Author:
Author: Akuma
Feedback: yes, please!! Please send it to akuma2x1@hotpop.com
Pairings: 2x1
Rating: PG-13
Warning: AU, humor, fluff
Archive: http://www.geocities.com/akuma2x1/archive.html. If you want to put my fics on your site, just email me ^_^
Disclaimer: GW characters aren't mine. >_<
Summary: Heero wished upon a bright star for a Christmas present for being good during the year and the next morning he had a naked stranger in his bed who claimed to be his Santa.
My Own Private Santa Claus
It was barely the beginning of December but the whole town had already been decked in Christmas decorations. Heero looked down at the street from his small apartment on the second floor of a rather old building. He didn't have anything against Christmas. He didn't hate it; didn't like it much either. He enjoyed watching the children running around the white, snow covered pavement followed by their parents whose hands were full of wrapped presents. It was a beautiful scene but it often reminded him how lonely his life was. Growing up alone as an orphan, and being antisocial didn't help it a lot in the friend department.
He leant against the window's bar and looked up to the sky. It was a clear night, nary a cloud. The stars twinkled here and there as if they were rejoicing in the Christmas spirit. His blue eyes glanced at the clock on his wooden desk. One minute past midnight. Now it was the fifth and Heero recalled that today was the day he started his new job where a certain big bellied and long, white bearded guy in red suit came and gave presents to children who had behaved well.
Again, being an orphan had him at a disadvantage. He'd never had a present given to him. No smiling parents to give him colorfully wrapped gifts, or laughing siblings to share the gifts with. The orphanage where he'd grown up was very strict and on a very tight budget. Nevertheless, it had been a shelter for his young self. At least until he'd been too old to be adopted and had to leave the orphanage so younger children could take his place in there.
"I have been good for years," Heero muttered to no one as his eyes fixated on one particular bright shining star. "If you really exist, Santa, I would like a present, at least once in my life."
The star he was looking at suddenly blinked once and disappeared. Heero blinked in surprise and scrunched his eyes to find it again. But the bright shining star wasn't anywhere in the night sky.
"Even the long lasting star left me," Heero snorted and turned around, heading toward his bed. He had indulged in his melancholy mood enough for today. Tomorrow he had had work to do.
Heero settled into his single bed and pulled the comforter over his slim wiry body. It was too bad that he slept with his back facing on the window. For if Heero had slept facing the window, he would have seen with his sleepy eyes, a bright star falling to the earth.
~*~
So warm and comfortable. Heero sighed happily and snuggled deeper into his pillow. There was a soft sound which made him frown. He shifted slightly and felt his pillow hug him tighter. There was another noise which sounded suspiciously like a snore.
That certainly surprised Heero into opening his eyes.
Pillows couldn't hug back. Neither could they snore. His eyes fell on to a bare chest which was enough to make Heero squeak and jump out of his bed.
It took him a couple of seconds to calm his frantically beating heart while his eyes never left the big lump in his bed. There was also a cascade of light brown hair covering the comforter. Before Heero could determine where the hair was coming from, the lump moved. Heero jerked in surprise and took a step back. A hand came out from beneath the comforter and patted the space where Heero had slept in as if searching for something.
Not finding what it was searching for, the lump moved again, and this time the comforter was set aside, revealing what the lump really was.
Heero swallowed.
The lump was a long haired boy with violet eyes.
Without a stitch of clothing on his porcelain skinned body.
The said naked boy was now sitting on the bed and smiling at him.
"Morning."
Heero blinked at the sleep rough voice. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Duo." The boy smiled and jumped out of the bed. Heero was still too surprised by the boy's appearance that he hadn't had time to move when the boy hugged him. "Nice to meet you!"
Heero's brain was threatening to short circuit. First, there was a stranger on his bed. HIS BED. Then the said stranger had hugged him. HUGGED HIM!
Half of his mind took note that this was how it felt to be hugged while the other half was trying to find an explanation for how a stranger could enter his apartment and SLEEP WITH him without him knowing.
Unfortunately, no answer came out so Heero had to ask the culprit himself. He struggled out of the hug and took another step back from the still naked boy. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to be with you," said Duo and gave Heero a big, blinding smile.
The smile and the words held Heero captive for a few seconds. He'd once seen a movie where the male character had said a line similar to the boy's answer and it had felt so cheesy at the time. Now that the words were addressed to him, Heero felt something warm flutter in his chest. But of course then the naked boy had to ruin it by opening his mouth.
"What's your name?" asked the boy.
Heero felt a nerve twitch somewhere in his head. "You don't know my name and you dare throw those cheesy words at me?"
The long haired boy DARED to look blank. "What is cheesy?"
Another nerve twitched in Heero's head. "Don't joke with me, bastard."
Now that got a reaction out of the boy. "You shouldn't say such bad word."
Heero looked at the strange boy in bewilderment. Of all the things to react to, the boy chose to react over him saying a bad word?
"So, what's your name?" the long haired boy asked before Heero had a chance to formulate a response.
"Heero," Heero poked at the bare chest in front of him. They were about the same height and Heero was sure the boy was around the same age as him. "How the hell did you get into my apartment?"
Again, the boy frowned. "Don't say bad words, Heero."
Heero had to sneer at that. "What are you? My Santa?"
Heero should have known that the boy wouldn't answer like common people did. The boy grinned and hugged him tightly. "Yup, I'm your Santa!"
This had to be a weird dream, Heero decided. His mind refused to process any more of this bizarre boy and suggested to him one course of sensible action. Heero struggled out of the boy's embrace and made a beeline toward his bed.
"Heero, what are you doing?"
