Gift fic for whynot2133
For: whynot2133
From: Naughty Reindeer
Title: Holiday Blues Like Christmas Lights
Pairings/Characters: ByouxMao (ScReWxSadie)
Rating: Pg-13
Warnings: slight angst, manxman kissing
Notes: I apologize if this does not seem all together. My writer’s block didn’t go away until a few days before submissions. Please enjoy. Also, the dog’s name has been improvised for the sake of the story.
Summary: Byou and Mao get the rare chance to spend an entire week with each other…and the Masahito family dog.
“Merry Christmas, everyone,” Kazuki grinned before disappearing down the hall. His band mates called out a reply to the guitarist. Rui and Jin gathered their bags and coats. They said their goodbyes to the other two, leaving Manabu and Byou to lock up.
The guitarist looked briefly at the elder. “Are you doing anything special for Christmas?” he asked.
Byou shrugged. “Whatever Mao wants to do, I guess. We haven’t talked about it. I don’t even know if he has Christmas off work yet.”
“Oh. Well, I hope you guys have a good holiday no matter what you decide to do,” Manabu said. He buttoned his coat and slung his bag over his shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Byou.”
“Merry Christmas, Mane,” the vocalist returned. The white blonde paused what he was doing when his phone rang. “Hello, mom,” Byou greeted.
“Hello, dear. How are you doing?” his mother asked.
“Alright. How about you?”
“Oh, don’t worry about me, dear. Listen; your father and I would like to go on vacation for Christmas this year, but we can’t find anyone to watch your dog. Your siblings are all busy with their own plans. Would you be available for the next week? He is your dog, and he does miss you. What do you say?”
Byou’s brow creased. “A whole week?”
“Yes. You can stay here for free, eat what you want, and the travel distance is next to nothing.”
The vocalist thought for a moment. He wanted to see his dog again… but Christmas was the only alone time he and Mao would have had in months. “Can I bring someone with me?” the blonde asked hesitantly.
“Of course!” his mother said cheerfully. “I’d love to meet…”
“I don’t have a girlfriend, mother,” Byou interjected quickly.
“Oh. Then bring a friend. Whomever you like! What do you say?”
“I’ll give you a call back. Let me ask my friend first.”
“Sure thing, dear. I’ll be waiting.”
The vocalist finished gathering his things and locking up their practice room. He dialed another number in his contacts. “Hey, babe… How do you feel about spending Christmas at my parents’ house?”
Byou opened the door to his childhood home with luggage in hand. “Mom? I’m home! We’re here,” he called into the house. The vocalist moved over to let in the person behind him. “Come on. Mom will be happy to see you.” He smiled at the other.
A shorter vocalist entered the foyer with his own suitcase behind him. “Are you sure this was a good idea?” he asked nervously.
“Of course! We get a whole week to ourselves,” Byou grinned.
“Kojima!” A woman’s voice greeted them. Soon Byou was being hugged tightly by his mother. “Welcome home, dear. Mao-kun! I am so glad you decided to come with Kojima. It has been so long since we’ve seen each other. I wish we had more time to talk but our plane leaves in two hours. How are you?” she beamed at him.
Mao gave a polite bow. “Thank you for having me…”
“Kojima, go help your father. He’ll want to see you before we leave.”
“Yes, mom,” Byou said before taking Mao’s suitcase and heading down the hall. Mao and his mother heard him greet a barking dog in excitement.
“Come on in, dear,” the woman said, smiling at Mao.
After Byou’s parents left for the airport, the two vocalists settled down in the house. It was unusual for them to have so much space when having sleepovers because their apartments were so small. Byou had made them comfortable in his old bedroom even though his mother said they could use his parents’ room. “I can’t believe we have a whole week to ourselves,” Mao sighed with a smile as the two sat on the living room couch. No sooner had he spoken than a large tan and brown dog jumped up and settled himself on Byou’s lap. “And the dog…”
The elder chuckled. “Tsuchi won’t get in our way too much,” he promised.
“Mm,” the other hummed. “He’ll give us an excuse to go outside every day.”
“We can see all the lights while we take him out for a walk.”
“Exactly,” the younger smiled.
