Chapter Text
There was a zero percent chance that Nicholas Cox was going to have a good Christmas.
He had resigned himself to that fact early in the month, when it became clear that all of his friends were leaving for home while he stayed at King’s Row. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, and he was definitely used to it by now- he could count the amount of presents he had received from his mother in his life on two hands.
So it’s not like he wasn’t expecting the holiday to be shitty.
And yet, as he lay on his bed in his soon-to-be empty room, he couldn’t help but feel a little miserable for himself. It was Saturday the 19th, and Eugene and Bobby had left for home the night before. Most of King’s Row had cleared out as well, and, for the time being, it seemed as though Nick and Seiji Katayama were the only ones in the building.
As he thought that, Nick couldn’t help but glance at the shower curtain that separated their two halves of the room. Seiji was out right now, which was very unlike him, and Nick felt a twinge of annoyance that he wasn’t out of their room already. His bags had been packed for nearly a week, it was time for him to go, for god’s sake.
Nick groaned as he stretched out on his bed, reaching for his phone in sheer boredom. He texted a quick “hey” to both Eugene and Bobby, but neither responded, so he opened up Flappy Bird. It was a fun game, one he was good at and could focus on, and he was near to his high score when the door shut and Nick noticed a sudden presence standing over his bed.
He yelped and jumped at the probable vampire that was Seiji Katayama, and glared at him from his new position on the floor. “We need to get you a bell.”
“Get your bags.” Seiji said, ignoring his comment as Nick picked himself off the ground. “We’re leaving.”
“I mean, honestly, you’re so quiet it’s like, freaky. Is it your shoes? Do they have some special- wait, what?”
“I said, get your bags.”
“Um, why? I’m staying here this break. Are you kidnapping me?”
Seiji rolled his eyes. “I’ve just got off the phone with my father, and he, for some reason, thinks it would be a good idea to bring you to my home for Christmas.”
“Well, first off, that makes no sense. Secondly, tell your dad thanks, I guess? And thirdly, I mean, you gotta ask about stuff like that, Seiji.”
“I’m not asking, I’m telling- you are coming to my house for Christmas.”
“Why not start with something more like, ‘Nicholas, I would be deeply honored if you would attend my residence for the winter holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus.’”
“That’s not what I sound like.”
“It kinda is.”
“Fine. Would you care to come to my house for Christmas?” Seiji said, deadpan as could possibly be.
“Hmmmmm….” Nick glanced around the room, making a big show of looking deep in concentration, before shrugging carelessly. “Yeah, okay.”
*
So after an intense packing session, a three-hour drive, and a one-sided conversation with Seiji, Nick was standing, awestruck, in front of the largest house he had ever seen in his life. It had three stories and an iron gate in front of it, and to Nicholas, it looked like it came right out of a movie.
“Nicholas, close your mouth.” Seiji said. “Bethany, thank you for the ride. It is greatly appreciated.”
The woman who had driven them tipped her head slightly and grinned. “Have a fine Christmas, Mr. Katayama!”
“You as well. Come on, it’s freezing outside.”
Nick jolted himself and hoisted his bag, dashing after Seiji and nearly slipping on the snow.
He caught up as Seiji opened the door, and both boys were ushered inside by a tall, graceful woman with Seiji’s eyes and nose.
“Oh!” she cried, flinging her arms around her son. “Ma cherie! It has been too long.”
“Yes, Mother, I have missed you.” Nicholas couldn’t help but noticed that, for the first time ever, he was witnessing Seiji willingly hug someone.
His mother released him, and Seiji was pulled into another hug by a man with Seiji’s face and mouth. All three of them had a jawline you could cut with.
“You are well? School has been okay? Mangez-vous bien?"
“Oui, mais la nourriture il n’y a rien comme à la maison.” Seiji said as he pulled himself from his father.
The three of them began a rapid-fire conversation in French, and as Nicholas looked at them, he felt a strange sensation bubbling inside him. Was this what a family looked like? Parts making a unit? It suddenly struck Nicholas as a very unusual thing to be standing here, at someone else’s house, looking at someone else’s family, to celebrate Christmas with people you’d never met. It was even weirder to consider that the someone was his fencing rival and friend.
As he considered the family, Seiji dropped the conversation back into English and gestured slightly at Nick.
“Mother, Father, this is my friend Nicholas.”
