Author: zecretsanta

Archive for ZEcret Santa on tumblr.
~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @crashkeyes
From: @nimfetki & @toxicmasterpiece

Happy holidays! Here’s some field sibling fluff! Every year Light helps Clover decorate the tree. She tell him the trim on the tree is gold, he knows she’s lying but lets her get away with it because it makes her happy. Clover always makes sure they have fun festive outfits!

*note: Nimfetki came up with the concept and designed the holiday outfits, toxicmasterpiece is the talented artist!*

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @billyweird

From: @sense8lotuses

Happy holidays, billyweird!

The harsh buzz of electronic static from beside Junpei’s head lead him to leap up with a start. Fortunate that no one had been around to see his outburst, he still did his best to play it cool, only offering the offender, the walkie-talkie he’d left on his desk, a simple “Huh.” The device would think again before trying anything shifty against Junpei.

It took him a few seconds to realize what the sound of the static meant. Someone was trying to communicate with him, damn it, and he was absolutely certain he’d left it on the right channel. Time was running out. After fiddling with the dial for several seconds, he tapped the device angrily on the wooden surface of the desk, and finally, a gruff voice began to hash its way through the interference.

“Agent…” someone tried to say.

“Repeat last message,” Junpei barked. He tapped the dial pensively, as though a ginger touch might have any effect on the internal circuitry, then held it up tightly to his face. “Rep-”

“Agent Handy!” The shout startled Junpei again, and the poor walkie-talkie tumbled back to the desk. “This is Agent Mountain reporting in. Got a visual on the subject!”

“Damn it, man, which subject?” Junpei returned, his patience wearing thin. God only knew how many active case files the two were collaborating on at the time.

“Subject No Man.” Agent Mountain’s words sent a shiver up Junpei’s spine. Subject No Man was one of the duo’s most elusive and least understood missions, and it was safe to say that she was not common… Alas, this was no time for cold feet. The ziptie of opportunity would be cinching shut within the hour, and he had to reach Agent Mountain’s position.

He held down the transmission button then, making sure his dramatic, plot-relevant sigh could be heard. “Very well. Follow carefully and keep an eye on your coordinates.” Throwing on a tactical cerulean vest and shades, Junpei was on the move.

“Oh shiiit, dude,” the walkie-talkie hummed as Junpei jogged out onto the sidewalk.

“Excuse me?” Junpei questioned.

“Sorry. Uh, oh shiiit, Agent Handy, dude,” Agent Mountain replied.

“Come on Seven, you can’t call me dude. It breaks the immersion,” Junpei groaned.

“Bro, we agreed on codenames…” Admittedly, Seven did sound a little disappointed. Um, Agent Mountain sounded a little disappointed, is what Junpei meant to think.

In any case, it would not be long before the two were reunited and would be better equipped for the situation ahead of them. “Whatever. Tell me, what’s No Man up to?”

Agent Mountain cleared his throat quite performatively. “Subject is approaching the nearest Point Arabica.”

Junpei’s face twisted in confusion. “I’ve lost your coordinates, Agent. What’s your nearest Point Arabica?”

If his cohort wanted to admonish his shortcomings, he didn’t give any sign over the walkie-talkie other than a few seconds of silence. “Sunquid Co. The one on the vertex.”

“Copy that,” Junpei said. “Be there in digital root 228.”

“Agent Handy, we may not have that long,” Agent Mountain replied. “Just sighted Subject Crash Key, and the Point does NOT look busy. Are you packing?”

Junpei had to suppress a scoff. The knowledge of the second subject’s arrival had been a bit jarring, but if Agent Mountain knew anything about his partner, it was that he was always packing. “Looks like Crash Key is about to get a taste of her own medicine.”

“That… didn’t answer my question…”

Junpei facepalmed, only removing his hand after nearly running into a tree. “Listen, Mountain, try to keep up. We knew there was a chance that Crash Key might be spotted. I never leave the house on a mission without heat. Or… whatever this is.”

“Just… cool it with the lingo…” Agent Mountain sighed. “You need to think these things through before saying them.”

“Seven! Can I just! Have a little fun here!” Junpei was answered by the sound of static, presumably Agent Mountain pressing the transmission button without speaking. “THANK you.”

In only two short minutes, Junpei could see Seven seated on a park bench, on the side of the street opposite the Point Arabica. He let himself slow into a casual jog, hoping he could regain his breath before having to speak again. And as the beautiful lady in the green circle popped into view, Junpei realized – indeed, the two subjects were within the building. Crash Key and No Man were right within his reach… and it was time to accomplish this mission.

