ban-chan retrieve things... umm, Santa... are you sure you're not really my Ban-chan?" He leaned forward, peering carefully at the space between the beard and the brim of the brightly colored hat. Turning his face to avoid meeting Ginji's eyes and giving himself away, Ban gave him a deep chuckle. "I'm just coming here in his place, that's all. He has some presents he'd like you to have." "PRESENTS?! For...ME?!" Ban squawked and stepped back as Ginji nearly knocked him over, and held the first of the small packages over his head to avoid it being crushed. "Hey, calm down, young man - come inside, have a seat, and we'll see what he's gotten you..." Ginji bounced to his feet, nearly toppling Ban again in his hurry. "Oh Santa," he gushed. "Ban-chan will want to meet you! Do you want some cookies? Milk? I think we even have leftover pizza!" Glaring slightly in a most un-Santa-like manner, Ban continued to keep the package out of the way. "I'm fine, and I've already met him - sit the hell down already so I can give you this present!" Ginji stopped in mid-step, looking back at Ban in surprise. "S-santa...?" He came cautiously back towards him, peering once again, but sat down on the floor beside the tree without further protest. "Do you know where Ban-chan went then?" Ban began to get the feeling that Ginji was quite possibly serious, and squinted at him in disbelief. "He... had a magical transformation. But don't worry, he'll be back soon enough..." Leaning his elbows on his knees expectantly, Ginji nodded. "Oh good... I did want to give him his present before all the people came tomorrow...and I hoped we would have hot chocolate before bed, too." This remark produces a smile from Ban, more soft than he intended, but thankfully hidden behind the beard. "...So you're not all pissed off at him for being a jerk to you?" Ginji shook his head immediately, but then paused for a moment to consider it more carefully. "Santa... please don't give Ban-chan any coal for Christmas. I know sometimes he doesn't always say the right thing, but... but... he's a good person, really, he is... He always takes care of me, and even though he doesn't really say it, I'm sure he cares... I... I really don't know what I'd do without him." He paused again, shaking his head. "In fact, I don't even want a present unless I know you've got one for him too. It wouldn't be right." Unable to help himself, Ban cracked up at the mention of coal for Christmas. "Yeah, well..." he muttered, returning to his normal voice as he started to sit down next to Ginji, "you're getting your present regardless, because that's what he wants, you know." "No! Not unless you have one for him too... or I'll give him mine and say it's from you!" Ginji crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly. Pulling the fake beard down around his neck, Ban laughed again. "Baka... Well, if that's the way you want to play it, you can have a magical transformation into Santa yourself," He grinned, taking off the hat on his head and plopping it down on Ginji's head. Ginji started to laugh as well, throwing his arms around Ban happily. "Oh, Ban-chan! I thought it was really you!" Hugging him back with one arm, the present still held in the other, Ban grinned. "You're nuts. But hey, you want your present or not?" "As long as I get to give you mine too..." "You really got me something, huh...?" Ginji blushed slightly, reaching behind him to scoop a rather large and oddly shaped present into his arms. The present was covered in so many curled ribbons and fluffy bows that the wrapping paper was barely visible and Ginji hugged it to his chest proudly. "It took me forever to save all the yen, but it's just perfect, it is... I really hope you won't be mad at me..." Ban blinked. "Mad at you? Why would I be?" Looking down at the present, Ginji sighed softly. "Well... it cost a lot of yen.... more yen than I have ever had in my hands before!" "...Heh. I guess I should be mad, but I spent an awful lot on one of your presents too..." He thought about it for a minute, puzzled as to what on earth Ginji could have gotten him, since he usually went out of his way to avoid being interested in expensive things. "You first, please please, Ban-chan?" Ginji grinned and pushed the present into his hands. Ban shook his head. "Not first..." He dropped the small package into Ginji's hands. "I've got two things for you... here's the