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Inviting his unit mates and his club mates out or even over to his home was something Rei Sakuma always wanted to do. He was a friendly sort of man, and he thought of all his friends as his children. It was often hard for him to find the energy to do it, though. It was the holidays though! Everyone wanted to spend the holidays with their family, did they not? So he had planned an unnecessarily extravagant Christmas party and sent invitations to all of his friends. There were a few that couldn’t make it of course, but most of the important people had said they would be stopping by, at least for a little while.
This thrilled the vampire, who spend the whole week beforehand preparing snacks and games, cleaning his home, and all of the various things one did to throw a party. It was just his unit and his club, no one he really needed to impress, but people he did want to spoil. He was sure it was going to be perfect. He was more than prepared for people to start showing up to his home.
In the end, the guests came down to Kaoru Hakaze, Koga Oogami, Hinata and Yuta Aoi, and Takuya Miyagi. Everyone was at least a little festive, most of them opting for sweaters. Koga had put a little Santa hat on Leon to help him enjoy the party as well. Takuya had foregone the cute little devil horns he often wore nestled in his shoulder-length black hair, though Rei couldn’t be sure if it was due to the holiday or not.
He did think Takuya looked adorable in whatever he chose to wear, though. Which, today, was a dark skirt with thigh highs beneath, and a sweater with a bat in place of anything more traditional.
“C’mon Sakuma, let’s just get this holiday party going so it can be over. I’ve got a date with a cute girl after this!” Kaoru whined when he came in, though he was the latest to join. He hadn’t bothered with anything festive, though he did look nice in his coat and scarf. Always the fashionable one, Rei noted.
“Of course.” Rei smiled in that lazy way of his. “Should we begin with the gift exchange, or with a party game?” Rei put his hands together, pleased with the options he had offered to his guests.
“Is that all ya got for us?” Koga groaned. Koga had gotten festive, along with his dog. His sweater sported two corgis on it, one that looked like Leon and the other Daikichi, nestled between patterns of snowflakes, presents, and Christmas trees. Leon’s hat was snug between his ears as the dog sat patiently at his human’s feet.
The Aoi twins had worn matching shirts, one saying ‘naughty’, and the other ‘nice’, on older and younger respectively. They wore long-sleeved shirts under the t-shirts with slogans on them.
“Be nice, Oogami-senpai!” Yuta gently chided Koga for his attitude toward Rei. Rei simply sighed at the antics of his friends, and when he looked over them he found Takuya giggling. At least someone was enjoying his little party as much as he was.
“Yes, yes, I know I did not prepare all that much for you all. Please gather ‘round, though. We can begin with the gift exchange since all the guests have arrived.” Rei spoke as he ushered all the guests into the living room. There were plenty of chairs for everyone, and Rei had started a fire to keep things cozy. In the corner stood a lavishly, if unconventionally decorated Christmas tree. There were a few standard decorations, like a popcorn garland and a star atop, but the smaller ornaments were more of Rei’s personal flavor. That was the joy of decorating one’s own tree though, it could be decorated however one wanted it.
Rei had already placed all the gifts he had gotten under the tree, so he gathered them up and handed them all out. He was filled to the brim with glee at the thought of how happy all his friends would be with their presents.
“Go on, open them up~” He felt like he had nailed all of his friends down with the gifts: For Koga a new set of guitar pics (personalized of course), for Yuta a flute and Hinata a new pair of headphones (different gifts for good reason), and for Kaoru a bottle of cologne (not implying he smells bad, but for wooing girls, or something like that). Takuya’s gift was the trickiest to pin down. Rei could have gotten the producer guitar picks, or a new strap for his bass, something related to the instrument he played. He wanted to appeal a little more to Takuya’s other sides, though, and he did really seem to like cooking.
Takuya received a kitchen set that had several different tools in it; spoons and spatulas, an oven mitt, tongs, thermometers, things like that. Rei did not spend much time in the kitchen himself so he didn’t know much about cooking implements. Takuya did seem pleased with his gift, though, smiling and thanking Rei.
Everyone got to take a turn playing Santa in this gift exchange, and Rei was more than pleased with the gifts he got in return.
“I’m sorry, my gift seems so small now, in comparison,” Takuya spoke sheepishly when his turn finally came around. “I made cookies for everyone, with specific shapes.” He handed the cellophane-wrapped packages out nonetheless, though the way he didn’t meet anyone else’s gazes or say much else spoke volumes to Rei. He could tell the boy felt insecure about his presents.
“It’s absolutely wonderful. The thoughtfulness of making them all different shapes is splendid, young one.” Rei wanted to reassure Takuya. He would not have anyone being sad at his party. He didn’t relax until Takuya gave him a smile.
“I’m glad you like it..” His voice was still soft and a little shy, but he didn’t seem sad anymore and that was all Rei could ask for. Rei couldn’t help himself, either, he reached over and tousled Takuya’s hair.
“Of course I do. In fact, I am sure we all appreciate your gift very much, Yako.” Rei especially did, considering his cookies were not shaped like bats, but tomatoes. It showed that Takuya had taken his time thinking about what to make for everyone. He looked around at the others in the room. The twins were comparing the cookies they had received, one claiming his cookies were better looking and going to taste better. Koga already had one in his mouth, munching away. He gave a thumbs up instead of talking with his mouth full, which was a step up for him.
Even Kaoru looked pleased with the little package he was holding. “Yeah, for cookies made by someone that isn’t a girl, they look pretty good.” All of the praise from the group seemed to cheer Takuya up quite a bit, and that was enough for Rei to feel much better. It was a relief to know that this group cared so much for each other. That was the best gift he could have hoped for this Christmas. “Alright, alright, I guess it’s my turn. But you can’t blame me if you hate your gifts.” Kaoru complained as he took his turn as Santa.
The gift exchange had gone wonderfully, as far as Rei was concerned. All the gifts had been handed out and everyone was chatting amicably about this and that. Rei sighed happily to himself as he watched all of his family-- minus a few, but he was determined not to let that bother him-- mingle in this comfortable space. He wished this would go on forever. Or at least, just a little while longer. As he thought that, he happened to glance out the window. It looked like his wish would come true tonight.
“Oh, dear, Kaoru-kun. I think you might have to call a rain check on this date of yours.” Rei was smiling as he said it, however, no trace of regret for Kaoru’s lost date.
“What?” Kaoru snapped out of the conversation he was having with Takuya, dashing to the window with a concerned expression. He was met with a view of snow already coating the ground in a thick, white blanket, and still coming down in sheets. “No, are you telling me I’m stuck here with you guys?” He groaned, flopping back into his previous seat, arm thrown over his face dramatically.
Rei left the others in the living room, humming cheerily while he worked to put together the things that he thought would be good for a slumber party. While he did, he heard some playful teasing of Kaoru for being a drama queen, and some phone calls home to let parents know that everything was alright.
Blankets were gathered, and board games brought in. Rei got all the snacks together and brought them out into the living room, and made hot chocolate for everyone to have. Rei wrapped a blanket around Takuya and settled down himself. What a wonderful party this turned out to be.