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Chiquitita yawned, sitting up slowly in the dark of the guest bedroom of the Ayase household where all the boys were sleeping.
His dad had okayed him staying with their human friends on the eve of what the kids at school called "Christmas", a fun celebration where loved ones gathered, exchanged gifts and had good food together. Dad would come back in the morning to enjoy breakfast with everyone, too! He just had to watch over some of the baby cows that were recently born, since it was so cold out during Winter.
Speaking of those adorable, baby life-savers, the small alien thought to himself, 'I should probably go get some more milk.'
He shimmied out of his bedroll, a futon (he loved practicing his Japanese vocabulary!), and grunted as he stood up, doing his best not to trip over. Enjoji and Takakura were both super quiet, like they weren't even there, while Sakata snored loud enough for all of them combined, each of them probably deep in their dreams. Chiquitita didn't want to interrupt and wake the boys, so he carefully crept outside of the room.
Tiptoeing quietly down the stairs, he made his way to the kitchen, but not before pausing to take another good look at the Ayase's Christmas Tree in all its glowing glory, along with the other delightful decorations spread throughout the home. It was such a beautiful holiday, that was for sure. Even though it was a tradition for many of the countries on Earth, even the few aliens in this found family felt the comfort and love the atmosphere brought.
He hummed one of the holiday tunes he vaguely remembered from class as he served himself a cup of the raw milk stored inside the fridge for him. He couldn't remember the words, but the feeling was still there. He finished busying himself and decided to sit and drink in the living room to enjoy the pretty lights some-!!
He bumped right into a tall, yawning person in the unlit hallway, spilling his milk a bit. "Ah! I'm sorry-!"
Piercing, purple eyes stared down at him with their own illumination, a mildly curious grunt being Evil Eye's only response.
Oh… it had been Enjoji that he'd bumped into… and accidentally brought out the terrifying yokai child that possessed him because of splashing a little bit of the cold milk. "A-ah… um…" Chiquitita gaped up at the towering figure in front of him, fully aware of how dangerous the Evil Eye could be-
"Aaah… that's right. You're that punchy guy's progeny." Evil Eye tilted his and Enjoji's head, rubbing his chin, "Jiji is saying that it's okay. I'm not mad; I'm going to stay on my best behavior." He let out a frustrated huff, quoting the goofy owner of the body, "'Because if you're naughty, you won't get gifts from Santa.' I don't get it, but I want gifts, so I won't murder you or anyone… maybe Takakura if he says we're allowed to fight, since breaking promises is naughty."
"… right." Chiquitita let out a sigh of relief, having forgotten how mellowed out the childish yokai had become due to the constant love and care the humans showed him. Apparently, Evil Eye even talked to Jiji both transformed and not. It was still so strange, and yet… it was just another bizarre addition to this strange family.
Evil Eye looked past him to the kitchen, before shifting his eyes back onto Chiquitita, "Jiji is asking if you would like a cookie? I think I'll help myself to some as well. Seiko makes the best food."
"Ah-! Are we allowed to, deez?" Evil Eye must've really been serious about getting those gifts, the small alien realized, judging by how patient the destructive yokai was oddly being.
"I don't ca-" The yokai abruptly paused, begrudgingly course-correcting as he muttered, "Jiji said it's alright, especially since I apparently scared you. Besides, it's just one cookie- wait, only one!?" Evil Eye crossed their arms, snapping at their unheard friend, "Stingy!! We should be allowed two cookies, at least! We're more than twice his size!"
Chiquitita stared blankly up at the behemoth, 'The fact that I know he's talking about me is just weird, deez… hm, then again, he is just a kid like me, deez. I guess it makes sense.'
"Fine. One cookie… but I get to be Player 1 next time we play Mario!!" Seeing as how he gained a wicked, sharp-toothed grin, Enjoji must've agreed to those terms.
Chiquitita gave up trying to understand those two. He just wanted to get some milk… but at least the late night cookie was a welcome treat. 'Enjoji sure is nice. I guess it's rubbing off on the Evil Eye, too.'