Heero ignored the question and climbed back into his bed. He pulled the comforter over his head and closed his eyes. Surely once he fell asleep and opened his eyes again, the boy would be gone.
As he tried falling asleep, Heero felt the bed shift and the very naked body of the boy settle behind him. Soon arms and legs hooked around his body and drew him into a warm embrace. A dream, this was nothing but a weird dream, Heero kept telling himself and ignored the nice feeling of being warmed outside and in.
~*~
The next time Heero opened his eyes was because of the shrill tone of his alarm. He quickly sat up on the bed and grabbed for the alarm. Half past seven! Damnit, he only had half an hour to reach his work place or he would be late.
He'd never had to use the alarm to wake up since he could usually wake at any time he told himself to. He had set the alarm just as a safety precaution and now it had certainly paid off. Why the hell hadn't he woken up like he usually did? Heero wondered, still staring at the noisy alarm.
"What's the noise?" came a question from Heero's side.
His memory returned in full at the questioning voice and with dread, Heero turned to look at the other occupant in his bed. Sure enough, the strange, naked boy was slowly sitting up. He stretched in abandon and yawned widely. The boy then regarded Heero with a smile. "Shouldn't you turn off your alarm?"
"You are still here," Heero said haltingly as he turned off his alarm.
"Of course." The boy grinned. "I'm your Santa after all."
Heero groaned in distress. Somehow this addled brained boy had invaded his apartment and made his life a misery. "I don't have time for this."
The boy tilted his head to the side slightly. "Don't have time for what?"
"I have to go to work." Heero left his bed and hurriedly headed into the bathroom. Maybe when he came out of the shower the strange boy would be gone. He was in denial, Heero realized as he took his shower, but he could hope, couldn't he?
His denial only lasted until he stepped out of the bathroom. The boy was waiting for him in the kitchen. Breakfast ready on the table was not the first thing Heero noticed. What caught his attention was that the boy was not naked anymore. He had bound his hair in braid and was wearing a red, sleeveless turtleneck and white pants. "Where were your clothes before?" Heero looked down at the table, "And where did you get eggs for breakfast? I remember I ran out of them two days ago."
"My clothes and the eggs were from here, of course, "the boy answered as he lifted a plain, brown sack. "Do sit down and have a breakfast."
Heero stared at the sack which was no bigger than his kettle pot. "What else is in there?"
The grin on the boy's face was so not to Heero's liking. "Everything I need, Heero."
Heero decided he didn't want further clarification about that statement. He felt slight thankful though that he didn't have to waste time preparing breakfast. Though come to think of it, it was because of this crazy boy that he hadn't woken up on time.
He demolished the breakfast rather quickly and still had ten minutes to spare before he had to catch the bus to work. He eyed the smiling boy sitting in front of him and decided he could use the time to question the intruder.
"Why are you here?"
"To be with you," the boy answered with absolute certainty.
"Why do you want to be with me?"
"I'm your Santa, Heero," the boy said as if Heero should have known better than to ask him.
Heero felt his headache starting again. "Whoever you are, one thing you are not, is Santa."
The boy scowled. "I am Santa."
"Right and I'm your reindeer," Heero said sarcastically.
Heero reaaaaaaallllly should have known better. Not only was the sarcasm lost on Duo, the strange boy took him seriously.
The boy sent him a thousand megawatt smile and said, "Of course you are."
While Heero was stunned speechless at the answer, Duo started to clean the table.
It took Heero a minute to snap out of his shock. He stood up. "I AM NOT..."
The phone ringing cut his outburst. Heero had a good mind to continue his words and to hell with the phone but changed his mind when he saw the crazy boy heading toward the phone.
"I'll get it!" Heero said and snatched the phone roughly. "Yuy here."
"Ah Yuy, it's me, Mr. Smith."
The manager! Heero grabbed the phone tighter and hoped he hadn't sounded too unpleasant with his greeting. It was all that crazy boy's fault! Heero shot daggers at the innocent looking Duo.
"Manager, I'm not late for work, am I?"
"No, no," The manager quickly reassured but Heero noticed he still sounded upset.
"So why have you called me?"
"Victor suddenly quit his job. I wonder if you might have a friend who could take his place?"
He didn't have any friends was the first thing Heero wanted to say but then his eyes fell on Duo who was busy cleaning the kitchen. The gears in his mind quickly turned and Heero couldn't help how ironic the situation had turned out to be. "Anybody will do, right?"
"Yes, as long as he is the right height. I don't care whether he is fat or thin, we can work that out. Hell, I will even accept a female if worse comes to worst."
"I think I have just the right man," Heero said, "Let me ask him first. Can you call me back in five minutes, Sir?"
"I'll call. Thanks, Yuy."
"No problem," Heero disconnected the call and stared at his bed's intruder.
Duo noticed his stare and stopped his cleaning. "Yes?"
"Do you have a job somewhere?" Heero asked.
"Of course, I'm Santa after all."
Heero decided to translate Duo's answer as 'No, I don't have any job' and asked again, "Do you have plans for today?"
"Nope," Duo said quickly but then looked thoughtful. "Maybe we can use the time to train you as my reindeer."
"No! I have work to do." Heero glared at the boy. "And I'm not your reindeer!"
Duo frowned at him. "You are."
"Am not!" Heero spread his arms wide. "I'm human, baka!"
"You are human with reindeer blood in him, Heero."
Heero stared at the crazy boy and decided not to argue further with him. It was stupid to argue with a crazy person after all. The boy was quite normal, as long as Heero ignored any Santa related sentences he popped up with here and there.