Byou looked at him. “You are happy we’re here, right? I mean… it’s not what everyone else is doing and it’s not normal during Christmas but…”
Mao nudged him with a foot. “Don’t worry about it, Byou. We’ll have fun, one way or another.”
The blonde raised a brow and gave a playful smirk. “Are you suggesting something specific?” he asked.
“Not with the dog watching.”
“Well, fine. We had better take him out for a walk soon, though. He probably hasn’t had one all week,” Byou said. “Let’s wait until after dinner, though, so we’re not starving when we get back.”
“Sounds good,” Mao agreed.
Once the two vocalists had finished their dinner, they got ready for their walk with the dog. As soon as their coats were on Byou’s dog dragged them out the door. The neighborhood was quiet and dark until they reached the main streets. Christmas lights lit up the streets of Tokyo with brilliant blues and bright yellows, shops were decked out in holiday décor and lights of their own, and advertisements were so bright they were nearly blinding. Christmas itself was still days away but couples were already crowding the city streets. The two musicians stayed close together, Tsuchi leading the way with a wagging tail, glad to go unnoticed by the crowd.
“The only thing that could make this better would be if we could hold hands,” Mao said quietly enough for only the other man to hear.
Byou looked at him in shock for a moment before giving a large smile. “Put one of your hands in my coat pocket,” he said. The younger furrowed his brow as he slowly reached his left hand into Byou’s right pocket. Almost instantly, he felt the blonde lock their fingers together. “Better?” Byou asked.
Mao blushed and looked at his feet. “Sappy bastard.” The elder chuckled.
Their walk was continued with pleasant chatter and small talk. Then they returned to the house to relax with a few movies. Before long the two vocalists got ready for bed. Byou turned down the covers while Mao was in the bathroom. He had just finished changing his clothes when the shorter man peeked his head in the room.
“Are you sure that bed is going to be big enough for the both of us?” Mao asked around his toothbrush.
“You’ll have plenty of room to move around,” the blonde said.
“Okay.” Mao disappeared back down the hall. When he came back in, he turned off the lights and crawled in the bed. “Can’t believe your parents left your room the way it was after you moved out,” the younger teased.
Byou chuckled. “They have no other use for it. I’m sure they’ll move everything out and turn it into something else eventually.” The blonde laid a soft kiss on the other’s lips. “Good night, Mao.”
Mao woke with a start when a heavy weight jumped on the bed. Before he could comprehend what was going on the weight forced him to roll off the bed and onto the floor. The vocalist caught himself just in time without much noise-although no noise could have woken Byou because he slept like a rock. Mao stood up and turned to the bed. He glared instantly when he saw what it was that had so rudely woken him.
A large tan dog had made himself comfortable beside Byou, effectively taking up any extra space on the bed. “Get off,” Mao said firmly. The dog didn’t budge. “Get off the bed,” the vocalist repeated, but Tsuchi gave a heavy sigh and became a still lump of fur. “You’re kidding me,” Mao groaned. He pulled out an extra blanket from the closet and turned to the door, glaring at the sleeping dog once again. “Stupid dog is forcing me on the couch…” The vocalist huffed and left the bedroom.
Mao, as usual, was the first to wake up. He walked around the house with stiff legs, changing his clothes before heading into the kitchen for breakfast. He was stopped, however, by the tan dog staring at him with wide, pleading eyes. Mao sighed and walked to the patio door. As soon as the door was opened the dog ran outside. The vocalist waited until he came back inside before closing the door and making his way into the kitchen again. Mao fed the dog first, then settled comfortably at the table with his own food.
To his surprise, Tsuchi came over and lay down at his feet. Mao looked down into the innocent face. “Don’t kick me off the bed this time,” he said with a scowl. The dog gave a thump of its tail.
When Byou woke up he ate his breakfast quickly and spent an entire hour playing with his dog. The younger vocalist decided to take a shower so he didn’t have to feel quite as neglected. After drying his hair Mao found his boyfriend waiting for him in the living room. “Hey,” the blonde smiled.
“Hey… Where’s Tsuchi?” the younger asked.
“Asleep. He’s old enough to be exhausted after an hour of play. So! Get your coat on.”