“Good to see you, Handy,” Mountain said, without looking up. At least, Junpei didn’t think he was looking up. Mountain was wearing shades of his own, helping to keep him from standing out too much. In all honesty, the shades completely countered the pale orange jumpsuit’s unusual appearance. Junpei was quite sure that all of the passersby that were giving odd looks were doing so because they’d just watched him running, definitely not the pair’s fashion choices.

“Mountain,” Junpei greeted in return. “So, fill me in.” He obviously knew it would have been dumb for Mountain to be more specific over transmission than he was – there was no need to risk compromising their position.

“No Man was here three minutes and 28 seconds before Crash Key showed up. No Man’s order was quick, like the coffee was just a formality. Christ, just look at her. She doesn’t even like it.” As the subject took a sip of her drink, her face remained completely neutral, at least from what Junpei could tell. In all his years knowing her, he could agree with Mountain’s analysis. “As for Crash Key, well, she’s ordering now. If the way she shuffled her hair upon entering the Point is anything to go by, you know she’s down for a chai tea frappuccino.”

“In this weather? It’s December,” Junpei said.

Seven slapped his hands on his knees. “Who’s been an agent longer here?”

“Sev, we both agreed to this back-”

“You’re right, me. Thank you.” He cleared his throat three times more before continuing. “She’s getting the chai tea frappuccino, but…”

Junpei sighed. “But the problem she’s having is, does she just get a venti? I mean, she usually goes for the venti. You can see it in her eyes. But today she’s just not sure if the venti is enough. Does she want a grande? Good God, could she even finish a grande?” He let himself slip into a seated position beside the other agent and grabbed at the binoculars around his neck.

“Dude, wha-”

“Hmmm…” As Junpei peered into the window, which he could have definitely seen without them, Crash Key sat at the small table where No Man was already seated. “Oh shit, she went grande. Looks like someone’s thirsty.” A clock to the head startled him as Agent Mountain tugged the binoculars away.

“Keep it cool, Handy. Don’t make me get you a damned frappuccino. You won’t like where I put it.”

The two watched their subjects quietly for a minute or two, until… the two subjects leaned forward, closing their eyes. “Are you seeing this?” Junpei asked.

“My God…” Seven’s attention had been grabbed, and without thought, he raised the binoculars to his own eyes. “Caught in flagrante delicto…”

No Man and Crash Key shared a sweet, romantic kiss for a few seconds… until Crash Key opened her eyes. And, as though Junpei and Seven were in a timeline that God had abandoned, Crash Key’s eyes were pointed right at them.

The world around them seemed to slow down as they were trapped, lost in Crash Key’s eyes. The eyes swirled like a vortex, piloted by years of rage the likes of which the two men had never before experienced. The experience only got worse as her finger slowly rose to point them out, her mouth slowly twisted to form words, and finally, worst of all… her girlfriend slowly turned around.

And when No Man was pissed, all hell was to break loose.

“Phi looks PISSED!” Seven said. “And if she doesn’t kill us, who knows what Akane’ll do.”

“What do we do?” Junpei asked. As prepared as he thought he’d been for this situation, he lacked the years of practice that had made Mountain such a skilled agent.

As the two subjects stood up, clutching their drinks with the ferocity of nine hundred suns, Agent Mountain laid down his master plan. “You’re packing! You hide somewhere and fire! I’ll run away.” And with that, he was gone.

“Unbelievable…” Junpei had to take a moment to keep his own anger at bay. Doing as the traitorous agent suggested, for some god damned reason, he leapt behind a nearby bush, hoping that by some miracle the subjects hadn’t seen him.

“JUNPEI!” Well, at least he could lay that dream to rest. As four angry feet pounded towards him, he decided it best to release all worldly angers. Agent Mountain could be forgiven… perhaps the man had run away intending to distract the two subjects… Yes, now Junpei could live with that.

And so, as the two ran up to the bush, Junpei steeled himself. “Time for justice.” Whipping out his weapon of choice, he blasted the two with a frankly absurd stream of water.

“…” Phi and Akane were silent for a few moments, filling Junpei with dread. When would the explosion come? When would the short-haired woman literally cleave his head from his body with a sword?

His question would never be answered. Akane heaved a sigh, placing a hand on Phi’s shoulder as though to stop her. “This is why we’re not dating, you doofus.”

“Hey, I thought it was because we had too much emotional trauma between us, or something,” Junpei said.

“Well, this didn’t help,” Akane said.

“Listen, you locked me on a ship and almost got me killed. I can shoot you with a water gun.”

“That was one time!”