And then Nick was under their gaze. He had always known, and been victim to, Seiji’s piercing gaze but it was nothing compared to the three most powerful and terrifying people he’d ever met staring at him all at once.
“Hi.” he said, waving slightly.
There was a brief pause, where Nick could feel the physical tension pressing into him, making him want to crawl into a hole and never come out. It was broken by Seiji’s mother pulling Nick into a tight and quick hug as his father began the usual pleasantries- how he liked school, how he’d gotten into fencing, did he like King’s Row, ect.
“Seiji, why not take your… Nicholas on a tour of the house? Show him the library and the piste and your room?” his mother said when the conversation lulled slightly.
Seiji nodded, hoisting his bag and glancing at Nick to do the same.
“Mother, Father… we’ll see you at dinner. It’s lovely being home.” Seiji said, making his way toward the stairs as Nick scurried after him.
“Your parents are nice.” Nick said when they reached the top of the stairs. Seiji paused, before nodding slightly.
“I agree.”
“Where am I sleeping?”
“We’ll work that out later. You can put your bag in my room for now.”
At that, Seiji pushed open the door to his room.
It looked exactly like Nick had pictured it. The bed was enormous and looked like it was made out of feathers and other soft shit. An entire wall was filled with bookshelves, each hardback and neatly in their place. A desk was tucked away in a corner. The only decoration- at all- seemed to be on Seiji’s bedside table, which had three pictures neatly aligned on it.
Nick dropped his bag and beelined for the bookshelf, pulling one out at random.
“Lord of the Rings?” he said, grinning.
“Yes. I enjoy fantasy, and it’s a classic.” Seiji said, looking at Nick’s bag in distaste.
“Huh. Guess I shoulda figured you’d enjoy something like this.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
Nick looked at Seiji and smiled. “Nothin’. Your mom said you had a library?”
“It’s not this, if that’s what you’re asking. Put that back, I’ll give you a tour.”
Nick did as asked and followed Seiji throughout the house.
It slowly dawned on Nick that he was unlikely to ever meet anyone as rich as the Katayamas again. They had an indoor pool, a library, a gourmet kitchen, and a garage with some of the fanciest cars Nick had ever heard of. It was… it wasn’t something Nick could put into words.
When Seiji showed him the gym, Nicholas almost fainted. It was state-of-the art, equipped with the best equipment for any type of exercise. It was big, bigger than the one at King’s Row, and Nicholas felt his head swim.
“Nichlas,” Seiji said, pulling Nick back to reality. “We have to get ready for dinner.”
“Oh. Does that mean we need to wear fancy clothes? I don’t have a suit…”
“No, Nicholas, you do not need to wear a suit to my family dinner.”
“Oh.”
Shockingly, the dinner went okay, and it was two hours later that Nick and Seiji were sitting in his room again. Seiji had pulled out a book (not Lord of the Rings) and sat at his desk, before pausing, getting up again, and handing Nick a slim book called Johannes Cabal the Necromancer.
“I read this when I was ten. It should be about your reading level.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I’ve just given you a book. Shut up and let me read.”
Nick grumbled but sat in the corner, tucked by the bookshelf, and cracked open the novel.
The silence in the room was comfortable as they read. Nicholas had actually found himself enjoying the book more than he expected. It was funny and interesting, and the characters seemed realistic. Johannes reminded him a bit of Seiji.
“Seiji,” he said quietly, breaking the silence. “Why did your dad have me come for Christmas?”
Seiji glanced at him, closing his book. He sighed.
“I… may have mentioned that we are… friends.”
“And that made him want to have me here for a family holiday?”
“Nicholas, you know I am not very good at making friends. I believe he was surprised, and yes, wanted to meet you.”
“Oh.” Nicholas considered this. “Do you think he likes me? And your mom?”
“How on Earth would I know that?”
“I dunno.”
They read in silence for a while again, before Seiji sighed.
“I need to go to bed.”
“Okay.”
“So get out of my room.”
“I don’t know where I’m sleeping.”
“I’ll show you.”
Seiji led him to a bedroom, bid him goodnight, and left.
So now, Nick lay in a room that resembled Seiji’s, but with no bookshelf and no photos. It was too cold, and the bed was too big, and- for some reason- he felt as though he couldn’t sleep without the calming sound of another person breathing.
He slept poorly that night.