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“A Spirits And Such Christmas party?” Serizawa repeated slowly while Tome looked at him with big, expectant eyes. He had just entered the office and took off his coat and scarf, contemplating the idea.
“Yes, we’ll do it on Christmas Eve after work! I already planned everything and invited people AND asked my mom if she would bake some cookies for us! Reigen even gave us some money to buy decoration and drinks…” she babbled at hyper speed, only taking a breath when she got interrupted by Reigen himself, who looked up from his laptop.
“I gave Mob the money, he’s in charge of what to buy, you’d only waste it for nonsense.”
Shigeo waved silently at Serizawa from his position on the couch, an open textbook on his lap. It was one of those rare days he was dropping by the office after school. Ekubo was sitting on his head like a fat cat, arms crossed, with a slightly annoyed expression.
“She’s been non-stop since Reigen said he allowed her to organize this.”
Tome ignored him, eyes still fixated on Serizawa.
“You’ll come, too, right?”
“Maybe Serizawa has other plans for Christmas, Tome-chan,” Reigen told her but his gaze lingered on Serizawa.
A Christmas party with Reigen… Serizawa felt his cheeks reddening.
Well it wasn’t with Reigen exclusively, but still… they could celebrate together. His heart was skipping a few beats when he thought about this. Maybe he should even get him a present? Or would this be too obvious? Yeah, yeah, that’d be definitely too obvious.
“Serizawa?” he heard Tome ask. Oh yeah, he had to answer!
“I’m free on Christmas Eve, so I’ll be there for sure,” he said while he sat down at his desk.
“Yes!” Tome threw her fist in the air triumphantly. “Then it’s settled. You guys could also invite that fat monk guy or the strange flower ESPer Serizawa used to work with…” She said, already scribbling something down on a piece of paper that read VIP list.
“Actually, we should ask Shinra if he wants to join,” Reigen agreed. “Would be nice to have some more adults around. What about your old buddies, Serizawa?”
“Oh, I can definitely ask them to come,” Serizawa said, already opening his LINE group chat with his former coworkers from Claw on his phone.
Tome’s eyes sparkled with joy. “This gonna be so much fun!”
When Serizawa looked up from his phone again, Reigen gave him the littlest hint of a smile before he started working on his laptop again. Serizawa swallowed a strangled noise of excitement before he could make a fool out of himself in front of everyone.
-------
On Christmas Eve, they closed the office a bit earlier than usual. It had been a slow day anyway with only a few walk-ins and no real curses.
Tome and Shigeo had already bought snacks and drinks the day before and were now putting up the decoration. Well, Tome oversaw the operation while barking orders at Shigeo as she searched through the bags of food.
Serizawa took off his jacket and loosened his tie, ready to help Shigeo with the string of lights he was trying to hang up in front of the windows.
“Hurry up, guys, the other’s will arrive soon and we still have tons of decorating left,” Tome complained while she started putting the snacks in bowls and placing them on the coffee table. Her mom’s cookies filled the air with their sweet scent.
Reigen, who had been preoccupied with his laptop, stood up and checked the other bags curiously. After he unpacked some tinsel and plastic stars, his expression suddenly dropped.
“Hey, if you want to hang these up, I’ll have to set a rule for this party,” he said, waving the offending package of mistletoe in Tome’s face., “NO kissing in the office, understood?”
Tome stuck out her tongue. “Don’t have to tell me that twice. I just bought them because mistletoe is an essential decoration at Christmas parties. And those are plastic anyway. No one will be kissing under THAT. So tacky.”
Reigen seemed to be satisfied with Tome’s answer, because he just nodded and hung the fake-mistletoe in the doorframe to the massage room.
“What is it with kissing and mistletoes?” Shigeo whispered into Serizawa’s ear.
“I’m not really sure...” he said, shrugging. He once saw a couple kissing under a mistletoe in an american Christmas movie he had watched on TV, but he didn’t know if it was some kind of tradition.
“Kissing under a mistletoe emerged from an ancient greek ritual… nowadays it’s just something love-sick idiots do to have an excuse to smooch whenever they stand under it,” Ekubo suddenly started explaining.
Serizawa and Shigeo both looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"What?"