"Whatever. Since you are free, you can take Victor's job."
"I already have a job, Heero."
"This is the same job." Heero grinned at Duo's look of confusion. He was saved from explaining further as the phone rang. Yes, this was the perfect arrangement. He would get rid of the crazy boy and at the same time, Duo would get to be what he thought he was. And if the children noticed their Santa was sprouting nonsense, they would surely chalk it up to him being Santa, wouldn't they?
~*~
Heero Yuy. Sixteen years old and an orphan.
Currently, he was working as one of Santa's elves in a famous entertainment park. The park had built a special area where children could spend some time with Santa, be it to get their gift (pre ordered by their parents of course) or taking pictures together with Santa. The spot was quite beautiful, the park's crew had put white pine trees around and built half of a giant igloo. Inside the half igloo, sat Santa on his throne, surrounded by his elves.
Usually Santa's elves were kind to children and always smiling, but Heero, with his antisocial attitude and grumpy looking face, got to be the black elf. Black elves were different from the usual elves. As their name indicated, black elves had black skin, really black as in black paint. They wore black from head to toe, except for one red pompom on their black cap. Each brought a broom and a sack. Though their lips were painted red, they always looked dour.
Heero was of the opinion that they had black skin and a broom because they had to clean the chimney so Santa could pass through without getting dirty. He enjoyed his role as the black elf. Children were usually afraid of black elves and often they cried at the mere sight of him swinging his broom. Granted that most of the crying children were usually the children who had done something bad. They thought he was going to spank them with the broom and put them into his sack.
Children did have a powerful imagination and adults used it to keep them under control. Black elves were effective in keeping children in line after all.
"You are supposed to be my reindeer not a black elf," was said in upset tone.
Heero sighed and turned to his left where an obviously fake, fat Santa was sitting on the throne. "Duo, shut up. The children will arrive any minute."
"This is preposterous. The clothes are rough and too thick. I'm hot in here." Duo pulled the collar of his Santa outfit and tried to send some air inside by waving his hand.
"Well, children like to have their Santa big and fat, with a white beard and hair, so you have to endure your discomfort for the sake of children, Santa Duo."
Santa Duo was clearly unhappy with the information judging by his sulking expression. "Humans are very strange. Why do they think Santa would want to live in an igloo? It's a dull place to live."
Heero watched him in amusement. Mr. Smith's crew had done quite a good job though. Duo's young face was hidden beneath a mustache, beard, hair, and thick eyebrows. All white. None of Duo's light brown hair showed at all. Heero was curious as to how they'd hidden Duo's long braid. He made a note to ask Duo later.
"In position, everybody," Mr. Smith shouted as he clapped his hands. "The children are coming."
"Smile," Heero said and his devious side couldn't resist adding, "don't forget to say 'ho ho ho'."
Duo narrowed his eyes at the amused black elf. "You are being a bad reindeer. I'll punish you later."
Heero rolled his eyes but didn't have a chance to retort back. Happy squeals and frightened cries told him that the children were here.
~*~
Everything went well. Once the children arrived, Duo had turned into the perfect Santa with a perfect 'Ho ho ho'. He put each child on his lap and chatted with them, asking what they wanted. He didn't hesitate to coax shy or frightened children to approach him. Heero, meanwhile, was enjoying keeping the children in their place in the queue. He only needed to approach them or swing his broom slightly and the children would not dare to wander around. They even didn't dare to make any sound or movement if he passed them.
Of course everything has an exception. Heero watched as a boy around nine years old separated from the queue and made a beeline toward Santa. He was a little fat and had blond hair.
Heero quickly intercepted the boy and asked in a menacing voice, "What do you want, little boy?"
The boy put his hands on his hips and glared at Heero. "I'm not little and I want to talk to Santa."
"Well, as you can see, Santa is very busy right now." Heero gestured toward where Duo was receiving a girl on his lap while out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy's mother approaching them. "You will have to stand in line to be able to talk to him."
"I don't want to wait!" The boy stomped his foot. Heero noticed he was wearing fine quality clothes and the latest in designer sport shoes.
"Dennis, you shouldn't have left without telling me." The boy's mother arrived next to the boy.
"Mama, I want to see Santa now but this stupid servant stopped me!"
Heero scowled, making his black face look even more menacing. "I'm not a servant, kid."
"Actually, you are a servant." The boy's mother looked down at him. "Elves are Santa's little helpers and helper is equivalent to servant."
"Mamaaaa! I want to meet Santa!"
"Of course, honey bear." The woman patted her son and then turned to Heero. "Surely you can make an allowance for my Dennis. He's been very patient in waiting."
Heero was staring at the woman in disbelief. No wonder the kid acted like a brat. The woman obviously spoiled the boy to the extreme! Heero schooled his features into indifference. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. But a rule is a rule. Your son will have to wait in line for his turn. Now will you please..."
"Don't be silly, boy." The woman laughed at him, "Rules are made to be broken. My Dennis has been a good boy."
"I want to eat the giant chocolate candy and use the newest model snowboard now!" The brat Dennis cried out.
Heero would eat his red pompom if the boy had been a good boy just for one day. "Sorry, but every child here has been good too. They are so good that they don't mind waiting in line for their turn."
The woman scowled at Heero, "I get it." She opened her bag and took out a fifty dollar note. "Here, you just look to the side and let us be."
God, he hated rich people. Yes, fifty dollars meant a lot to him but he wouldn't swallow his pride just for money.
Heero shook his head. "Ma'am, I don't want the money. Please wait in line for your son's turn."
"Stupid servant! I hate you!" Dennis cried out and tried to run pass Heero. He caught the boy easily and turned to the boy's mother.