Mao’s brow creased. “Why?”
“We’re going shopping.”
The other smiled happily. “Okay!”
Byou and Mao were able to spend the rest of the day together without any interference from the dog. The two vocalists went shopping for clothes, food, and anything else they needed. When they got hungry the two men found a quiet booth in a warm restaurant where they ate and talked in a relaxed atmosphere they hadn’t felt in a long time. Before heading home Byou and Mao made their way to a cake shop to purchase their Christmas cake for Christmas Eve. After fighting the mostly girl-populated crowd and buying the cake they wanted the two vocalists returned to the house for another relaxing movie night.
That night Mao was kicked off the bed by Byou’s dog again. And, as before, Byou remained completely ignorant to it because both Mao and the dog were awake before he was. Mao found himself falling into the routine of letting the dog out in the mornings and being cast aside for hours at a time while Byou played with his four-legged companion. Of course he understood that it had been a long time since his boyfriend had been home and had time with the canine, but this was supposed to be their vacation. They were supposed to be spending time as a couple. To Mao, they were acting more like roommates who shared a dog, but the younger vocalist had hope that Christmas Eve would still be special just for the two of them.
Every night following Mao found his place in the bed overtaken by the dog. He did his best not to appear too upset during the day to avoid suspicion and having a fight with the other man. That was the last thing the vocalist wanted on their vacation. By the night before Christmas Eve Mao had given up on spending quality time with Byou. They still spent time together, of course, but Mao didn’t go out of his way to have them do anything special. The brunette had also come to realize that they had even gone all week without having sex.
Byou turned to the brunette on his way to the bedroom. “Are you coming to bed, babe?” the elder asked.
Mao gave a smile and shook his head. “I’m going to shower first. I’ll be in when I’m done,” he replied as convincingly as possible.
“Okay. Good night,” the blonde smiled.
“Good night,” the younger returned. He gave a sigh and stood from the couch, stretching before heading to the bath for his shower. The vocalist took his time under the spray, letting the hot water soothe out the knots and kinks in his back, trying not to become upset while thinking about how different their vacation had turned out compared to what he had wanted it to be. After doing his hair and changing into his pajamas Mao went back to the couch to sleep.
Byou woke to the sound of Tsuchi whimpering and scratching at the bed covers. The blonde groaned, rolling out of bed with a sigh. “I’m coming,” he told the dog. “It’s after midnight. How do you have to go to the bathroom this early?” he asked the animal. The only response he received was an insistent whine. “Okay, okay,” Byou sighed.
The vocalist followed Tsuchi to the patio door and let him outside. He waited until the dog was finished, shivering from the cold, before closing the door again. Then Byou went into the kitchen to fill the canine’s water bowl. On his way back to the bedroom his eyes fell on the figure on the couch and froze. Mao was fast asleep under a spare blanket the elder didn’t even know he had found. Slowly the blonde reached down and shook the other vocalist’s shoulder.
“Mao?” Byou asked gently.
The younger stirred from sleep, rubbing his eyes to wake up. “Hmm…?” he hummed.
“Have you been sleeping out here all week?” The other nodded. “Why?”
“The dog kicked me out of the bed. He’s been taking your attention all week and pushing me aside,” Mao said with a groggy voice.
Byou looked at him in silence. Before Mao could fall asleep again the blonde took him by the hand. “Come on,” he urged, gently pulling him up off the couch.
“Huh? Where are we going?” Mao yawned. Byou led the man back to the bedroom, never letting go of his hand. Moreover, to the brown haired vocalist’s surprise, the elder closed the door tightly behind them-leaving Tsuchi locked out of the room. The blonde made Mao lie in bed before crawling in himself and pulling the thick covers over them. He wrapped his arms around the shorter man with a content sigh.
“I’m sorry you had to tell me what was wrong,” Byou said quietly. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been paying as much attention to you as I should have.”
Mao smiled, wrapping his own arms around the elder’s chest. “It’s okay,” he assured him. He was finally getting to sleep in Byou’s arms.
The blonde pressed a soft kiss to the other man’s plush lips. “Tomorrow is going to be all about us,” he promised.
“Sappy bastard,” Mao chuckled.