As the two’s bickering increased in volume, Junpei felt the arms of his ally close tightly around his waist. “Come on, Handy; let’s live to try another day.”

“You were there! You remember literally being drugged right? I wa-” Alas, a hand clamped itself over the young man’s mouth, and the mission was truly completed. Resigned to watching Phi and Akane smooch again in the distance, he found himself warming in the heart, resigning himself to the thought that maybe the situation was for the better.

Thanks for these prompts! I would have never had this idea without them, and this is probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve written all year. It was a ton of fun though, and I hope it gives you as much joy as it has me! Cheers, sense8lotuses.

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @cammieanime

From: @oolb

Hi there! This is for @cammieanime. I just LOVE Seven and Lotus and I’m glad you do too, so I wrote something about the two of them meeting up after the events of the first game. It was really fun to write, so I hope you enjoy!

—

It wasn’t often that she went out, honestly. Raising two daughters by yourself wasn’t an easy feat, even though they were already past 18 and didn’t really need any more raising. Truth be told, the thought of being away from her daughters made her nervous, especially given the events that had transpired only 6 months ago… Hazuki – or Lotus, she’d taken a liking to that despite the bad memories the name was associated with – considered herself to be a strong-minded woman, but there wasn’t a soul in the world that wouldn’t be shaken by the Nonary Game.

Funny. Now that all had passed, the number nine kept on showing up in repeatedly in her life… often she caught herself thinking that maybe the game had never ended and this was just a sick version of the Truman Show.

“Or maybe you’re getting a bit paranoid, mom,” Ennea said as she put the car into park. “You have your cell phone, right? You’ll call if you need me?”

“Eh? Ennea, you’re acting like the mom here.” She laughed and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “I love you. Tell Nona I love her too.” And then she grabbed her purse, her coat and jumped out of the car before she could change her mind and ask Ennea to drive her home.

‘Blue Ocean’ was a really fucking stupid name for a bar, Hazuki thought, yet it was her destination nonetheless. What would the ocean be other than blue? Well, maybe green, maybe muddy brown, but still. Something else about the name bothered her, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Still, for such a gaudy name, the Blue Ocean was rather… plain on the inside. Some lopsided fish stared down at her from the wall as she walked in, but that was pretty much all that the Blue Ocean had going for it. Pity. She’d seen fake ships with better décor. Hazuki set herself down by the bar and ordered a pint of beer. On the television screen behind the bar, some soccer match had just started its second half. Perfect. It would be just her, her beer, and two teams she’d never heard of playing for a sport she didn’t care for. If this was what it took to make her feel like a regular person again, Hazuki was all for it.

Yet halfway through her pint of beer… “Well, I didn’t think I’d be running into the demon again so soon.”

Oh, she knew that voice. Hazuki ran her thumb over her rings and gave a little laugh. She stared down at her beer. “I think it’s too early for a reunion, Seven.” Then she gestured loftily to the chair next to her. Not that she thought that Seven was a particularly interesting company, but she was in a good mood.

“Oh, you’re offering me a seat? That’s unexpected.” He shuffled into the seat a little clumsily, a man of his size looking out of place on the dainty bar stool. Seven turned to face her with a grin. Since the last time she’d seen him at the Nonary Game, he’d… changed, somehow. A little bit. It was as if the wrinkles near his eyes became just that much more apparent in the bar’s dim light.

“Good to see you’re wearing regular clothes this time around.” Seven chuckled and smoothed his hair down with a broad hand. He was no longer wearing the beanie and overalls, though his fashion sense still leaned towards “comfortably baggy”.

“I can wear whatever I damn well want,” Hazuki said, sipping her beer. “Plus, belly dancing is only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“I believe ya.” Seven gave her a look. He waved down the bartender and asked for the wine list.

Hazuki nearly spit out her drink. “You’re ordering wine? Really? And I’m the exhibitionist grandma.” For some reason, the thought of a guy like Seven sipping Pinot Noir (Chardonnay? Whatever, who fucking cared about wine anyway) seemed absurd to her. She thought him to be the beer guzzling type.

Clearly, he seemed to think the opposite about her. “Well, I was gonna ask you to join me, but seems you’re all set.” He shrugged. “Don’t diss my wine. Red wine is good for the noggin.” He tapped the side of his head. “If it wasn’t for this thinking machine up here, we would have never gotten out of that confinement room.”

At this, she scoffed. “Please. I was way better at those puzzles than you.”

