Chapter Text
December 24th, 2014
Haruka has seen and heard about Christmas in the past but never got to experience it himself. He remembers being made to stay in a room all day because the people he stayed with never wanted him around for the holidays.
Never once was he wanted or was included during the holidays.
So when he woke up to the smell of cookies being baked, he thought it would be the same as the past but Haruka remembered where he was.
He was at the Hollanders home and the Hollanders were kind. He felt cared for once in his life.
Haruka stretched a bit and looked around. He and Shane got here late last night. Yuna and David greeted them when they arrived but Haruka doesn't remember much of it because of how sleepy he was.
Haruka slept on Shane's old twin-size bed while Shane was on an air mattress. Apparently the guest bedroom's bedding was still being washed last night. (Aka David and Yuna forgot to clean out the guest bedroom/storage room)
As he looked around Shane's old room, he noticed one thing that was all around the room: hockey. Haruka knew Shane loves hockey, but this much?
He looked at the posters of who he could only assume are old hockey players. There are small trophies from when Shane was a kid. A few photos of the old teams Shane played for. Shane looked so young in some of those photos.
A gentle knock on the door startled Haruka. The door quietly opened, "Oh, Haruka, you're awake. Sorry did I spook you?"
It was David. He had a gentle smile on his face.
Haruka shook his head softly, trying to be like a big kid. "No... looking at pictures..."
"Ah, I see. Wanna look at more pictures of Shane when he was your age?" David offered.
His eyes sparkled. Haruka nodded before he realized. "I can?"
"Yeah of course. Do you wanna pick out your clothes or would you want me too?"
Haruka thought for a moment. "Can you?"
"Of course buddy." David went over to the suitcases that Shane packed neatly. He pulled out a Christmas sweater with a snowman on it, a pair of sweatpants, socks, and his boxers. He handed them over to Haruka. "Are these alright?"
"Thank you..." Haruka muttered out as he grabbed the clothing, immediately messing up how they were folded.
"Do you want me to wait for you outside the door or will you be fine to get to the kitchen from here?" David asked.
"Can... you wait?" Haruka wanted to sound like a big kid but he didn't know the way to the kitchen well enough.
"Of course." David smiled softly and stepped out of the room– the door closed soon after.
Being alone in the room felt strange now because how often someone was around him now. Haruka knew that he wasn't alone anymore like previous years. There were so many people who he could rely on.
Shane, Yuna, David, Lily, Scott, Jackie... sometimes Hayden as well but Haruka knew that Hayden wouldn't be the first person he'd go to. Hayden wasn't the smartest.
He quickly got changed into the outfit David picked out. The sweater was very comfortable– Yuna had picked it out for him a week or so ago.
When he was suspended from school, Yuna and David drove over to Montreal just to get him because they wanted to spend time with him. They wanted him. It was something that Haruka always wanted, being wanted. He knew that Shane wanted him to stay but it felt different with Yuna and David. He was unable explain why.
There was a fake pine tree waiting to be decorated when they returned to Ottawa. It was the first time Haruka got to decorate a Christmas tree. David even lifted him up to put the star on. Haruka was proud of his decorative skills, even if he had to get help for the higher parts of the tree.
Haruka exited the bedroom and David was standing there like he said he would be. David was typing something on his phone. He looked up from his phone and smiled gently. "That was quick."
"Small Shane pictures. Please."
"Let's get you some breakfast first, after we can look at the photos."
Haruka walked next to David as they went to the kitchen. The moment they reached their destination, the sweet smell of baked goods flooded Haruka's nose. The delicious smell of fresh baked cookies, muffins, and bread filled the air.
Shane was mixing something in a metal bowl while Yuna was taking something out of the oven, it suspiciously smelt like bananas.
"Mom, the oven is still at 175 degrees, right?" Shane asked.
"It is." Yuna quickly responded as she placed the bread pan on a cooling rack. "The cookies have about six minutes left."
"Okay, I'm almost done with the brownie batter." Shane looked up and spotted David and Haruka. "Ah! Haruka, you're awake! The muffins just got done, snack on a few while I make your breakfast. Dad, can you pour the batter into the pan? Then place them in the oven?"
Haruka pulled out a chair and sat at the table. He grabbed one of the blueberry muffins and began to much on it slowly. It clearly got done not even five minutes ago based on how warm it was.
Shane abandoned the bowl in order to prepare breakfast. Typically, Shane would ask him what he wanted the night before and he'd make it after his morning run. The only days that breakfast wasn't made and Haruka ate cereal was when Shane was gone for games.
"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you can't ever skip it. You gotta eat at least something, even if it's a small yogurt." Shane told him when he first began making breakfast. He had also gone on about nutritional values and growing kids needing to eat. Haruka kinda blocked out Shane's rambling about things Haruka didn't understand.
He knew that Shane was doing this nearly everyday to show that he cares.
"Scrambled eggs or an omelette?" Shane tossed out as he broke two eggs into a bowl, added some milk, and finally began to beat them.
"Omelette please. Ham and bacon."
David poured the brownie batter into the pan like asked by Shane. He seemed to enjoy himself while doing it since Haruka saw him lick the spoon afterwards.
"David! That's gross! We need more than that singular batch of brownies!" Yuna scolded with a smile. She definitely saw David's actions.
David held his hands up. He didn't seem guilty in the slightest, his smile was full of love. "Sorry sorry. I thought this was the last beach. I wash it quickly."
