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"Do you want me to turn the lights off?"
"Ah-!! Wait, hold on!"
He held out his hands, motioning for the other boy to stop as he reached out towards a small Keroppi figure on the nightstand.
[click]
A soft, yet warm green light glows.
"Now you can!"
"..Is that a nightlight?"
"Y-yes! Why?!"
"Nothing, nothing.."
[click]
"I'm just a bit surprised. I didn't think you slept with a nightlight."
"Well, that's just because I never told you.."
"I find it quite adorable, fufu~ our dear troupe leader, sleeping with a nightlight AND stuffed animals?"
"SHUT UP!!! You know Emu does the same and you don't bully her for it!!"
"Oh, did that come off wrong? I apologize, my dear star~! I didn't mean to hurt you..!"
"I won't forgive you unless you hug me."
He outstretches his arms as he lays down in bed, making grabby hands.
"Come."
"Ah.."
"What, did you think I'd let you sleep on the couch or something?! Not only would that make me a bad host, but we're also boyfriends! Lay down beside me, Rui!"
"Of course.."
"Don't act so flustered about it!"
"Your face is red, too.."
"HOW CAN YOU TELL?!! The light is green!!! Keroppi green!!"
He joins his boyfriend on the small bed. The star wraps his arms around his director, pulling him close so he wouldn't risk falling off.
"I just can. We're quite close, too."
The blond buries his head against the taller one.
"Shut up."
"What did you say?"
He pulls back, huffing.
"Mmm.. go to sleep, Rui."
He buries his face against his chest once more.
"...Goodnight, Tsukasa-kun."
"G'night.."
Rui waits until he can hear Tsukasa's snores. When he does, he slowly and carefully reaches for the Keroppi nightlight and turns it off with a click, making sure that the blond doesn't wake up. Then he wraps his arm around Tsukasa once more, and goes to sleep for the night, smiling as he feels Tsukasa's soft breath against his chest and hears his soft snores that were bound to grow louder later on.
"Goodnight, my love."
————
A nightlight.
That's what Rui had made Tsukasa for Christmas.
Since that day, the thought stuck in Rui's mind: 'What if I make him a nightlight for Christmas?'
It was one of those thoughts where you would go "Nah, I probably can't do that. I don't have the money or the materials and stuff" but then suddenly you actually do it and you're like "Huh. I did end up doing it. Neat." And it just feels like a fever dream.
Rui held up the star nightlight he had made, complete with a remote that could control the colour and brightness of the star, like an LED light remote. Now, he just needed to package it safely, wrap it up, and head over to Tsukasa's home!
Because no, he couldn't wait to give him his present. He had to do it now.
...And in the best way ever.
After another 30 minutes or so of wrapping his gift with the help of his mother, Rui entered his closet and pulled out a costume.
It was red.
It was white.
It was black.
It was gold.
It was a Santa Claus costume, complete with a hat, a sack, and even a fake beard.
Santa Claus was becoming real tonight, just for Tsukasa Tenma.
Rui grinned as he began to put on his costume. He was such a great boyfriend, wasn't he? What made it even better was that Tsukasa was an avid Santa Claus believer. But.. as long as Tsukasa didn't spot Rui and think that he was actually Santa, it would be fine.
..As long as he infiltrated the Tenma Household without being detected, it would be fine.
Having finished putting on his amazing Santa cosplay, Rui put his present inside the sack, and took a deep breath.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," He said to himself, looking as his festive reflection in the mirror.
"Well.. here we go."
————
Pro: Thank god Rui had a drivers licence. There was absolutely no way that he was going to walk through the streets dressed as fucking Santa Claus.
Con: Nene saw him as he exited the house and took a picture. He realized this when he took his phone out after having parked in front of the Tenma household.
Nene 💚
Nene has sent an image
This you?? 😭😭
You
WHEN DDI YOU TAKE THAT
Nene 💚
I SAW YOU LEAVING YOUR HOUSE
WHY ARE YOU DRESSED AS SANTA
WHAT AR YOH DOINB WHERE ARE YOU RN HELP
You
I'm gonna give my gift to Tsukasa
Nene 💚
ofc you are
have fun
would you want me to send this to ppl
You
please do not 🥰
Nene 💚
good
anyway bye
Rui stared at the screen for a few seconds more before shaking his head. He turned his phone off, shoving it into his pocket as he exited the car.
Step 2: Enter the Tenma Household.
Now, here was the hard part. Rui had to be careful and make sure his present that he spent so many precious hours on stayed safe and protected while he climbed onto the roof of the Tenma household.
His goal was to get to the chimney. He was dressed as Santa, and it was 11:28 on December 24th, after all. He had to commit to his act. And if that meant falling down a chimney and possibly getting set on fire, he'd.. take that risk. probably. Maybe.
...He was taking the risk.
Rui took a deep breath, his red and gold sack slung over his shoulder. Thus, he began his majestical ascend onto the rooftop of the Tenma Household.