“You know a lot, Ekubo,” Shigeo praised him, but the spirit immediately waved him off.
“And it’s different when the mistletoes are made of plastic?” Serizawa asked. “I mean, it doesn’t matter, does it?”
Now it was Ekubo’s turn to shrug. “Who knows? It’s stupid anyway.”
But while Serizawa watched Reigen putting up the mistletoe he couldn’t help his mind imagining things… like sharing a romantic moment under it with Reigen… he gulped and tried to concentrate on the task on hand again.
Soon, the decorations were hung, the snacks and drinks were on the coffee table and Christmas music was playing in the background (the laptop’s sound wasn’t the best, but Reigen had refused to expense a sound system for the event).
One by one, their guests arrived. Next to Shinra there were mostly middle/high schoolers, but to Serizawa’s surprise Minegishi and Hatori followed the invitation. Serizawa hadn't seen them in a while and was happy to chat with them again in person.
He also talked to Sho for some time, who came by with Shigeo’s brother Ritsu. Teruki and Shigeo were sitting on the couch with Reigen and Shinra, discussing a movie Serizawa had never heard of - well, Teruki and Reigen were discussing, Shigeo was just listening, making a few short comments from time to time, while Shinra was invested in the homemade cookies from Tome’s mom.
Tome and her classmates were forming a circle on the floor, playing a card game. Serizawa was having trouble remembering the girls' names, especially because Reigen had given them nicknames like “Bug-eater Girl'' or “Cosplay Otaku” and always used those whenever he mentioned them. Ekubo was sitting on Tome’s shoulder, helping her cheat since none of her friends could see him.
After Serizawa had refilled the snacks and threw the empty boxes away, he stood alone by his desk, a glass of juice in his hand, smiling. It was so crowded and lively at Spirits and Such and Serizawa enjoyed the atmosphere. He thought of all the lonely Christmases he used to have in his old room and knew he was lucky to have made so many friends.
Suddenly, a hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts and he nearly jumped when Reigen’s voice whispered “Follow me” into his ear.
While Reigen weaseled his way through the kids sitting on the floor and into the massage room, he gave Serizawa a nod of encouragement. Serizawa followed him, his heart still pounding. He hadn’t even realized how close Reigen had been standing… his breath on Serizawa’s ear had tickled him… oh god, he needed to stop thinking of Reigen like that.
As soon as he entered the massage room, Reigen closed the door behind them. Serizawa could still hear the other’s chatter and a seductive woman’s voice singing “Santa Baby”, emerging from the laptop’s tiny speakers.
Turning around to him, Reigen conjured a flask from his Jacket’s inner pocket with a wide grin.
“Gimme your glass,” he told Serizawa, “I brought us some adult beverage, so we can have some fun, too.”
Serizawa wasn’t sure this was a good idea. Not only because it gave him a bad feeling to secretly drink with Reigen in the massage room while the others were partying next door, but also because Reigen was an absolute lightweight - there had been more than one situation where Serizawa had to drag him home in a terribly wasted state after what was supposed to be “just one tiny drink after work”.
Well, obviously Serizawa’s body had a dissenting opinion because his hands were already moving on his own, holding his half empty glass to Reigen, who poured some clear liquid from the flask into it. Then he put some in his own glass and raised it.
“Cheers,” he said and clinked his glass with Serizawa’s.
It didn’t taste great, Serizawa thought, and it was so strong, it nearly made him cough for a moment. With horror he witnessed Reigen emptying his glass in one go.
Reigen must have seen his face, because he gave him a light pat on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Serizawa, I won’t get drunk, promised. Don’t want to ruin the party.”
Serizawa nodded and consoled himself with the thought that there really wasn’t enough alcohol in the small flask to make Reigen drunk, especially if he kept willing to share it.
-------
Half an hour later, Serizawa was seriously distressed how Reigen could have gotten so drunk by so little alcohol and equally impressed how much he was trying to convince the others that he wasn’t.
He had started belting Christmas songs with Tome using their loudest voices (which were louder than an average person’s voice) under the guise of “giving the kids a fun show for Christmas”.