From: Naughty Reindeer
Title: Holiday Blues Like Christmas Lights
Pairings/Characters: ByouxMao (ScReWxSadie)
Rating: Pg-13
Warnings: slight angst, manxman kissing
Notes: I apologize if this does not seem all together. My writer’s block didn’t go away until a few days before submissions. Please enjoy. Also, the dog’s name has been improvised for the sake of the story.
Summary: Byou and Mao get the rare chance to spend an entire week with each other…and the Masahito family dog.
“Merry Christmas, everyone,” Kazuki grinned before disappearing down the hall. His band mates called out a reply to the guitarist. Rui and Jin gathered their bags and coats. They said their goodbyes to the other two, leaving Manabu and Byou to lock up.
The guitarist looked briefly at the elder. “Are you doing anything special for Christmas?” he asked.
Byou shrugged. “Whatever Mao wants to do, I guess. We haven’t talked about it. I don’t even know if he has Christmas off work yet.”
“Oh. Well, I hope you guys have a good holiday no matter what you decide to do,” Manabu said. He buttoned his coat and slung his bag over his shoulder. “Merry Christmas, Byou.”
“Merry Christmas, Mane,” the vocalist returned. The white blonde paused what he was doing when his phone rang. “Hello, mom,” Byou greeted.
“Hello, dear. How are you doing?” his mother asked.
“Alright. How about you?”
“Oh, don’t worry about me, dear. Listen; your father and I would like to go on vacation for Christmas this year, but we can’t find anyone to watch your dog. Your siblings are all busy with their own plans. Would you be available for the next week? He is your dog, and he does miss you. What do you say?”
Byou’s brow creased. “A whole week?”
“Yes. You can stay here for free, eat what you want, and the travel distance is next to nothing.”
The vocalist thought for a moment. He wanted to see his dog again… but Christmas was the only alone time he and Mao would have had in months. “Can I bring someone with me?” the blonde asked hesitantly.
“Of course!” his mother said cheerfully. “I’d love to meet…”
“I don’t have a girlfriend, mother,” Byou interjected quickly.
“Oh. Then bring a friend. Whomever you like! What do you say?”
“I’ll give you a call back. Let me ask my friend first.”
“Sure thing, dear. I’ll be waiting.”
The vocalist finished gathering his things and locking up their practice room. He dialed another number in his contacts. “Hey, babe… How do you feel about spending Christmas at my parents’ house?”
Byou opened the door to his childhood home with luggage in hand. “Mom? I’m home! We’re here,” he called into the house. The vocalist moved over to let in the person behind him. “Come on. Mom will be happy to see you.” He smiled at the other.
A shorter vocalist entered the foyer with his own suitcase behind him. “Are you sure this was a good idea?” he asked nervously.
“Of course! We get a whole week to ourselves,” Byou grinned.
“Kojima!” A woman’s voice greeted them. Soon Byou was being hugged tightly by his mother. “Welcome home, dear. Mao-kun! I am so glad you decided to come with Kojima. It has been so long since we’ve seen each other. I wish we had more time to talk but our plane leaves in two hours. How are you?” she beamed at him.
Mao gave a polite bow. “Thank you for having me…”
“Kojima, go help your father. He’ll want to see you before we leave.”
“Yes, mom,” Byou said before taking Mao’s suitcase and heading down the hall. Mao and his mother heard him greet a barking dog in excitement.
“Come on in, dear,” the woman said, smiling at Mao.
After Byou’s parents left for the airport, the two vocalists settled down in the house. It was unusual for them to have so much space when having sleepovers because their apartments were so small. Byou had made them comfortable in his old bedroom even though his mother said they could use his parents’ room. “I can’t believe we have a whole week to ourselves,” Mao sighed with a smile as the two sat on the living room couch. No sooner had he spoken than a large tan and brown dog jumped up and settled himself on Byou’s lap. “And the dog…”
The elder chuckled. “Tsuchi won’t get in our way too much,” he promised.
“Mm,” the other hummed. “He’ll give us an excuse to go outside every day.”
“We can see all the lights while we take him out for a walk.”
“Exactly,” the younger smiled.