He had noticed earlier that all the lights were off, and no smoke was coming from the chimney.. that likely meant there was no fire. However, Rui knew that there would still be a shit ton of ash inside that would undoubtedly ruin his outfit. Thankfully, Rui was wearing pyjamas underneath. He wasn't just going to come and go, after all. He was planning to sneak into bed with Tsukasa so he'd wake up to him by his side on Christmas day!
...That is, if he actually somehow managed to not wake up anyone in the house.
Finally, after a few more minutes of scaling the walls and carefully inching over to the chimney, Rui held his sack in front of him, standing before the opening.
He stared up at the chimney, taking a deep breath.
...
Rui narrowed his eyes and pulled up his fake Santa beard.
Sorry, Santa outfit. But sacrifices must be made for the greater good.
With a quiet "Heave-ho", Rui climbed onto the chimney, sitting on top of it as he hugged the sack protectively in his arms.
Jesus christ, he was really doing this.
His legs were already dangling inside the chimney. So, without any further hesitation, Rui pushed himself forwards and he slipped off the edge, bracing himself he plummeted down the chimney.
'Oh god oh god oh GOD', Rui repeated in his head as he squeezed his eyes shut, curling himself into a ball as he braced for impact and oh god he could have dropped some kind of mat down there first to soften the fall PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT HURT HIM-
....
BWOMP
PWOOOOFF
....
"..Ow, FUCK.."
After another moment or so of awkwardly sitting inside the fireplace that thank god had enough ash inside to soften the noise (which was a bit concerning but at least now his ass didn't hurt THAT much), Rui slowly opened his eyes. He was at the bottom of the chimney, safe from getting his ass lit on fire. When he looked inside the sack, he was grateful to see that it, too, was safe from harm.
Now, step 3.. get out.
Rui slowly pushed himself out of the fireplace, mentally telling himself to clean the floor after. He stood up and dusted himself off, taking off his boots and walking over to the front to place them on the shoe rack.
He took off his Santa costume and shoved it inside the sack, but not before taking out his neatly wrapped present and making sure there was no dust or ash on it.
..Seriously, Rui really thought he was making a lot of noise. Either all the Tenmas were very deep sleepers, or he's not being as loud as he thought he was.
Rui made sure that he himself was clean before walking up to Tsukasa's loft, present in hand. The staircases in this household were an absolute nightmare. Everytime he went up or down, he always feared that he would trip on the spaces between the steps or just straight up fall. These stairs were not safe.
...A lot of things about the design of this place scared him. Tsukasa once told Rui about how the lofts railing used to be HALF THE HEIGHT when he was still SIX, and he once FELL OVER THE RAILING AND FELL DOWN ALL THE WAY TO THE FIRST FLOOR. He then proceeded to describe a gruesome scene that included having to get surgery to stick his broken bone back inside his leg. Thankfully, the railings height was renovated soon afterwards.
Whoever made the design for this house needed anything but a raise. In fact, Rui strongly believed that they should get fired.
Anyway.
Rui reached the top of the the stairs, peeking at the lump in the bed that was apparently Tsukasa. Good news: he seemed to be both snoring and facing the wall, which made things easier for Rui.
He slowly crept across the room, dramatically tip toeing over to the nightstand like a cartoon character and placing his gift on the wooden surface. The Keroppi light seemed to be off. Maybe his parents turned it off once they realized he was asleep?
Rui smiled, visualizing the thought. That seemed sweet. The Tenma parents really were kind, too.
Now, here comes yet another hard part.
Getting into bed without waking up Tsukasa.
The director took a deep breath, staring at Tsukasa's sleeping figure before slowly raising the bedsheets.
Very carefully, he slipped into the bed, trying his hardest to avoid any harsh movements and loud creaks. Thankfully, Tsukasa stayed asleep, and when he he covered himself and his boyfriend with the blanket once more, he snuggled his face into the crook of Tsukasa's neck and wrapped his arms around him like a koala.
Rui loved being the big spoon. Tsukasa even mumbled in his sleep, subconsciously adjusting to a position that was more comfortable for the both of them.
Mission complete!
Rui chuckled softly, kissing Tsukasa and whispering in his ear.
"Merry Christmas, Starlight."
————
He had forgotten to clean up the ash downstairs.
————
The next day, after everyone had woken up, Rui was yelled at and lectured by Tsukasa (and even Saki) for the following:
1) Breaking and Entering
2) Leaving the downstairs (especially the area surrounding the fireplace) an absolute mess full of dust and ash
3) Not cleaning
4) Telling nobody about his plan
5) Climbing the house
6) Jumping down the chimney
and 7) Placing his sack in a bad area because it was also dirty and now he got the coffee table dirty too.
But Tsukasa, after having opened his gift, decided to cut Rui some slack- in which he would also help Rui clean the house instead of forcing him to do it alone.
Also, another bonus was the amount of hugs and kisses and thank you's he got from Tsukasa after he had opened his gift. The star nightlight was now standing proudly beside Tsukasa's Keroppi light, and he had promised to begin using it today.
And guess what! Tsukasa gave Rui a gift too! He got a bunch of brand new set of tools!
So, all in all, what lesson did Rui learn today?
Next time you decide to jump down a chimney dressed as Santa Claus, always remember to clean the floors.