Oh, okay, now he even started using massage oil bottles as some impromptu microphones in front of Tome’s cheering friends.After they finished their song, Reigen threw some of the snacks into the “audience”, bowed and announced an encore.
“And he said he isn’t drunk…” Serizawa heard Sho telling Ritsu while he chuckled.
“Told you he’s an idiot,” Ritsu confirmed with a dead serious face.
“Wow… how much alcohol you said he had?” Minegishi asked while watching the “show” from the other side of the room with Serizawa, who felt a bit embarrassed when he answered:
“I don’t think he’s that drunk…”
“Sure..” Minegishi only smirked at him. “Well, Hatori and I are gonna head home now, but it was good to see you again, Serizawa.”
“I’m glad you two made time to come by.”
“I’ll say hi to Shibata and Shimazaki from you.”
After the two were gone, Serizawa was crawling on the floor, collecting the food lying around from Reigen’s and Tome’s karaoke stage show and threw it in a trash bag. When he looked up because he didn’t hear Reigen’s voice anymore, Tome just finished her performance alone. Reigen was gone.
“Where did he go?” Serizawa asked, already suspecting the worst.
“Bathroom.” Tome stopped mid-performance and shrugged. “He either has to pee or throw up. I couldn’t understand his drunken gibberish, so I guess it’s a surprise for the next person using the toilet.”
“I - he’s not drunk, Kurata-san,” he tried to defend him, which earned him a loud laugh from Shinra.
Tome was grinning, too. “Fff, yeah, totally convincing.”
A few minutes later, Reigen stumbled into the room again with bright red cheeks, his hair disheveled, the tie gone, the first few buttons of his shirt open. He started talking to Shinra about something Serizawa couldn’t understand. It was obvious he had some problems standing straight, because he was constantly leaning onto Shinra’s shoulder. When his eyes discovered Serizawa, his face lit up and he gave him a cute smile that made Serizawa’s heart melt.
Why does his crush have to be such an idiot?
Serizawa closed the distance between them and helped Reigen sit down on the couch, releasing Shinra from listening to his drunk chatter.
“Did you throw up?”
“No, no… I’m fiiiiineeee…” Reigen spoke in a slurred voice. Then he added much louder: “I am NOT drunk.”
He let his head rest against the backrest and immediately closed his eyes. “Jus’ a bit tired maybe... was a looong day and this room issss…” His hands were trying to explain the word he was missing, but he let them fall into his lap quickly.
“We should let Shishou rest a bit,” Shigeo said to Serizawa, throwing a blanket over Reigen. “It’s late anyway, we should leave soon.”
“Spinning!” Reigen suddenly said when he remembered the word he had been trying to say and made Shigeo and Serizawa laugh.
“Yeah, maybe we should tidy up and head home,” Teruki agreed. “I’ll be staying at the Kageyama’s tonight, so I have to leave with Shigeo anyway.”
Tome still sang them some songs while they wrapped up the food and drinks and cleaned the floor.
“I’ll put down the decoration tomorrow, don’t worry about it, “Serizawa offered. “Do any of you have to go home alone? I can take you-”
“Just take care of him, don’t worry about us,” Sho said, pointing to the sleeping and snoring Reigen on the couch.
Shinra herded the kids outside, giving Serizawa a thumbs-up.
“He’s right. Make sure Reigen gets home in one piece.”
Serizawa followed the others downstairs to make sure they all left together for the nearest metro station. The street lamps and Christmas decorations from the stores were illuminating the streets and there were still plenty of people around.
Shigeo and Tome gave Serizawa a short hug and Ekubo patted his shoulder.
“Shinra and I will make sure the kids all get home safely.”
Serizawa was thankful for his friends feeling responsible for the kids, so he didn’t have to worry. He gave them a short nod and went back inside after waving them goodbye.
When he entered the office again, Reigen wasn’t lying on the couch anymore. Actually, Serizawa couldn’t see him anywhere in the room.
“Reigen…?” he called into the silence.
With a loud BAM the door to the massage room opened and Reigen was sliding into the room, wearing an absolutely ridiculous reindeer costume, with fake horns and a bell around his neck.
“Ta-daaaa! Look what I found, Serizawa! Perfect outfit for tonight! And now that the others are gone, we can start the real party to get into the Christmas spirit!”