first. We can open 'em together, if you want..." Ginji smiled slightly and nodded, an anxious expression crossing his face. "There's...there's a second present, inside your first..." "Heh, okay... so should we open them together?" Ban looked down at the oddly shaped gift in his hands. "Or should I get your other one first, so we can just do this all at once?" "Whatever you want, Ban-chan!" Ginji bounced in excitement. "Okay then - let's do these for now, and then I'll get the other one." Poised to rip off the paper, Ginji nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, okay! Should we count to three?" Ban eyed all the ribbons wrapped around his gift, as opposed to the fairly neatly wrapped gift he'd given Ginji. "Uh... I think you'd beat me to opening yours even if we did." "You don't like it...?" Ginji pouted. "I tried to make it pretty..." "It's plenty pretty - just going to be harder to open. So I'll get started now, and you get started on yours." Ginji did not need to wait for a second prompt and he tore the paper off in delight, holding up a bunch of Christmas lights twined in a circle. "Yay! Christmas lights! I love Christmas lights! But...Ban-chan... weren't you just complaining before that we had too many?" Ban had only managed to unravel about half the ribbons on his present, as he'd suspected, but he stopped and reached over. "Heh, for decorating around here, maybe... these are for decorating YOU. Here, put it over your wrist, like this..." Holding out his hand to let Ban slip the lights around his wrist, Ginji then blinked several times as they lit up. "Wow! I didn't even think...." "What... to decorate yourself for the holidays?" Ban smirked. Ginji laughed softly, looking up at Ban happily. "I don't know why it never occurred to me..." Ban shrugged, laughing a little himself, and started to unravel more ribbons. "You want me to finish this first, or get your other present now?" Clutching the hand with the lights closer to him, Ginji shook his head. "No-no...you go ahead..." Ban paused, smiling at Ginji and the lights for a moment longer before looking back down at the package in his lap, pulling the lengths of ribbon off carefully until he'd gotten to the paper underneath. Pulling it back until he could see the surface, he paused, recognizing the shape that he couldn't quite make out before. "Ban-chan...?" Ginji mumbled softly, his eyes anxiously scanning Ban's face. The half-wrapped present in Ban's hands still held his attention, but he glanced up at Ginji briefly before beginning to pull the rest of the paper off carefully. "...This is some kind of joke, right?" Ginji 's face fell with that remark and he looked down at the floor, uncertain all over again, just when he'd thought things were okay. "No... it's... I... was it a bad idea...?" Clearing the rest of the paper away, Ban laughed softly, unable to believe it as he opened the case. "...Ginji..." Ginji looked up again hopefully at the laugh. "Ban-chan...?" Ban looked down at the instrument, torn, and finally decided to set it aside for a second, grabbing Ginji to wrap an arm around his neck and noogie him. "Are you nuts? Where'd you get the money for something like that?" Laughing softly, Ginji curled one arm around Ban affectionately. "I... you really want to know?" "Yeah... how'd you do it?" Ban nodded, looking over at the case again in disbelief. Ginji blushed slightly, cuddling up against Ban. "Remember I said Natsumi-chan was giving me cooking lessons? Well... that wasn't all I was doing at the Honky Tonk..." "You were working food service?" Ban winced. "Oh I liked washing the dishes, and sometimes I'd sing for people, it made Natsumi-chan laugh, but Master, I don't know... and I learned to make cake!" Ban dared to grin. "Well, that's definitely a plus... but really, for this..." "Worth it if it makes you happy... does it?" Ginji snuggled up to him again with a soft smile. Ban nodded, and reached a hand up to turn Ginji's face to his, kissing him softly. Ginji sighed happily, kissing Ban back lingeringly. "Ban-chan... Merry almost-Christmas..." he whispered. "Oh yeah... it's not even really Christmas yet, is it?" Ban nodded slightly as he drew back with a chuckle. "Maybe I should make you wait to open the last one..." "Ban-chan, there's another present inside the case..." "Oh... heh, okay, let's see..." Pointing, Ginji grinned. "It was like they put a slot there