"Please, take your boy and stay in - SHIT!" Heero cursed in pain.
Dennis had kicked him in the shin.
"Let me through, stupid black elf!" the boy shouted and kicked Heero's other shin.
Heero gasped in pain and felt his legs wobble. He had to release his broom to balance himself. It felt like the damn kid was wearing some sort of steel capped boots. He was damned if he'd fall because of an attack from a kid. Gritting his teeth, Heero straightened up and saw that the other children were either crying or looked horrified while their parents were scowling at someone behind his back.
Heero turned around and cursed when he saw the woman had taken her son's hand and made a beeline towards Santa. Damn woman wasn't fit to be a parent. Heero picked his broom up and went after them, limping slightly from the brat's attack.
"Spank them with your broom, elf," came a mutter from one of the parents. "Serve them right for jumping the queue."
Heero intended to do just that.
~*~
As it turned out, Heero was too late to stop them. The woman had already cut into another child's turn and shoved her son onto Santa's lap.
"I want my chocolate and snowboard!" Dennis shouted before he was firmly seated on Duo's lap.
"Oh, have you been a good boy?" Duo asked pleasantly. Heero was torn between getting onto the throne and pulling the boy off or strangling Santa for letting the boy have his way.
"Of course." Dennis puffed up with pride, "I'm a very good and clever boy."
"Really?" Duo raised one white eyebrow.
"Oh yes, Santa," Dennis' mother cut in. "He's a perfect example for other boys."
"Well, I think I will give you what you deserve then," Duo spoke jovially. The brat squealed in delight while the bitchy woman looked adoringly at her son. Heero blamed himself for choosing a crazy boy to pose as Santa but that didn't stop him from vowing to strangle the crazy boy once all of this was over.
He forgot about his vow when, without warning, Duo turned the boy upside down so his face was facing the ground and proceeded to smack the boy's ass.
Cries of surprise and pain came from Dennis and his mother.
"What are you doing?!! Stop it!" Dennis' mother shouted in horror.
"I'm giving your son what he deserves," Duo said nonchalantly as he kept spanking the boy. Heero could hear snickers coming from the queue line. No doubt the other parents and children were satisfied with the turn of events. Amidst Dennis' cries and screams, Dennis' mother tried to stop Duo.
"Stop it! You are hurting my son!"
"He hurt my reindeer," Duo replied. Heero groaned and wished he could turn back time and stop himself from making that reindeer sarcasm.
"What reindeer? There is only the black elf, you barbarian!" The woman shouted in distress, "Stop hitting my son!"
"That black elf is my reindeer in disguise. You didn't stop your son from hurting him so I won't stop hurting your son either."
"You can't do this. I'll report this abuse to police."
Duo snorted and kept spanking the now crying boy. "I'll sue you for trying to bribe my reindeer then."
"I'll be your witness, Santa!" one parent shouted from the line, followed by the others.
The woman turned bright red.
Duo delivered the final smack and straightened the boy. "You have been a bad boy this year so you won't get your present. But, if you behave well during next year then I'll deliver the one thing you most want to your chimney."
The boy just sobbed on his lap. Duo let the woman snatch her son and pull him into her embrace.
"Don't cry my darling baby, this Santa is a bad Santa. We will go to another Santa and he will give you your present two fold!"
"Dennis will not receive his present this year." Duo told the woman firmly.
Dennis' mother just glared at him and took her son away. Heero scowled at the retreating pair. No doubt, once they left the park, the woman would spoil the boy tremendously with presents. His eyes then caught the sight of Mr. Smith at the line side.
Heero groaned at the furious expression his manager wore. They were soooo fired.
~*~
Four hours later after a lecture, a paycheck, and a final dismissal, it was evening when Heero found himself back in his apartment. The culprit who'd made him lose his job was trailing behind him.
Heero sat on the couch and glared at Duo. "This is all your fault."
His accusation flew onto deaf ears. Duo knelt in front of him and touched his legs.
"What are you doing?!" Heero squeaked.
Duo looked up, still holding Heero's legs. "Are your legs okay?"
"They are fine." Actually, his legs were still smarting from Dennis' kick. "Why are you still here? Don't you have a home to go to?"
"Of course I have a home." Duo ran a hand along Heero's calf. Heero couldn't help but hiss when he touched his newly formed bruise. Duo looked at him in disapproval. "You lied to me."
Heero bristled at the accusation. "My legs will be fine soon." He made to pull his legs away but Duo held fast to them. Heero hissed again as Duo accidentally pressed on his bruise.
"Stubborn reindeer." Duo scolded gently and to Heero's surprise, bent down to kiss Heero's shin.
"What are you doing?" Heero squeaked as he felt a warm tingling in places where Duo's lips had landed.
"Healing your legs, of course." The long haired boy switched his attention, or his lips in this case, to Heero's other leg.
"Kissing to make it better is just a saying, baka," Heero said, though he wasn't sure if that was the truth. This was the first time that someone had wanted to kiss him. Heero wondered whether this meant he had gotten his first kiss, even though it wasn't a kiss on his lips. He had to admit that Duo's kiss felt pleasant and made him relax. He tensed again however, when Duo kissed his knee and his hands caressed his thighs up and down.
"Relax Heero, I'll take care of you," Duo said soothingly and kissed the side of his thigh.
The sensation was pleasant and sent shivers of pleasure through his body. Heero closed his eyes and enjoyed the other, human touch. So this was how it felt to be taken care of? He could feel Duo's hands run along his body and the kisses followed after.
So good. It felt so good.