Seven gave a noncommittal grunt as the bartender slid him the menu. He squinted down at it, lips pursed. He slid his finger down the list and something crossed his expression. “This is gonna sound crazy, but d’you feel like you’re being haunted… by a goddamn number?” He flipped the menu to her. “Nine different types of wine on the list… sometimes I think I’m losing my mind.”

“Ha! You’re not the only one.” She gestured in a conspirational fashion at the television. “Ten minutes ago, number 9 on the red team scored a goal.”

Seven turned to her, a little unnerved. “Really?”

“Tch! I can’t believe you fell for that one.” Seven frowned for a moment but, surprisingly, they shared a moment of laughter. She’d be damned. Laughing with enemy.

“Y’know…” Seven started after ordering a glass of his fancy wine, “I gotta say… I’m sorry I said you looked like a half-naked raisin. I mean, it was true, but I’m still sorry I said it.”

“Nice of you to admit that.”

“Hey, I’m feeling rather generous lately. I guess that’s the side-effect of surviving a Nonary Game. Glad to be alive.” He gave a shrug, which looked a little like a mountain yawning. The man glanced at her, as if trying to gauge something from her expression. “Say, how’s that… how’s that treating ya.”

“How’s what treating me?”

“Y’know… surviving that fucking mess.”

Hazuki lowered her eyes from the television screen. She ran a finger around the mouth of the pint glass, pondering the question. And also pondering how much she wanted to tell Seven. He was still a stranger, after all, despite what they’d been through.

“It’s fine if you don’t wanna talk about it. I get it.” Seven said suddenly. He turned away, drumming his fingers on the counter. “Your kids were in it. You were in it. It must’ve been like living the nightmare all over again. Hell, I don’t even know why you got wrapped up into it… I mean. Junpei, that’s obvious. Aoi too. Those weirdo siblings, they were part of the original mess. And Ace too.” He listed the people off on his fingers. “I mean, the only weird part of the equation is you.” He was practically muttering now, speaking to himself.

Hazuki raised an eyebrow. “Seems like you’ve been thinking a lot about this.”

“I have, actually.” He gave a quick glance over his shoulder and leaned in. “Junpei and I are… Junpei and I have teamed up. Sort of. We just… we just want to get to the bottom of this.” He scratched the stubble on his chin. “I can’t say much, but I feel like… this Nonary Game wasn’t the last of them.”

Hazuki’s stomach sank. “What?”

“I mean, I can’t say much, but… yeah. Just a hunch.”

God. Another Nonary Game. First her daughters, then her. Maybe she should call her mother soon just to make sure everything was okay.

She examined her glass. “I hope I have absolutely nothing to do with the next one.”

Seven laughed. “Hell, I hope so too.”

“Maybe they’ll write us out of the next two games and give only vague hints about our whereabouts and existence.”

Seven’s eyes widened and he scratched his chin. “Uh…”

She shrugged. “That was a joke. Don’t think about it too hard.” The smile faded from her lips and she paused. “You know, I do wanna talk about it. The Nonary Game, I mean. I think I’m ready.”

He waved his hand in a broad, inviting gesture. She took a deep breath:

“It was awful, and I would rather lick this bar’s floor than spend nine hours stuck with those idiots again, but… honestly, part of me… well, I felt closer to my daughters. I mean, I think it was important for me to go through what they had gone through. It sort of—sort of breaks my heart knowing just what they went through, but it killed a mystery that has been haunting me for years. To some degree, I guess.” She pursued her lips. “Closure. I guess that’s the word. Closure.”

Seven nodded slowly. “You know, I can respect that.”

Feeling a bit uncomfortable after that word vomit, Hazuki took a swig from her beer. “Well, respect it or not, that’s what I feel about that crazy bullshit. My two cents. How about you?”

His wine had arrived. Seven swirled it around in the glass before answering, watching the little rivulets of wine slide down the sides. “I just think we’re part of something bigger. Not me or you, specifically, but… What we’ve been through. I don’t think we fully understand it yet. Maybe we never will.”

“I suppose asking you to go more into detail isn’t allowed?”

He grinned. “Heh. Yeah. Sorry, Lotus, you’re pretty, but I ain’t riskin’ my job for you so soon.”

“It’s Hazuki.”

“Hazuki. I remember that.”

She paused. “Is… your real name classified information too?”

Seven laughed at that, a big, booming laugh that had always gotten on her nerves during the Nonary Game. “I s’pose you wouldn’t believe me if I actually said it was Seven, would ya?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Heheh. See?” He grinned. “Told ya.”

Somebody at the other side of the bar suddenly cried out—“Oh!” Both Hazuki and Seven jumped, until they realized the person was reacting to the television screen. Hazuki and Seven swung around to see a goal being scored. By the red team—player number 9.

