Already Spent

Tsujiai

“We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a—“

Thud.

Tsujiai closed the front door on the carolers and sidled over to the couch to flip open the laptop. Around fifteen IM windows came to life when he touched the keyboard.

Merry Christmas, Tsujiai-kun!

Hey, Hiroki-kun! Merry Christmas!

May the Lord bless you and your family this yuletide season- grandpa & grandma

Merry Christmas!

He sighed and turned off the laptop, and walked over to the kitchen counter. With a sideway glance, he scanned the rest of his house. It was empty as usual. Parents spending the holidays in Maui. They had asked him to come along too, of course, but he’d declined, knowing all too well that he’d just get in the way of…other things. Tsujiai didn’t like being the cause of problems, after all.

And so his parents had left.

“—good tidings to you, to you and your kin…”

“Meow.” A black face with glowing eyes looked up at him with a reproachful expression. Tsujiai gathered Shinosuke into his arms and walked up to his room, hoping that the carolers would soon go away.

“Beep. Beep.”

The cat scrambled to the floor, and he picked up the vibrating cell phone. Outside, the air was cold with snow.

Hi son! Greetings from Maui! How are you at home? We’ll send you a postcard! Love and Kisses, Mommy and Father.

A slight smile graced his lips. His parents never forgot to greet him, even when they were away. The smile faded. By being away, they had already forgotten. Shinosuke purred and rubbed at his legs, and Tsujiai sighed, collapsing onto his bed. Well…he had Nina and Kaji and Ayu, anyway. And it wasn’t like they had families of their own either…oh wait. They did.

“Mmmprgh..” Tsujiai groaned, burying his face in a pillow. He waited the rest of the night out like that, until the carolers went away, until the grandfather clock in the living room clanged at midnight, and everything in the house lit up with Christmas cheer.

Everything but his heart, which was already beginning to frost over with icicles.

“…good tidings this Christmas, and a happy new year…”

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Note: A Christmas fic. That has been in my computer for way too long. :D