just for me." Ban picked up the instrument, setting it in his lap with a look of wonder no one but Ginji ever got to see on his face. He shook his head, though, remembering what he was looking for, and reached over to get the smaller wrapped package. "...Heh. Use enough tape?" Ginji clasped his hands together and laughed again. "It's small... I didn't want it to fall out..." Grinning, Ban started to unwrap it, after a moment setting the violin back in the case to avoid the bombardment of scraps of tape and paper as he carefully peeled the layers away. Finally, he cocked his head slightly, looking at the pendant in his palm and having absolutely no idea what to say. Ginji buried his face in his hands, peeking at Ban between his fingers. "Do you hate it...? I wasn't sure if you would think it was silly..." "...I just... How do you do this stuff?" Ban replied, shaking his head. The puzzled expression on Ginji's face was genuine when he answered. "Natsumi-chan helped me find this place and Hevn knew this guy there and they made them for me...oh...uh...yes, that's right...there's two..." Ban smirked at Ginji. "So why'd you go and wrap up your own present? Think it would be like an extra surprise?" "Uh...well... I was afraid I'd lose it otherwise." Ginji blushed slightly. Taking one of the two pendants and lifting it up to him, Ban chuckled. "Yeah, if you lose it, what am I gonna do with mine, huh? It's a matched set... just like us." Ginji grinned, still trying to decide if Ban really liked it or was just humoring him. "You don't... think it's silly?" "It's never something I'd have thought of... but it still has meaning." Reaching out to take one into his hand, touching it delicately with one finger, the snake curled around the lighting bolt, Ginji spoke as if he was merely thinking out loud. "It's...us... so intertwined... that nothing can separate..." "Heh, just cause I didn't say what meaning it had, doesn't mean I don't get it." Ban reached up to ruffle Ginji's hair, and slipped one of the pendants over his head. "Thanks..." Sliding a little closer to Ban, Ginji took the one in his hand and mirrored Ban's gesture to slip it over the other's head. "I'm just so glad you're happy...I thought and thought and thought before I decided what to do." Ban looked back down at the violin, and shakes his head. "You're really crazy, you know that? But I guess it makes sense..." Tugging the Santa hat down on his head a little more, mashing blond bangs down into his eyes, Ginji laughed. "Makes sense? What do you mean?" "I'm just as crazy, I guess..." Ban grinned as he reached to retrieve the other package he'd wrapped. Ginji was even more puzzled, but held out his hands in anticipation. "I get another present?!" Ban set it into his hands slowly and carefully. "And take your time and be careful unwrapping this one - it's breakable." Ginji unwrapped it slowly until the wooden weight sat in his hands, the lights of the Christmas tree reflecting in the glass dome. "Oh, Ban-chan...it's... it's incredible... it's...our home, and even with Mugenjou in the middle..." "That's not all though... I guess in a way, you could say you're looking at the wrapping for your last present." He paused as a wary look crossed his face. "And don't you go thinking it's under the water or something and smashing it open to look - that was expensive!" Ginji peered into the globe, ever puzzled. "But...Ban-chan... if it's not inside, then where is it?" Ban sat down next to him again, indicating a little latch on the base. "Try looking in there..." Carefully Ginji turned the snow globe upside down, resting it in his lap, and opened the base, where a small envelope was. Pulling it out just as carefully, he slipped out the paper in between, turning to look at Ban in alarm. "You're sending me away?!" Ban pretended to glare at him. "Yeah - and I'm sending me away too." "These...these are plane tickets, right?" Ginji asked in further confusion. "But...but... there's only going to, and no coming back?" Trying not to look sheepish, Ban nodded. "Yeah, I didn't have enough for the round trip. But I figure... where we're going, they've never seen anything like the Get Backers - we'll be able to raise the money to come home any old time." Having never seen plane tickets before, Ginji peered at them, trying to read and understand the information. "So...umm...where are we going? And...and when?" Ban