“Huh.” Seven’s wine glass was raised and he kept it there for a moment, staring at the TV screen. “That’s… that’s… huh.”

“Blue Ocean,” Hazuki said suddenly, her eyes wide.

“What?”

“Blue Ocean. It has nine letters. That’s what was bugging me.”

“Oh.” Seven blinked. “I thought you’d be bothered by—well, I mean, Blue Ocean is a stupid name—“

“Yes! That’s what I said!” Hazuki raised her arms in exasperation. The gold bracelets on her wrist jangled noisily. “Thank you, Elephant Man.”

Seven chuckled at that. He raised his wine glass. “A toast to the Blue Ocean?”

“That’s lame.”

“Uh… to Zero?”

She raised her glass. “To the Funyarinpa?”

“What the hell is a Funyarinpa?”

“You don’t know about the Funyarinpa?” She scoffed. “Ask Junpei later. He knows.” She clinked their glasses together; both of them gave a hearty sip.

Seven leaned back in his seat. He cradled his wine glass, and then let out a huge sigh. “Let’s just hope we’ll never have to deal with any of this bullshit ever again.”

“You know… I can actually agree with you on that.” Hazuki said, nodding. A life without another Nonary Game—they’d paid their dues. They were done.

In Which Junpei Fails at Knitting. Twice.

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @falselyprofound

From: @electric016

I loved your prompt about Junpei’s scarf knitting not going according to plan! I hope this fic lives up to expectations! Merry Christmas!

Junpei sat clicking the needles. It was therapeutic. Sitting there and just focusing on the looping of yarn around knitting needle. He could relax and and take his mind off the idea that if he didn’t find anything of use to sell this week, he might not be eating next week–not to mention, he could always tell himself that maybe he could sell a scarf.

It was a good time to just let his mind wander, take a break and eat his lunch. Today tuna fish sandwich was on the menu.

As he knit, his mind wandered towards his childhood. When he’d been in elementary school, he’d learned to knit as part of a home economics class. It had been during the last week in February. 

For Valentine’s Day that year, Akane had given him a small box of homemade chocolate, decorated to look like a mini-bento box. It had been really thoughtful. He’d been wracking his brain ever since to think of the best way to reciprocate. After all, what kind of friend would he be if he didn’t return her gift?

The knitting class had given him a spark of inspiration. He would knit her a scarf. 

So when Junpei got home from school he asked his mom if he could go with her to the department store.

“Why do you want to come with me?” his mother asked suspiciously.

“We learned how to knit today at school, and I want to get some yarn so I can practice at home!”

His mother deemed this reasonable because soon he was climbing into the back of the car and off to the department store.

While his mother was gathering groceries, Junpei wandered off to the craft section, the 500 yen coin his mother had given him safely in his pocket. The selection was incredible, so many colors and sizes he didn’t really know where to start.

‘First thing’s first,’ Junpei thought trying to break it down logically, ‘what color would she want?’

His eyes scanned the shelves and landed on a deep, royal purple.

‘Of course, purple!’ Junpei said to himself. It was her favorite color after all. But there were so many different kinds of purple yarn. The big purple ball that had initially caught his eye was kind of coarse. He couldn’t make the perfect scarf out of that. 

Wandering up and down the aisles, he touched every ball and bundle of purple yarn, until he found the perfect one. It was a light lavender color and by far the softest yarn in the store. The only problem was that it was a pretty small bundle. 

He checked the price. 

“Seriously? 450 yen for a ball of yarn?”

Well he certainly wouldn’t be able to afford two of them. Well, Akane was a small girl. She probably only needed a small scarf. 

So everyday after school that week Junpei worked on knitting Akane the perfect scarf. He had to start over once or twice but eventually he got the  hang of it. 

The moment he was finally able to cast off and finish the scarf he realized his mistake.

He’d used the entire ball of yarn, but the scarf wasn’t nearly long enough. He’d made it too wide.

He tried to wrap it around his neck. The scarf was about as tall as his head, but only wrapped around the back of his head from one side of his face to the other. 

Junpei evaluated his options. He could unravel it and start over, but he didn’t have the time. Akane was just going to have to receive the least perfect gift ever for White Day.

Oh well, showing up to school with a misshapen scarf was better than showing up empty-handed. 

So the next day before school started, Junpei approached Akane where she was reading at her desk.

“Happy White Day!” he said in a rush, shoving the gift onto her desk.

“You got me a gift?” she asked setting her book down.

“Well, I made it. So I’m sorry it’s not very good. It’s supposed to be a scarf,” he said blushing.