The two (and a half? three? Chiquitita didn't bother trying to figure that one out) boys helped themselves to the Christmas sugar cookies Seiko had made earlier that evening, complete with adorable icing designs, obediently adhering to the "one each" rule set by Enjoji. Even Evil Eye took care to eat his tree shaped cookie in three bites to enjoy it a bit longer, rather than shoving it whole into his mouth like he probably would have done otherwise.
"Mm! These Christmas cookies sure are good, deez!" Chiquitita washed down the crumbs with a good swig of his milk (hm! That tasted really good together!), smiling up at the appeased spirit.
"Yeah!" His purple eyes gleamed brighter than usual, holding his fists up slightly, but thankfully not out of aggression, rather just enthusiasm, "They go great with ice cream, too! I love the cookies and cream flavor, and I saw that there's a special version out now! I want to try it so bad!"
The little alien chuckled, "Well, maybe if we stay good, Enjoji and the others will take us to go try it! It sounds really good, deez!"
The yokai pouted a little, "Being good is so tiresome, though… but… okay, I'll do it if I get to try the Christmas Crumble Swirl."
"That's the spirit, deez!" He felt comfortable enough to pat the yokai's thigh, since he was too short compared to the giant that was Enjoji Jin to reach his arm, "Let's get back to the room so that we don't get in trouble for staying up so late-?"
Both he and Evil Eye looked over to the front door, when a lock clicking open was heard.
Chiquitita squeaked and pulled Evil Eye's hand, the both of them hiding behind the corner (much to the yokai's confusion). After all, someone coming into the house?? At this hour?? Who on Earth could it have been??
The door slid open, a familiar figure sweeping her way inside without turning on the light. Ayase Momo's shape was illuminated only by the light from the Christmas Tree, but Chiquitita could tell she was wearing a red dress with white and fluffy trimming around the collar, cuffs and hem, and a broad black belt with a silver buckle around her waist. The look was made complete with a Santa hat on her head and earrings that looked like ornaments.
"Phew!" she whispered under her breath, rubbing her arms to warm them up, "It was so cold!"
"Toldja, you should've worn some leggings, or something warmer in general." Another voice, much lower and quieter than hers, mumbled from behind her.
"Ugh! But that wouldn't work! I'm your Mrs Claus, Santa."
She started prattling on about something regarding her belief in fashion above all else, but Chiquitita went wide eyed over one key detail: 'Santa…?'
Evil Eye's jaw dropped as well, the two boys definitely on the same wavelength. Was Ayase Momo… talking to Santa Claus?
Whispering as quietly as possible, Chiquitita tugged Enjoji's shirt hem, "Hey, deez! Do you really think it's…?"
Evil Eye only blinked owlishly, clearly accepting that he was incapable of whispering, since he remained otherwise silent.
They agreed together without anything needing be said: they both leaned around the corner to peek together.
Sure enough, a tall figure now stood within the little genkan space at the entrance of the home, wearing a long red coat that was similar to Ayase's dress… Santa's coat. He had a matching hat, flowing white hair, and a now empty velvet sack that surely had carried presents just earlier. He had a particular glow to him, too, further cementing the idea of him being a magical being.
… it really was Santa.
Ayase continued to gripe under her breath, “Why does that skank have to live so far away? I get it, she wanted to have Christmas breakfast with her old man, and I appreciate the sentiment, but it's such a pain in the ass to reach her! And Zuma’s gang members are all over the place! Ugh, I'm glad we told Officer Bega beforehand that we were coming; freaked me out when he opened the door before I even got the chance to knock!”
“Mmhm, mmhm,” Santa nodded his head, making the tail of his hat sway a little, “That spooked me real good-?”
“Ugh, and don't even get me started on how weird it was to see Nurse Queen Sensei's car out in front of Manjiro’s apartment. I do not want to know what was going on with-?” She tilted her head, “Hey? What's up with you?”
He apparently was looking up at something overhead, because he spoke to Ayase, who was looking at him with a strange emotion spilling from her eyes, almost dreamily. "Ah… not me, Momo-chan, it's ‘what's up there’,” He pointed in the door’s direction, “Mistletoe, babe."