Byou looked at him. “You are happy we’re here, right? I mean… it’s not what everyone else is doing and it’s not normal during Christmas but…”
Mao nudged him with a foot. “Don’t worry about it, Byou. We’ll have fun, one way or another.”
The blonde raised a brow and gave a playful smirk. “Are you suggesting something specific?” he asked.
“Not with the dog watching.”
“Well, fine. We had better take him out for a walk soon, though. He probably hasn’t had one all week,” Byou said. “Let’s wait until after dinner, though, so we’re not starving when we get back.”
“Sounds good,” Mao agreed.
Once the two vocalists had finished their dinner, they got ready for their walk with the dog. As soon as their coats were on Byou’s dog dragged them out the door. The neighborhood was quiet and dark until they reached the main streets. Christmas lights lit up the streets of Tokyo with brilliant blues and bright yellows, shops were decked out in holiday décor and lights of their own, and advertisements were so bright they were nearly blinding. Christmas itself was still days away but couples were already crowding the city streets. The two musicians stayed close together, Tsuchi leading the way with a wagging tail, glad to go unnoticed by the crowd.
“The only thing that could make this better would be if we could hold hands,” Mao said quietly enough for only the other man to hear.
Byou looked at him in shock for a moment before giving a large smile. “Put one of your hands in my coat pocket,” he said. The younger furrowed his brow as he slowly reached his left hand into Byou’s right pocket. Almost instantly, he felt the blonde lock their fingers together. “Better?” Byou asked.
Mao blushed and looked at his feet. “Sappy bastard.” The elder chuckled.
Their walk was continued with pleasant chatter and small talk. Then they returned to the house to relax with a few movies. Before long the two vocalists got ready for bed. Byou turned down the covers while Mao was in the bathroom. He had just finished changing his clothes when the shorter man peeked his head in the room.
“Are you sure that bed is going to be big enough for the both of us?” Mao asked around his toothbrush.
“You’ll have plenty of room to move around,” the blonde said.
“Okay.” Mao disappeared back down the hall. When he came back in, he turned off the lights and crawled in the bed. “Can’t believe your parents left your room the way it was after you moved out,” the younger teased.
Byou chuckled. “They have no other use for it. I’m sure they’ll move everything out and turn it into something else eventually.” The blonde laid a soft kiss on the other’s lips. “Good night, Mao.”
Mao woke with a start when a heavy weight jumped on the bed. Before he could comprehend what was going on the weight forced him to roll off the bed and onto the floor. The vocalist caught himself just in time without much noise-although no noise could have woken Byou because he slept like a rock. Mao stood up and turned to the bed. He glared instantly when he saw what it was that had so rudely woken him.
A large tan dog had made himself comfortable beside Byou, effectively taking up any extra space on the bed. “Get off,” Mao said firmly. The dog didn’t budge. “Get off the bed,” the vocalist repeated, but Tsuchi gave a heavy sigh and became a still lump of fur. “You’re kidding me,” Mao groaned. He pulled out an extra blanket from the closet and turned to the door, glaring at the sleeping dog once again. “Stupid dog is forcing me on the couch…” The vocalist huffed and left the bedroom.
Mao, as usual, was the first to wake up. He walked around the house with stiff legs, changing his clothes before heading into the kitchen for breakfast. He was stopped, however, by the tan dog staring at him with wide, pleading eyes. Mao sighed and walked to the patio door. As soon as the door was opened the dog ran outside. The vocalist waited until he came back inside before closing the door and making his way into the kitchen again. Mao fed the dog first, then settled comfortably at the table with his own food.
To his surprise, Tsuchi came over and lay down at his feet. Mao looked down into the innocent face. “Don’t kick me off the bed this time,” he said with a scowl. The dog gave a thump of its tail.
When Byou woke up he ate his breakfast quickly and spent an entire hour playing with his dog. The younger vocalist decided to take a shower so he didn’t have to feel quite as neglected. After drying his hair Mao found his boyfriend waiting for him in the living room. “Hey,” the blonde smiled.
“Hey… Where’s Tsuchi?” the younger asked.
“Asleep. He’s old enough to be exhausted after an hour of play. So! Get your coat on.”