laughed too as he pointed to a certain place on the tickets. "Two days from now... the day after Christmas, we're gonna take off from the airport here, and fly all the way to New York City, in America." Ginji dropped the tickets in complete shock, all traces of amusement gone from his face. He turned to Ban, lifting a shaking hand to touch his shoulder, and when he did speak, it was a whisper. "........seriously?" "Yeah... what is it, you're not afraid of airplanes, are you?" Still a bit stunned, Ginji shook his head, having no idea how to answer this. "I... I don't know. I really don't." The truth was, he'd never even ridden in a car until he met Ban, never been outside the city limits that he could remember until he'd met Ban... "So why so serious?" Ban peered at him. Ginji cracked the barest hint of a smile, completely overwhelmed. "I... I've never been anywhere, Ban-chan... I've always wanted... wanted to see what was out there-" He stopped short as another thought hit him. "We can see the Venus de Milo?!" Ban clocked him, but lightly. "That's one reason we're going to New York - so you can get it through your head that's the STATUE OF LIBERTY." Laughing brightly as the news finally seeps in, he throws his arms around Ban, nearly knocking him over. "We're going to the Big Orange!" Giving up on trying to correct him, Ban just hugged him back, covering the gesture somewhat by tackling him to the ground. "Get Backers International! Sounds pretty good, huh?" Ginji giggled in delight, tangling his hands in Ban's hair as the Santa hat falls backwards off of his own head. "It sounds perfect, Ban-chan, just perfect..." Ban smirked, having pinned Ginji to the ground pretty well, but it softened a little after a moment. "...So Merry Christmas, Ginji..." Smiling back with shining eyes, Ginji leaned up to kiss Ban softly. "Santa-Ban-chan... Merry Christmas..." Ban kissed him gently for a moment, then backed off. "So, Christmas Eve... sooner you go to bed, sooner we'll wake up and it'll be Christmas. We've gotta get up pretty early tomorrow anyway, y'know..." Ginji pouted, but only a little. "Yes... I guess we can't just forget about our friends and the turkey and....and...that red icky stuff? But...Ban-chan... will you keep me warm tonight? The weather said it might snow more..." Frowning slightly at Ginji's dismissal of the "red icky stuff", which was one of his personal favorites, Ban nodded. "We're gonna be inside, no snow in here..." "Ban-chan... you don't want... to hold me?" Ginji suddenly looks wounded, gazing up at Ban. It's a tentative question, despite the presents, and probably the result of paranoia from earlier events that night. Ban smirked, and held out his hand to Ginji as he got up. "Hold you? Sounds like a good idea, but not around these gifts and everything." He glanced back over at the violin, still amazed. "Sheesh... you're really something." Ginji smiled, squeezing Ban's hand. "You can play for me tomorrow... maybe even teach me sometime too..." He punctuates this with a large yawn, giving away how tired he actually is. "Yeah, tomorrow... you can get the place cleaned up, and I'll play for you. How's that sound?" Ginji nodded and grinned, starting to lead Ban towards their room. "It sounds just right..." Upon reaching the darkened space, he pulled off his jeans and sweater, slipping into the familiar cow pajamas, and Ban tried to keep the delighted smirk off of his face as they tumbled into their bed. Ginji curled into Ban's arms, resting his head in his favorite place, tucked just underneath Ban's chin, one arm and one leg draped over and tangled with his beloved's. Ban reached with one finger to tilt Ginji's face to his, landing one last whispery kiss against his lips as strains of late night carolers drifted in through the frosted window. For a long moment, Ban thought he would get away with not revealing to Ginji where he'd gotten the money for the tickets from... "Ban-chan..." Ginji murmured, already half asleep. "Where did you get that Santa suit from?" Hark, how the bells, sweet, silver bells, all seem to say, throw cares away Christmas is here, bringing good cheer, to young and old, meek and the bold Ding-dong Ding-dong, that is their song, with joyful ring, all caroling Merry Merry Merry Christmas On, On they send, on without end, their joyful tone, to every home ...to be continued...
Kit | L
©1998-08 Tamzen Marie Baker |