Heero felt like he was floating slowly into heaven. He sighed happily and relaxed further. However, he realized a few minutes later that Duo had stopped touching and kissing him. Frowning, but still keeping his eyes closed, Heero asked. "Why did you stop?"
"Because I can't reach you."
Duo's voice came from somewhere below him. It surprised Heero into opening his eyes. The white paint of the ceiling greeted his vision. What shocked him though was that the ceiling was very close to him. Only a meter or so.
Now that he was aware of his surroundings, Heero realized that he couldn't feel the sofa on his back. His mind supplied a theory as to why couldn't he feel it but Heero refused to accept such an impossible thing. With a feeling of dread and keeping his eyes on the white ceiling, he asked Duo. "Why can't you reach me?"
"Because you are way too high."
Heero gulped and slowly looked below him. Duo was looking up at him, smiling benignly. "I must make you feel really good if you are floating that high."
Heero's body chose that point in time to realize that a human couldn't float. He fell back onto his couch with a groan.
"Heero! Are you okay?" Duo hurriedly fussed over him.
"I was flying...." Heero said dazedly.
"Of course you were. You are a Christmas reindeer after all."
Heero decided it was time to faint. And faint successfully he did, leaving a frantic Duo behind.
~*~
Heero was awakened by phone ringing. He sleepily reached for his night stand and located the phone. "Hello?"
"Yuy! I've been thinking. I was too harsh yesterday. I hope you and your friend can come back to work for me again." Mr. Smith's voice rang out.
Heero furrowed his eyebrows. Yesterday? What happened yesterday? And who was his friend? "Yesterday, my friend...."
"Your friend was a bit hard on a boy but he was very good with other children or so their parents told me. The park's director told me he got a lot of good feedback and complimented us all for our work. He plans to bring his grandchildren to meet the delightful kind Santa and his reindeer in disguise today."
"So...?" Heero's brain was still fifty percent off-line.
"So I want you two to come back."
"Uhm...."
"I'll double your pay," Mr. Smith said quickly.
The talk about money swiftly brought his brain on-line. "Double? Right, we will be there." Heero didn't know who the 'we' included but he would figure that out later after he sealed the deal.
"Excellent, I'll be waiting for you two then."
"Right, see you..." Heero was cut off when a hand grabbed the phone he was holding.
"Mr. Smith?"
"Ah, Duo, you are staying with Yuy then? Did you hear our conversation just now?" Mr. Smith's voice was rather loud and Heero still could hear him.
"Yes, I got one request though..."
Heero stared at the phone snatcher. Tousled long hair, vibrant violet eyes, and a very naked body. With his brain awake, all his memories of yesterday came rushing back at him. Duo, the intruder, the crazy boy who thought he was Santa. Spoiled Dennis and his bitchy mother. Then the evening event. Heero felt his mind whirling at the memories. He certainly didn't fly. No human could fly. It must have been in his dream. Heero replayed the evening events. He had been relaxing on the couch and Duo was kissing his legs. He must have fallen asleep at that time and dreamt that he was flying. Yes, that was it.
Satisfied with his theory, Heero shook his head and dismissed his bizarre dream.
"I'm happy you understand about it. We'll see you soon." Duo finished his talk and put the phone back in its place.
"What did you talk about with Mr. Smith?" Heero asked.
"Nothing important," Duo smiled, "Just making him put you in your right position."
"Oh?" Heero was about to ask what his right position was when he realized another thing. He was naked!
"Duo?!"
"What?" Duo looked bewildered.
"Why am I naked?"
"You passed out on the couch and didn't want to wake up. So I picked you up and put you in the bed."
"NAKED?"
Duo tilted his head slightly. "It's comfortable to sleep, no?"
Well, he did sleep comfortably judging from how well rested he felt, but still.... "I usually wear my shorts and tank top to bed."
"That would be uncomfortable." Duo gestured toward himself, "Naked is the best way to sleep."
That was when Heero realized both of them were naked.
And sleeping in the same bed.
Duo was looking at him interestedly. "Why is your face is as red as my suit?"
Not wanting to explain anything, Heero just threw his pillow straight at Duo's face and escaped into the bathroom.
~*~
"Heero?"
"......"
"Heero, talk to me."
Heero just glared as he finished his breakfast.
"You are one weird reindeer," Duo commented as he ate his own breakfast.
"I am not weird and I am not a reindeer!"
"Only reindeer can fly. So you are a reindeer."
Heero would so not touch that 'fly' thingie not even with ten foot pole. It was just a dream after all. Heero cleaned up his plate and stood up. "Let's go, we have to work now."
"Huh? But we still haven't cleaned the dishes."
Heero put his jacket on and headed toward the door. "You are the Santa. Use your magic to clean them." He then opened the door and went out.
Duo followed him out several seconds later and looked at him disapprovingly. "You are a lazy reindeer."
Heero rolled his eyes and locked the door to his apartment. "No more talk about reindeer, Duo."
"Why not?"
They started bickering along the way to work. If Heero had spared a second to glance at his kitchen, he would have seen that all the dishes had been cleaned and put back in their places.
~*~
"You two look just perfect together," Mr. Smith declared. "Duo was right to suggest this part for you, Heero."
I will not kill Duo, I will not kill Duo, Heero chanted inwardly as Mr. Smith continued praising them. He threw a deadly glare at Duo whose obvious satisfaction couldn't be hidden beneath the white beard and mustache.
"I will kill you later for this," Heero vowed after Mr. Smith left them to their tasks.
Duo frowned at him. "Don't say something you don't really mean, Heero."