Mao’s brow creased. “Why?”
“We’re going shopping.”
The other smiled happily. “Okay!”
Byou and Mao were able to spend the rest of the day together without any interference from the dog. The two vocalists went shopping for clothes, food, and anything else they needed. When they got hungry the two men found a quiet booth in a warm restaurant where they ate and talked in a relaxed atmosphere they hadn’t felt in a long time. Before heading home Byou and Mao made their way to a cake shop to purchase their Christmas cake for Christmas Eve. After fighting the mostly girl-populated crowd and buying the cake they wanted the two vocalists returned to the house for another relaxing movie night.
That night Mao was kicked off the bed by Byou’s dog again. And, as before, Byou remained completely ignorant to it because both Mao and the dog were awake before he was. Mao found himself falling into the routine of letting the dog out in the mornings and being cast aside for hours at a time while Byou played with his four-legged companion. Of course he understood that it had been a long time since his boyfriend had been home and had time with the canine, but this was supposed to be their vacation. They were supposed to be spending time as a couple. To Mao, they were acting more like roommates who shared a dog, but the younger vocalist had hope that Christmas Eve would still be special just for the two of them.
Every night following Mao found his place in the bed overtaken by the dog. He did his best not to appear too upset during the day to avoid suspicion and having a fight with the other man. That was the last thing the vocalist wanted on their vacation. By the night before Christmas Eve Mao had given up on spending quality time with Byou. They still spent time together, of course, but Mao didn’t go out of his way to have them do anything special. The brunette had also come to realize that they had even gone all week without having sex.
Byou turned to the brunette on his way to the bedroom. “Are you coming to bed, babe?” the elder asked.
Mao gave a smile and shook his head. “I’m going to shower first. I’ll be in when I’m done,” he replied as convincingly as possible.
“Okay. Good night,” the blonde smiled.
“Good night,” the younger returned. He gave a sigh and stood from the couch, stretching before heading to the bath for his shower. The vocalist took his time under the spray, letting the hot water soothe out the knots and kinks in his back, trying not to become upset while thinking about how different their vacation had turned out compared to what he had wanted it to be. After doing his hair and changing into his pajamas Mao went back to the couch to sleep.
Byou woke to the sound of Tsuchi whimpering and scratching at the bed covers. The blonde groaned, rolling out of bed with a sigh. “I’m coming,” he told the dog. “It’s after midnight. How do you have to go to the bathroom this early?” he asked the animal. The only response he received was an insistent whine. “Okay, okay,” Byou sighed.
The vocalist followed Tsuchi to the patio door and let him outside. He waited until the dog was finished, shivering from the cold, before closing the door again. Then Byou went into the kitchen to fill the canine’s water bowl. On his way back to the bedroom his eyes fell on the figure on the couch and froze. Mao was fast asleep under a spare blanket the elder didn’t even know he had found. Slowly the blonde reached down and shook the other vocalist’s shoulder.
“Mao?” Byou asked gently.
The younger stirred from sleep, rubbing his eyes to wake up. “Hmm…?” he hummed.
“Have you been sleeping out here all week?” The other nodded. “Why?”
“The dog kicked me out of the bed. He’s been taking your attention all week and pushing me aside,” Mao said with a groggy voice.
Byou looked at him in silence. Before Mao could fall asleep again the blonde took him by the hand. “Come on,” he urged, gently pulling him up off the couch.
“Huh? Where are we going?” Mao yawned. Byou led the man back to the bedroom, never letting go of his hand. Moreover, to the brown haired vocalist’s surprise, the elder closed the door tightly behind them-leaving Tsuchi locked out of the room. The blonde made Mao lie in bed before crawling in himself and pulling the thick covers over them. He wrapped his arms around the shorter man with a content sigh.
“I’m sorry you had to tell me what was wrong,” Byou said quietly. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been paying as much attention to you as I should have.”
Mao smiled, wrapping his own arms around the elder’s chest. “It’s okay,” he assured him. He was finally getting to sleep in Byou’s arms.
The blonde pressed a soft kiss to the other man’s plush lips. “Tomorrow is going to be all about us,” he promised.
“Sappy bastard,” Mao chuckled.