Akane held up the scarf, letting it fall open. 

“Oh, Junpei! It’s perfect! Just what I needed!”

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t have to lie. That thing won’t even wrap around your neck.”

“No, it won’t,” she agreed with a smile. “But it’s perfect for something else!”

She placed the scarf over her lap, wrapping it under her knees.

“See? This is perfect! It’s always cold in the classroom, and my knees get chilly. This is the perfect thing for that! Thank you, Jumpy. I love it!”

“Oh. Well, in that case–”

His memory was abruptly interrupted by a tugging at his yarn. Great, the ball must have gotten tangled up. He looked over at where the ball of yarn was resting next to him.

“What the–?”

His ball of yarn certainly had gotten tangled up. But not quite in the way he’d been expecting.

A little ginger kitten was tugging on the yarn.

“Hello, little guy. Where did you come from?”

The kitten flopped to the ground, the yarn in his mouth.

“You know, kittens really shouldn’t eat yarn. I think it’s bad for you. It could get stuck in your stomach…or something.”

He picked the kitten up, extracting him from the tangles of yarn.

“Here, you should try some of this instead.” He pulled a bit off of his tuna fish sandwich and fed it to the kitten. The cat ate it up hungrily. 

“Alright, kitty,” Junpei said setting the kitten down and giving him a pat before standing up. “I’ve got to get going, but take care of yourself.”

Junpei headed back inside with his knitting and sandwich, and leaving the kitten looking back at him. 

Junpei didn’t have pets. Even when he was growing up. His mom had been allergic to cats, and she was always saying they didn’t have time for a dog. Rodents were absolutely out of the question, and there was no way she’d allow him to keep a lizard. 

Once or twice he’d won a goldfish at the summer festival in his town, but they weren’t exactly what Junpei would call a pet. 

At this point in his life, Junpei wouldn’t consider himself a pet kind of guy. They were just too much hassle. And what with the state of the world these days, it was enough trouble trying to keep himself alive. 

Just because Junpei sometimes left food out for the cat, certainly didn’t mean he’d adopted it. It was a tough world out there and cats needed to know how to fend for themselves.

And Junpei was always very strict with himself. Absolutely, under no circumstances, did he take in strays.

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @dornishsphinx

From: @lizardtape

Hi! This is my gift for @dornishsphinx. It’s a ficlet with a related photo attached (aka lil Kyle drew a picture for his family). Happy holidays!

“Why do we have this tree here?” Kyle asked, staring at the strange new addition to his father’s workspace. It was a pine tree, he recognized it from books, but it was covered in strange circular objects. In his nine years on the moon, he’d never seen something like it.

“Hm?” Dr. Klim looked over his shoulder, then grinned. “Oh, that. It’s a Christmas tree. It’s…something I used to have every year back home, so I figured that we could use one here.”

Kyle walked around the tree silently, trying to analyze what was in front of him. “What is a Christmas tree? Do these circles make it Christmas and not pine?”

“No, no,” Dr. Klim chuckled. “If you want, I can have Luna tell you–”

“No.” Kyle interrupted firmly. “I want you to tell me.”

Dr. Klim sighed and rubbed his temple. “Well…okay.” He climbed off his chair and moved to sit on the floor next to Kyle. “Christmas is a holiday a lot of people celebrate back at home. People say it has different meanings, but for me…” He paused, staring at the tree in silence for a few seconds before responding. “It’s about giving things to people you care about. Like you, buddy.” He gently poked Kyle’s shoulder.

Kyle sat in silence, listening, then nodded. “So what should I get you for Christmas?”

Dr. Klim smirked. “You don’t have to get me anything.”

“You’re my dad. I care about you. So I do. What do you want?” Kyle insisted.

“Well, I want you and Luna to get along…”

Kyle sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Look, I know how you feel about her, buddy. Just…can you try for me? Even just for the holiday.”

Kyle looked down. “What day is Christmas?”

“December 25th.”

“What day is today?”

“December 12th.”

“…okay.”

Dr. Klim smiled and patted Kyle on the back. “You’re the best, kiddo.”

———–

The next day, Luna found herself in a new situation– being willingly approached by Kyle. “W-what can I do for you?” she asked.

“Do we have markers and paper?” Kyle asked. He remembered Luna having offered them to him at one point. He also remembered having completely ignored her offer.

“Yes! They’re in your desk in you room. Do you want me to point out where–”

“No. That’s fine.” Kyle turned around, then started to walk to his room. He stopped after a few steps, remembering what his dad had said. “Thank you, Miss Luna.”