"Oh, don't worry, I really mean to kill you," Heero growled. "How dare you ask Mr. Smith to put me in a reindeer costume!" He pointed at the reindeer's horns he wore. The bells on the horns rang at his movement. He was wearing a brown furred costume which supposedly symbolized the reindeer and since today there was a reindeer, Mr. Smith had replaced the throne with the sleigh. Heero was stationed in front of the sleigh and would help Santa in giving the children their presents.
"You look great in that costume." Duo looked at him with pride. "I'm sure you'll be a great reindeer, Heero."
The look tugged at Heero's heart in a strange way. No one had ever looked at him proudly. No one had ever been proud of him. However, Heero was still irritated at Duo's underhanded tactic. "A Santa shouldn't force people to do something they don't like."
Duo frowned then. "Do you really enjoy being a black elf instead of a reindeer?"
Well, now that Duo had said it. Heero had to admit that being a reindeer was much more comfortable than being the black elf. He didn't have to paint his face and body black and put thick lipstick on his lips. He was in a nice warm costume instead of tight leggings. He didn't have to keep the children in line since all the reindeer had to do was hold the presents before Santa gave them to the children. He couldn't make children cry in this costume though.
"See, it's good to be a reindeer," Duo declared, obviously taking Heero's silence as agreement over the reindeer issue.
Heero didn't have a chance to retort back since the children were upon them.
~*~
The director's grandchildren came around four in the afternoon. There were two of them, called Lena and Larry. All the other children had gone home so they had Santa and the reindeer all to themselves. Noticing how happy the children were around Santa and his reindeer, the director asked them to accompany the children around the park while he had a private discussion with Mr. Smith.
Compared to Dennis, they were angels. Heero could see they were a little spoiled but it wasn't irritating. He even envied them for having a doting grandfather.
"I want to ride the reindeer," Lena told Santa while eyeing Heero eagerly. Feeling uncomfortable, Heero shifted slightly, causing his bells to ring. The sound only increased Lena's adoring stare at him.
"Only Santa can ride the reindeer, Lena," Duo told the little girl patiently. "You can ride with me in the sleigh instead."
"I want to ride in the sleigh too!" Larry exclaimed and climbed into the sleigh next to Duo. "Let's go around the park in it!"
"Well, we do have a reindeer," Duo look at Heero in amusement.
Heero glared back at the fake Santa.
"Let's see if the reindeer can pull all three of us, shall we?" Duo's words made the children squeal in delight.
Heero groaned and smacked himself for daring to hope that Duo would make a rational decision. Duo was absolutely bonkers. The sleigh, as far as Heero knew, was for decoration only and even if the sleigh was functional and the street covered in snow, they would need a horse, a REAL horse to pull the sleigh. He would never be able to pull the sleigh by himself.
"If the reindeer can pull us, we will go around the park in the sleigh," Duo told the children, "but if he cannot, then we will have to walk together."
Now that was more sensible. Heero only needed to show it was impossible to pull the sleigh by himself and the children would relent.
"Come on, good reindeer," Duo addressed his reindeer, "could you try pulling the sleigh for us?"
"Don't you need a whip to make him move, Santa?"
I'll whip you black and blue and force you to eat it after that if you dare try doing that, Heero swore. Duo chuckled as if he could hear Heero's silent vow and patted Larry's head affectionately. "No whip necessary to get your reindeer or horse to move, Larry. All you need is to ask them to do it instead of ordering them."
"Really? I'll try that on my new puppy later then," Larry said.
"Your puppy will be happy with you," Duo said. "Now, let's ask the reindeer to help us."
"Please reindeer, would you try pulling the sleigh?" asked Lena sweetly.
"Yes, reindeer, could you please try it? I'll give you some sweets if you can," said Larry.
"Now, Larry, no bribery please. This reindeer belongs to Santa so only Santa can give him sweets," Duo chuckled. "You hear the children's pleas, reindeer. Could you please try to pull us?"
After listening to the sweet pleas from the children, Heero couldn't help but be moved at the sincere words. He knew he would never be able to pull the sleigh. If he could, he wouldn't mind taking the children around, though he would certainly kick Duo out of the sleigh first.
Actually pulling the sleigh wasn't the correct word. The bars, which stuck out from each side of a sleigh were usually connected to a horse, but on this sleigh, it was connected with another thick bar. Heero only needed to stand behind the connecting bar and push it to get the sleigh moving.
Heero pushed the bar with half his strength and was surprised when the sleigh moved forward easily and bumped into his back.
"It moves!" Larry and Lena squealed in delight.
"Of course it moves, my reindeer is a strong one."
Heero stared at the bar in front of him in disbelief. There was no way, no way in world he could push the sleigh filled with two children and one fat Santa as easy as he pushed a door open! Right, it must have been his imagination. Heero tried to push the bar again and again the sleigh moved. The children squealed happily. Duo laughed. Heero was.... confused as hell.
"Let's go around, my good reindeer." Duo decreed.
Too confused to sort out this strange phenomena, Heero threw his logic to the wind and pushed the sleigh. As strange as it sounded, he encountered none of the park's other visitors. The happy squeals of the children, the bells on his horns ringing and Duo's booming laughter became music to his ears as he pushed the sleigh around the park. It was as if the four of them were all alone in the park.
Heero was happy.
~*~
"Goodbye Santa! Goodbye Reindeer!" Lena and Larry waved their hands then followed their grandfather home.
Heero and Duo waved to them until they disappeared from his vision.
"That was a really great performance," Mr. Smith said in glee. The three of them were standing in front of the fake igloo. "But it must have been hard for you to pull the sleigh around for that long."