Ayase made the loudest noise she had made yet, letting out a startled squeak when sure enough, she looked up and saw the sprig of milky white berries and thin leaves hanging right above them in the entryway. "Ah-! That wasn't there before we- damn ol' bag! She must've put it there right after we- she knew we were gonna go out!!" She stomped her foot down in the little mudroom area, whining as quietly as she could manage, "That's so dumb!! We weren't doing anything weird! We just went out to deliver gifts to our other friends! Why would she…”
Santa rested a hand on her shoulder, chuckling softly under his breath, “It's not that bad, Momo-chan.”
“It is bad!!” She grumbled. “If we don't kiss, then that'll invoke holiday bad luck!! Like, really bad luck!!”
“… isn't that just a myth?”
Her face darkened into a shade of red that matched their clothes, muttering something too quietly for the boys to hear, but clearly it got through to Santa, because he choked a little.
“A-ah… fair enough.” He cleared his throat, standing up straighter, “Well, if it help defends you from bad luck, curses and jinxes, I am more than willing to help you~” He took a bold step closer to her, purring something along the lines of love you that made her look ready to melt like snow in warm weather.
“… fine,” She reached up to his face-! He let out a slight yelp and shrunk down a little when she tickled somewhere along his neck, his glow vanishing as he apparently lost focus, before Ayase reached up to hold both sides of his face, “I guess there's no other way, huh? Gotta keep traditions?”
He shrugged, murmuring to her in a deadpan tone, “Ho-ho-ho…”
Holy moly… he really was Santa.
Chiquitita and Evil Eye both struggled to stay quiet.
Ayase Momo was kissing Santa Claus.
The two of them were tilting their heads underneath the mistletoe. His hat fell off his head, hers following shortly after, the empty sack unceremoniously being dropped as well. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist, while she still held his head with her two hands, fingers laced into his hair that was oddly dark as coal now, rather than the ethereal white it had been only a few moments prior. They kissed long and slow, enjoying it deeply… enjoying each other deeply.
When they finally broke it apart to catch their breaths, Momo looked at different points of his face, namely his lips and eyes. She let out a winded chuckle, “Heh… keeping this secret is really a pain, you know?”
He reached over and kissed her forehead, snarking back in a strangely familiar voice, "Remind me who's the one that requested it stay a secret for now~?”
“Oh, shut up!” There was no aggression in her clap back, instead giggling quietly as she could. She leaned forward and nuzzled against his chest, “I wanna kiss you like this more often…”
“Yeah…” He looked up at the mistletoe again, “I think… this was a gift from Seiko-san. An excuse… you know?”
She snorted, “Yeah… seems like a pretty good excuse, huh? Can't anger the holiday gods by dissin’ tradition!”
A gentle hand carded through her bangs, brushing them behind her ear, “No… we can't have that now, can we?”
“Nope~” She practically cooed, before she snatched up his other hand, making him squawk, “Well, hurry up! There's still another gift I wanna give~”
“H-huh…?” He took a step back, his boldness having vanished in a puff of smoke, “Another…? What do you mean-!” She whispered something into his ear, making him choke down a squeal before he panicked, “B-but Vamola-!”
“She's sleeping, doofus! We're not gonna wake her up; it's just cuddling!” She grinned deviously, before yanking him along behind her, “C’mon!! I wanna snuggle for as long as possible before everyone wakes up!!”
Both Evil Eye and Chiquitita had to hold in their reactions when, as she pulled him, it was revealed that Santa was Takakura Ken! Ayase Momo was kissing-
“Takakura is Santa?”
Chiquitita jolted when, as the two teens sped as quietly as possible up the staircase, Evil Eye marveled in awe at the… revelation he had, as incorrect as it may’ve been. “Wait, deez… Evil Eye, no that's not-!”
The child yokai beamed down at the little alien, “Does this mean that if I beat Takakura, I can ask for more presents!? Wait… that means I shouldn't kill him!! If I hold back, just a little, I can keep him alive and get more presents every time I beat him-!? Why are you laughing!?”
Chiquitita was not. Enjoji Jin was most likely the culprit, seeing as how Evil Eye was glaring off to the side at no one in particular.
“Stop laughing, Jiji!! This is important!! I plan on winning as much as possible so I can have a pile of presents!! I'll be so good, and I'll beat him fair and square every time from now on!!”
Chiquitita sighed, taking another sip of his milk. Well, who was he to ruin another kid’s imagination, as twisted as it may have been?