Luna smiled. “You’re welcome, Kyle.”

———–

Kyle stared at the blank paper for a while. He hadn’t drawn much before, and never really cared to. But beyond that, this was difficult. He had an idea, but something wasn’t right. It didn’t make sense.

He crumpled the paper up into a ball and threw it to the ground.

Unfortunately, that didn’t feel as good as he hoped it would’ve, so he picked it up, unfolded it, and did it again.

It felt a little more satisfying that time.

So he picked up a new piece of paper and a black marker. He thought for a moment, nodded to himself, then began to draw.

———–

On Christmas Day, Dr. Sigma Klim woke up to an envelope under his tiny Christmas tree. It was marked “Family”. He smiled slightly, then opened it up.

The Thoughts That Count

~ zecretsanta ~ Leave a comment

To: @electric016

From: @therealhousewivesofhyrule

Merry Christmas! Thank you for the lovely C-Team OT3 prompt! I went a liiiiitle off-topic I think but I hope you like it anyway! ❤

(and as a bonus… here is the big plot device in all its glory.) 

——–

“What the hell is it supposed to be, though?” Aoi asks as he nurses his hot chocolate. He tilts his head to from side to side, squinting at the truly strange and horrendous sweater Junpei is holding up in front of him. “Yo, Carlos, you know black and white ain’t all that festive, right?” 

“Yeah, you should have gone for red, at least,” Akane teases. She leans over Carlos’s shoulder and pinches his cheeks. “Like mine!” 

Carlos turns in his chair to look at her, and she strikes a pose, arms splayed wide to show off the baggy sleeves. Akane’s sweater is long and oversized everywhere, perfect for keeping warm on a cold day. She giggles as Carlos makes a twirling motion with his fingers, and she spins in place to show it off. The rabbits going around the sweater seem to hop around her waist as she moves. 

Aoi gives a low, appreciative whistle. “I know I gave you a hard time about all the knitting you were doing,” he starts, “But damn. Didn’t know you were planning something this cool.” 

Reaching up behind his head to scratch at the back of his neck, Carlos laughs sheepishly. “I don’t know if I’d call it cool…” 

“No, it’s so cool!” Akane insists. 

“Yeah, like you know what’s cool and what isn’t.” 

“Aoi!” 

“Cut it out, guys!” Carlos waves his hands to get the siblings’ attention, and it’s just enough to cut their argument short. He’s a little bit surprised that it’s Aoi ribbing his sister tonight and not Junpei, but Junpei has been abnormally quiet ever since he opened the box and pulled out the sweater. He’s still holding it up in front of him, eyes wide and… reverent? Carlos thinks that’s the word he’s looking for, but he’s not quite sure he wants to give himself that much credit.

The two Kurashikis notice Carlos staring and turn their attention to Junpei as well. “Jumpy, are you okay…?” 

Aoi does not have nearly as much concern for him. “Seriously, man, what is that thing?!” 

Carlos laughs and rubs the back of his neck again. “Well, you know that thing Junpei keeps next to the bed?” 

Aoi raises an eyebrow. “You mean that ugly dog picture?” 

At that, Junpei finally lowers the sweater, and his eyes are alight with fury as he stares Aoi down. Akane sighs and buries her face in her palm.

“Are you talking about the funyarinpa?” Junpei asks, voice nearly a growl. Carlos tenses and stands, ready to get between them, if he has to. This is going to go nowhere good. 

“The ugly dog picture from Q? That what it called?” Aoi snorts. “That’s stupid, but yeah.” 

Junpei looks like he’s about to throw the sweater on the ground, but instead he just angrily pulls it on over his clothes and stalks toward Aoi. He looks ridiculous doing it, and Carlos and Akane both exchange a look and try to stifle their giggles in their hands.

“Look, I don’t care whose brother or boyfriend or whatever you are—”

“Your boyfriend, for the record. Or one of them—”

“But in this house, we respect the funyarinpa!”

Akane sighs, but her smile is bright and happy. “Oh, God, there they go.” 

With a nod, Carlos puts a hand on her shoulder and rubs it gently. “I’m sorry. I really should have thought this through a little better.” 

They’ve completely tuned out of the argument Aoi and Junpei are having. Both men are standing and flailing their arms angrily, but luckily, no fists have been thrown yet. Akane giggles again and stands up on her toes to lean in and give Carlos a kiss on the cheek. “Nonsense!” she says. “It’s perfect. I can tell he really loves it.”

Carlos laughs and puts his arm around her. “With the way he’s defending its honour like that? I think you might be right.” 