Heero shrugged. "Not really." He was honest this time. He had pulled the sleigh for almost an hour but he barely felt tired. It was as if he had the power of a horse when he was pushing the sleigh.
"Well, nevertheless you just take a rest in the sleigh for a while. Duo, you can follow me to pick up both of your paychecks for today. The director has given both of you a bonus."
"Take a bit of a rest, Heero." Duo smiled at him and patted his cheek gently before following Mr. Smith into his office. The gentle touch made Heero weak at the knees. He sat on the sleigh and looked to the sky. The snow was slowly falling and it was getting darker as the night set in.
Peace on earth.
Heero smiled softly as the words flashed at his mind. Peace indeed. He had never been this happy with his life before. Granted he was confused with how bizarre some things were that had happened, but he was happy nevertheless.
He never noticed the blue eyes watching him from afar and nor did he notice that the watcher did something to him.
Feeling suddenly sleepy, Heero pulled his feet up onto the sleigh and curled up. Within seconds, he was sound asleep.
~*~
The blue eyed watcher crowed in delight when he saw the reindeer falling into a deep slumber. He hurriedly approached the sleeping reindeer and stared at its beauty.
"A Christmas reindeer, as pure as the snow!" The watcher said in excitement and gathered the sleeping reindeer into his arms. They were gone within seconds, leaving an empty sleigh behind.
~*~
Someone. Anyone. Please wake him up from this nightmare, Heero pleaded inwardly. While Duo had been a weird dream. The man babbling before him was a nightmare.
Since he'd regained consciousness, the man had asked him to be his reindeer. This time the man had the correct appearance of a Santa. Blue eyes, white hair, beard, and mustache. Add to that a big stomach and appropriate Santa costume and the man was Santa Claus incarnate.
His attitude, however, was far from Santa. Hell, Duo was more similar to Santa instead of this man. He had been awakened, tied to the bed. The house, as far as the ceiling goes (it was all Heero could see from his tied position), was made from wood. The man had squealed at him, praised him in nonsense words, then proceeded to touch him everywhere. He even pried open Heero's teeth as if checking a horse.
Heero bit the man's fingers at this last violation of his person.
"How many times have I told you that I am not a reindeer?" Heero spat the words while the man shrieked in pain.
The man cradled his fingers and scowled, "You are going to be my reindeer! You'll see. Here, I have the best quality grass for you." He promptly stuffed Heero's mouth with a bundle of yellowy grass.
Heero spluttered as he spat the grass out of his mouth. "Release me or I'll kill you, old man! I'm not a reindeer, damn it! This is just a costume I put on!"
"Bad reindeer," The man clucked. "How come a reindeer denies being a reindeer? I'll just have to show you then."
"Show me what?!" Heero shouted, alarmed when the man went out of his vision range.
"Where did I put my mirror...." The man mumbled. "Aha!"
The man returned to the line of Heero's vision. His hands danced in front of him as he murmured something that sounded like 'hocus pocus abracadabra'. To Heero's horror, he could feel himself changing. He became larger and wider. His legs and hands became longer and fur started covering his body.
"What the hell are you doing to me?!" Heero shouted. The sound of torn fabric was heard as his costume couldn't accommodate Heero's growing size. It was a full minute before Heero felt himself stop changing.
"Marvelous, marvelous." The man clapped his hands happily. "You're a splendid reindeer! Look! Look in the mirror!"
Heero looked at the mirror and was horrified when he saw a big, brown reindeer with blue eyes looking back at him. He looked down at himself and noticed he was standing on four legs instead of two and all four legs resembled reindeer legs.
"Now you can't deny you're a reindeer." The man cackled in satisfaction. "I have got myself a magnificent reindeer!" He approached Heero reindeer and tried to climb on him.
Heero cried out his protest and shifted, throwing the man off.
"What are you doing?" The man glared at Heero. "Stay still, I want to ride you!"
Heero narrowed his eyes and set aside his panic about being a reindeer. Okay, he might be a reindeer, but he would not be ridden by this pathetic Santa Claus. Heero turned so he was face to face with the man and bent his head down, horns at the ready.
"What are you doing?!" The man's eyes widened as he watched the reindeer advance on him. "Stop, I order you to stop!"
Heero, of course, increased his speed instead of stopping. The man was forced to run if he didn't want to be impaled by the horns. Heero kept advancing, not caring about the house's pillars or doors or even walls. Soon they were outside, snow covered the ground and the sky was pure blue, decorated with seven colored famous aurora Borealis. The fraud Santa had taken Heero to the North Pole or was it South Pole?
Well, Heero didn't care. He was to keen on trying to stab the fraud Santa with his horns. For a fat man, the fraud Santa was pretty fast at running. Heero was still slow since he had to accustom himself with his new body, but he was slowly gaining on the man.
When his horns stabbed the fraud Santa's ass, it was of great satisfaction for Heero to hear the man's squeal of pain.
It turned out that he couldn't impale the man though. He could make him bounce on his horns but that was the extent of it. It was enough for Heero though. He derived great satisfaction from chasing the man around and poking him with his horns, making the man bounce around.
It was to this scene, Duo appeared. His face showed how worried he was but it was quickly turned into amusement as he took in what he was seeing.
"Having fun with Dobby, Heero?"
Heero just snorted and kept after his prey.
"Duo, save me!" Dobby, the fraud Santa shouted. "He is a crazy reindeer!"
The nerve of the man! Heero growled and renewed his chase. The crazy one was the man himself.
"He is not crazy but you should have known better than to try and steal other's reindeer. You should be example to children, shame on you, Dobby."
