Archive of Our Own

"Merry Christmas Eiki!"

Komachi came down the chimney of Eiki's humble home, dressed in the iconic red garb of Santa Claus. She was surprised to be greeted by complete darkness, and no sign of Eiki anywhere. In the middle of the room, there was a rustle under a kotatsu, and green hair and tired eyes of Shiki Eiki peeked out at the invading Shinigami.

"Who's there...Komachi? It's past midnight, what are you doing here, and how did you get in? "

"It's Christmas Eve! Us Shinigami have to deliver presents because Santa can't get through the barrier. I figured after I finished delivering presents, I could deliver yours personally and we could spend the evening together."

Eiki gave a tired mumble. "It's too late and too cold for that, all I want to do is sleep and be warm."

"Come on, it's only midnight. Don't you wait for Santa Claus every Christmas Eve?"

"No, he doesn't come. All the presents I get are from people I know. Everyone knows he's not real. I just want to be warm and get some sleep, that would be a good enough Christmas gift." Eiki started to get back under the covers of the kotatsu.

"Have some Christmas spirit, Eiki!" Komachi looked around the drab room. "Speaking of which, where are your decorations? You don't even have a Christmas tree or a stocking up. Where am I supposed to put your presents?"

"I don't have any." Eiki said muffled by the covers. "A tree takes up too much room and it's only going to be up two days a year. I don't have any of those silly oversized stockings either; all the socks I own I actually wear. If you have a present, I can open it in the morning."

"Didn't you ever hang up your stocking as a kid on Christmas Eve and then have it be filled with presents? You should at least have the stocking from back then, right?"

"I was a statue as a child. I couldn't exactly hang up stockings or do anything. By the time I celebrated my first Christmas, I was mentally a full grown adult."

"Oh right, I forgot about that. So you've never had a proper Christmas celebration?"

"No, I haven't. It's always just been another winter morning to me. Now please stop asking me about Christmas, I'm tired."

Komachi watched as her partner fell asleep once again under the kotatsu. Eiki's lack of holiday cheer made more sense. She never had any family to celebrate Christmas with, and what few friends she did have weren't close enough to her to invite her to any parties. Komachi sighed, realizing how much her partner had probably missed out on with a life like that.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration came over the Shinigami.

Eiki frequently slept under her kotatsu during winter. She spent most of her time at home under the heated table in the cold months, enjoying a book or warm beverage. Many nights, she did not feel like braving the chill and darkness of her house to get into bed.

When she awoke, she spent a few minutes basking in the warmth before bracing herself to confront the cold outside and start the day. When she finally lifted up the covers, she was surprised to see what had happened to her home overnight.

"Merry Christmas Eiki!" Komachi declared.

Stockings and wreaths lined the walls, lights brightened the previously gloomy` space, and there was a small but fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room with presents underneath. The whole space seemed to radiate holiday cheer somehow. As Eiki was taking in her house's transformation, Komachi—still dressed in Santa clothes—put a red hat with a white pompom on the Yama's head.

"What happened? Where did you get all these decorations? When did you have time to put them all up? What's that nice smell coming from my kitchen?"

"I can't let my girlfriend go her entire life without celebrating Christmas, so I decided to prepare a celebration for you."

"You look so tired, did you stay up all night doing this? Did you really stay up until midnight delivering presents and then prepare all this? For me?"

"Yes, now stop asking questions and open your presents!" Komachi handed a wrapped present from under the tree to Eiki.

"I'm still in my pajamas, shouldn't I get dressed before we unwrap gifts and do all the Christmas things? I just woke up a few minutes ago, I don't think I'm ready for the festivities quite yet."

"Opening gifts in your pajamas is part of what Christmas is all about. You don't even have to leave that kotatsu you like so much. Now come on, I can't wait to see you open it!"

Eiki hesitated, then slowly unwrapped the gift. Inside was a masterfully painted watercolor portrait of Eiki and Komachi by the river Sanzu. The Yamaxanadu stared at it quietly for a while.

"Do you like it?" Komachi said after several moments of silence.

"It's perfect Komachi! Thank you so much! It looks fantastic. I love how the sun is setting, and they got the river Sanzu just right. And you look amazing, it's almost as if I could touch your hair in this painting. I'll hang it up as soon as I can, I'll treasure this forever!" Eiki looked up at Komachi with a massive grin on her face.

"I'm glad you like it." Komachi smiled back.

"That reminds me actually, I have a present for you. I know the Shinigami really like Christmas, so I thought it would be wrong if I didn't have a present for you. Let me go get it really quick."

Eiki quickly went to her bedroom, which had been unoccupied for two days, and came out with a wrapped present.

"Oooh, this is exciting" Komachi said, taking the present and beginning to unwrap it. The gift was a book with her name intricately engraved on the cover.

"It's a diary. I notice in your magazines and things you annotate a lot of your thoughts, so I thought it would be nice if you could have a dedicated diary to keep track of stuff in."

"You know, I've thought about making a journal before, but I always lose track of it or I can't think of stuff to write. But I definitely won't lose this, thank you Eiki."

"So, I've opened my present, and you've opened your present. What do we do now? Is Christmas over after the gift exchange? I don't really know what happens afterwards."

"Christmas isn't just about the presents, it's about being together with your loved ones. That means what happens next is we get to spend all day together. I hope your hungry too, because we've got a big breakfast and a big dinner."

Eiki smiled. She had a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. It was different from the comfort of being with Komachi, something more. It was a feeling of joyfulness, not just of being with her partner, but also sharing a sense of generosity and thankfulness with her. She decided it must be the holiday spirit.