Akane shifts in his grip to turn and face him properly. Her arms come up to wrap around Carlos’s neck, and she leans up again. Against his lips, she breathes, “And I love mine, too.” 

They kiss, chaste but long and lingering, only breaking apart when they hear a thud and a yelp of pain. Akane and Carlos jump apart, and Akane immediately drops to her knees next to Junpei, who has her brother in a headlock. “Apologize!” he yells. “Apologize to the funyarinpa!”

“Never!” Aoi yells back. “It’s fuckin’ stupid!” 

“You bas—”

“Okay, boys, that’s enough!” Akane says, and with way less effort than should be humanly possible, she yanks Junpei off of Aoi and into her arms. “Aoi, apologize to Junpei and his silly dog picture.”

“Hey—”

“And you, Jumpy! You apologize to Aoi. We do not tolerate roughhousing like this on Christmas, understand?” 

One of her hands rubs at Junpei’s arm, and she smiles sweetly. Everyone in the room knows that what that look really means, though. There’s absolutely nothing sweet about it.

“…Fine,” Aoi says. “Sorry, Junpei.” Junpei frowns and points to his sweater with both hands. Aoi rolls his eyes and adds, “Sorry, ugly dog sweater.” 

“Aoi.” 

“Fine! Sorry funyarinpa.” He rolls his eyes. Junpei grins smugly.

“Now your turn, Junpei.”

“All right.” He sighs dramatically. It’s all for show, and once again Carlos has to hide his laughter behind his hand. “Sorry for putting you in a headlock.” 

“And?” 

“And for yelling at you.” 

“Now that’s more like it.” Aoi stands up and makes a show of dusting off his pants while Akane turns Junpei’s face to hers and kisses him deeply. They’re both smiling into it, and it makes Carlos’s heart flutter seeing his girlfriend and one of his boyfriends so happy. He only pulls his eyes away when he feels Aoi nudge him. “Guess I’m sorry for calling the sweater ugly, too. So, uh, sorry, Carlos.” 

Carlos chuckles and puts an arm around Aoi’s shoulder. He squeezes him lightly. “Nah, it’s fine. The whole point was to make you guys ugly Christmas sweaters.” 

With a laugh, Aoi gestures to his own sweater – light blue with snowflakes all over it. “That why all the snowflakes on this thing are uneven?” He points to one of them, particularly distorted, with one half of it much smaller than the other. At this, Carlos pushes him away lightly. 

“No, that’s because no two snowflakes are the same.” 

“So you’re saying this isn’t your first ever attempt at knitting sweaters?”

“No, it’s not! Goodness, you are rude today.” 

“You love it, though.” Aoi leans in close and steals a quick kiss, right at the same time Junpei and Akane get up off the floor. Junpei frowns and punches Carlos lightly in the arm that isn’t still holding Aoi. 

“What, no love for me?” 

Once again, Aoi rolls his eyes, and Carlos just leans in close and ruffles Junpei’s hair. “So needy, Jumpy.” But they both lean in and kiss Junpei, one after the other. Dork that Junpei might be, he still doesn’t quite know how to process such open affection like this, and his face blushes a furious red. 

“Th-that’s not…” 

“Aw, shut up.” Aoi pecks him on the forehead again, and somehow, Junpei’s face gets even more red. “You know, you’re cute when you blush like that.”

“Almost as cute as my sweater,” Akane says fondly.

“Almost the same colour, too,” Carlos adds. Junpei throws his arms up in the air and turns around in a vain attempt at hiding his face, but they all already know he’s nothing but a blushing mess now. Akane hugs him from behind and slowly coaxes him to turn around again, once his face is closer to its usual colour. 

“Did you make one for Maria, too?” she asks.

“I did,” says Carlos, smiling softly. “I was going to bring it to the hospital tomorrow. You know, like a normal Christmas morning. And I…” He takes a deep breath, and now it’s his turn for his cheeks to redden. “I was hoping you’d all come too. Make it a family thing?” 

Three pairs of eyes go wide, three mouths fall open. Akane’s is the first to stretch into a smile, and she leaves Junpei to throw her arms around Carlos instead. “Oh, Carlos! Of course we will! You don’t even have to ask us!”

“Yeah,” Junpei adds. “I mean, she’s your sister, right?” 

“And family’s important.” Aoi crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Damn right, we’re going with you.” 

Carlos’s heart swells. He pulls all three of them in for a hug, awkward as it is, and he feels three sets of arms and hands on him, pulling him close and squeezing. 

They’re right. Family is important. And Carlos has never felt so loved by his family in all his life.