"He was a nice quality reindeer. OWWW." Heero grunted in satisfaction, watching Dobby bounce three meters off the ground this time.
"He IS the best quality reindeer," Duo said and stepped between Heero and Dobby, "but only for me."
"I agree with you. Just keep him away from me." Dobby rubbed his poor posterior.
Duo turned to Heero and caressed his nose. "That's enough, Heero."
Heero grunted and leaned into Duo's hand.
Duo smiled. "Let's go home, shall we?"
Heero nodded in agreement. Duo patted his head before climbing onto Heero's back.
"Good riddance," Dobby mumbled.
"I'll report your action to the council, Dobby."
Dobby groaned in dismay. "Can we just forget the whole thing? I have learned my lesson."
Duo looked thoughtful. "Okay, I will only tell Nora then about this."
"But she will demand a divorce!"
"Serve you right for wanting another reindeer while you have Nora," Duo said as he urged Heero forward, leaving Dobby contemplating his fate.
~*~
When Duo said they were going home, Heero had thought they would go back to his apartment. But it turned out they were heading toward Duo's home. The house was located in the middle of a white nowhere. It was a roomy house, made from wood. A dark spot among the whiteness. A beautiful sleigh was parked beside the house while mistletoe hung here and there around the house.
Duo climbed off Heero's back and opened the front door. He went inside and Heero followed, thankful that the door was big enough for him.
It was a one room house. The fireplace was on the right while a queen sized bed sat on the left. Dinner table and stove were near the fireplace. There was a small door on his left which Heero suspected led toward the bathroom. The house was warm and welcoming, just like its owner.
Duo stood in front of Heero and smiled. "I think I should turn you back."
Yes, please! Heero made an agreeable sound.
Duo laughed and waved his right hand. Heero instantly turned back into his human self. His NAKED human self.
Heero squeaked and dove into the bed, pulling the furry quilt over his naked body.
"My shy reindeer," Duo chuckled as he followed Heero at a more leisurely pace. He sat on the bed and caressed the top of Heero's head. "How are you feeling?"
Now that it was all over and he was back to himself, Heero's mind started processing what had happened to him. "I was a reindeer."
"You are still a reindeer."
Heero scowled at Duo. "How does that make sense?"
"You don't need to be in a reindeer form to fly or pull the sleigh. Thus, you are a reindeer whether you look like it or not."
"I can pull that heavy sleigh because I am a reindeer?"
Duo nodded.
"I really can fly?"
Duo nodded.
"I can turn into a reindeer?"
Duo nodded again.
Heero decided to faint.
~*~
When he came back to consciousness, Duo was still patiently waiting beside him. This time he had shed his clothes and lay next to Heero beneath the quilt.
"Don't faint again, please."
Heero sighed and decided his life had taken a turn into a really bizarre one. He stayed silent for a few minutes, storing and processing all information he had learned. At last, he looked at Duo.
"You really are Santa?"
"You don't believe me?"
"You are too thin to be Santa."
Duo scowled. "Santa doesn't have to be fat like Dobby."
"Speaking of that fat man, why did he kidnap me?"
"He wanted a new reindeer."
"Why?"
"He does it every year, says Nora, his reindeer, is too demanding."
"Wait, I recall him saying something about Nora divorcing him. Nora is his wife?"
"That and his reindeer as well."
"Oh." Heero closed Dobby's case on him and stored it away. He wouldn't try to comprehend marital problems. It was only making everyone's head ache.
"Why did you suddenly appear and declare I'm your reindeer?"
"You asked Santa for a present for being a good boy."
"Oh." Heero remembered the night before Duo came into his life and turned it upside down. "So what is my present?"
Duo smiled tenderly and leant forward, bestowing a kiss to Heero's lips. "I'm your present, Heero. I will be your Santa and will take care of you. You will never be alone again."
Warmth seeped into Heero's lonely heart as Duo's lips touched his. A present for him. To last as long as he lived. Being a reindeer was quite cool now that he thought about it.
Heero smiled at his Santa. "I'm happy with my present."
Duo smiled back. "Good, then I believe it's time to ride you."
Heero frowned in confusion. "But you've ridden on my back already."
"That was while you were in reindeer form. I want to ride you while you are in human form."
"Whaaaaaaaaat?"
Duo grinned wickedly. "It will be a pleasant ride, Heero."
Heero gulped. "A real Santa never rides his reindeer like that."
"This Santa does." Duo pounced.
"Pervert Santaaaaa!"
~*~
Epilogue
One year later
The knock on his window woke Dennis up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at where the noise came from. His heart stopped beating for a second when he noticed last year's Santa outside his window. His four-story window!
He quickly ran toward the window and opened it. Santa was riding a flying reindeer! He looked at Santa in awe.
"You have been a good boy this year, Dennis," Santa said with a smile.
Dennis nodded eagerly. He had been good. He had been really good.
"Your present will arrive an hour later on your doorstep," Santa said. "I'm really pleased that you have turned out to be a very good boy."
Dennis puffed out with pride, oblivious to Santa's reindeer's snort.
"Merry Christmas, dear boy," Santa said as he departed.
"Merry Christmas, Santa!!" Dennis waved enthusiastically and waited until Santa disappeared before going downstairs. His father was coming home!
"Such a nice kid, isn't he?"
Heero snorted.
"He has changed a lot from last year."
Heero snorted again.
Duo grinned and patted his reindeer. "Don't pout, Heero. Just two more stops then you will have the ride of your life. I promise you won't be able to walk unless I kiss it better"
If the next child they visited noticed how red the reindeer's cheeks were, they didn't tell Santa. They were too delighted with their own present after all.
OWARI
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