He started wiggling his butt and performing the most absurd dance Serizawa had ever seen. It was impossible not to laugh. Encouraged by Serizawa’s laugh, Reigen’s movements became even wilder until he was cracking up.
Soon they were both doubled over, tears running down their cheeks while laughing hysterically .
“That was a fun party,” Reigen said after finally catching his breath again.
“Yeah, it really was. Especially the grand finale,” Serizawa agreed, still giggling. Reigen promptly joined him again.
After five more minutes of uncontrollable chuckles, Serizawa finally managed to get up from the floor, offering Reigen a helping hand.
“Come on, let’s get you home. You need to sober up.”
“I’m not drunk, Serizawa.”
“Sure. Let’s leave anyway. You want to change first?”
“Naaah, it’s Christmas,” Reigen said and got up, still holding onto Serizawa’s hand afterwards. ”And this costume looks great on me.”
“It does,” Serizawa affirmed before he realized that it sounded way too flirty.
He looked at Reigen, feeling his face heating up. They were standing really close right now… and still holding hands. Serizawa knew he was hopelessly in love with this man when he realized that he still considered him sexy, even in this tacky reindeer costume.
Suddenly Reigen’s head shot up, his fake horns nearly poking Serizawa’s eyes out.
“Hey, look, Serizawa.”
Serizawa looked up and saw the plastic mistletoe dangling over their heads.
“That poor plastic thing, sad that no one would be caught dead kissing under it,” he heard Reigen lament.
“Well, honestly I don’t think it matters if it’s plastic or not…” Serizawa felt himself starting to sweat, he clearly wasn’t made for flirting. So he tried to say something funny to lighten the mood. “But you were the one that made the ‘No kiss-’”
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt Reigen’s lips on his own. It was just a short peck but it made him feel like he just got electrified. He heard a few items in the room clatter to the ground.
Ah, it had been some time since he lost control of his powers like that.
Reigen giggled and let his head rest against Serizawa’s chest.
“It was a stupid rule anyway,” he mumbled into Serizawa’s shirt. “But I think there’s the possibility I am a tiny bit tipsy, so let’s continue this another day, maybe?”
Serizawa decided to be brave. “On a date maybe?”
“That sounds good, maybe.” Reigen fell silent for a second, then he added: “No, that sounds good for sure.”
Serizawa put his arms around him, his hands shaking nervously, but Reigen immediately nuzzled further into his chest.
They stayed in the embrace for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence and body warmth.
“I’ll fall asleep if we stay like this,” Reigen finally admitted.
“Let me bring you home. We can go for lunch tomorrow... after cleaning the office,” Serizawa suggested and although he couldn’t see Reigen’s face, he felt him pouting.
“Can’t we make the kids clean up?”
“Nope, I already promised we’d do it. And they did half the work while you were sleeping on the couch, so…”
“Fiiiine, we’ll do it tomorrow.”
They eventually loosened their embrace, collected their stuff, put on their coats, switched off the lights and locked the doors. Reigen leaned into Serizawa’s shoulder while they went down the stairs.
“Oh, I’m still wearing the costume…” Reigen suddenly noticed.
“You said you didn’t want to change before going back home,” Serizawa reminded him.
“I’m drunk, Serizawa, my decisions are not to be trusted right now.”
Serizawa’s heart sank when he heard that. Maybe in the morning Reigen would regret the decision to kiss him. But he had no time to finish the thought, because Reigen was putting a hand on his cheek.
“Kissing you is an exception. That was the best decision ever.”
The street lamp right over them suddenly went out with a PANG.
Wow, Serizawa though, his powers were really acting on their own tonight.
Reigen patted his cheek in a tender way.
“Maybe I’ll hold off on asking you if you want to stay the night at mine. Don’t want the whole building to explode.”
Well, it wasn’t the building, but most of the Christmas decorations around them blew out in an instant.
“Sorry,” Serizawa mumbled.
“Don’t be,” Reigen said, “This saves me from being seen in this stupid costume in bright neon light at least.”
Serizawa laughed and put an arm around him, while they started walking toward the station to catch the last train.