The two playfully bantered until the spoon was cleaned.
A plate was placed down in front of Haruka. Shane smiled fondly towards Haruka and due to his parents. "It's not the regular stuff, but if you're still hungry after the omelette, eat another muffin or two."
"What is it for?"
Shane ruffled his hair. "Every year starting the twentieth and until late tonight, my parents and I bake cookies, muffins, brownies, and different breads. It's in large batches of everything because we go around to different children's hospitals, different homeless shelters, and different food donation places to give the baked goods to those who can't get them."
Haruka looked over the tubs of cookies. There were at least two tubs filled of chocolate chip cookies alone. He took a bite of his omelette. If he was born in Canada, he wondered if he would've been visited by them when he temporarily lived in one of those shelters.
Shane continued to ramble. He leaned in a bit closer to whisper. "They've been doing this longer than I've been alive. Don't tell them I told you this but this baked goods giving is the reason why they met. Dad was in the hospital because he broke his arm. Mom was visiting a friend and brought cookies for her. They bumped into each other and both swear it was love at first sight."
Yuna and David laughed about something in the background. Haruka focused so much on the story that he didn't care that his food was cooling off.
"She gave him the cookies and claimed that she was there to donate cookies to patients. He then asked for her number, he apparently was a bit high on pain meds otherwise he would've been too nervous to ask. And well, you can see what happened."
Shane smiled fondly at his parents. He had hoped that for his own love story to be like that but it wasn't like that with Rozanov... wait why was he thinking about Rozanov?
"Uh, anyways I gotta get back to baking." Shane scurried away, leaving a starstruck Haruka.
Haruka was surprised by David and Yuna's story. It was rather sweet. He wanted to help baking but he definitely wasn't awake enough for that. Maybe later.
He devoured the rest of his omelette but made sure not to choke. Haruka didn't want to give any of them a panic.
The plate was quietly placed in the dishwasher along with other items. It was quite full. There were many buttons that Haruka didn't understand. David's hand popped into view and pressed a couple.
"Press this one to start it."
Haruka did as instructed and the machine began to operate. (Please note that the author doesn't own a dishwasher and doesn't know how they operate)
He looked up at David and stretched his arms up towards him. "Can we... look at pictures now?"
David picked Haruka up with ease. "Of course. Let's go in the family room to not get in Yuna's and Shane's way."
Haruka latched onto David like a koala and refused to let go until they got to the family room. He only let go a bit to properly sit on David's leg to look at the picture album.
David pointed at different pictures and explained some of them. There were ones of Shane when he lost his front teeth. Many birthday pictures and even more pictures of little Shane doing hockey things. There was even one where little Shane was pouting in a penalty box. David explained that it was because Shane tackled another kid. There were multiple family photos that showed Shane growing from a young boy to a teenager, those photos Haruka noticed that David's hair turned gray over the years.
Haruka spotted a picture of older Shane but younger than his current self. He stood on the left of a group of three while all of them were holding up different jerseys.
"What is this? Who are they?"
"Ah, this one is Trevor McGyi. He was the third draft pick, can't remember where he's currently at. He got traded to some team on the west coast. I haven't really paid attention to other players besides Shane and Montreal, Yuna would know details like that." David pointed to the tallest of the three boys. Trevor held up three fingers with a smile, but unfortunately he didn't have any distinct features that Haruka cared to remember.
David then pointed towards a younger version of Shane, who didn't seem the most thrilled when holding up two fingers. "Shane got the second draft. Obviously he is still with Montreal."
The final boy that David pointed at was brightly smiling at the camera, holding up a single finger. Haruka insistently took notice of the blonde curls on his head, alongside a distinct mole on his face. The boy was very good looking. Not as good looking as Shane but no one will beat his dad, at least in Haruka's opinion. "This is Ilya Rozanov. He still plays for the Boston Raiders. He got the number one draft pick. Shane and Rozanov are rivals."
Haruka tilted his head. "Rivals?"
"Mhn, the two of them are the most talented hockey players in their generation. They're on rivaling teams and they play intensity when against each other. They can barely stand being in the room together."
Haruka stared at the picture of Shane and Ilya. They were rivals because of their teams and because they're the most talented? He couldn't wrap his head around it, Shane doesn't seem like he could hate someone. Especially another hockey player as talented as him who is the same age.
"Why are they not friends? You can be... what is word. Uhhhh..." Haruka really couldn't think of what it was. Time to describe it. "Friends play fight? No– play against for fun? To get better?"
David seems to get it. "Like being competitive with a friend?"
"Yes! That word! Competitive!" Haruka nodded quickly, he was glad that David was very smart and understood. "Why not competitive friends? Why rivals?"
That seems to make David think about it. He sighed softly. "I'm not sure. I don't think they've thought of that before... though it may be too late for the league and branding."
David was saying boring adult things that Haruka didn't care for. Haruka had a new plan. Make Shane and Ilya Rozanov become friends.
That was his plan.
Some time later
Haruka hadn't known what to expect in a children's hospital the night before Christmas, but he certainly didn't expect the people to be joyful when the Hollanders brought the different desserts. Haruka stuck next to Shane the whole time while they handed out the pastries.
The children who could be in the large play area were there. There were plenty of children with families here as well as plenty of children without families here. Haruka knew, or at least hoped, that the children without families there would have people visit. There were quite a few teenagers as well but most seemed to enjoy the pasties and watching the younger children.
Haruka nibbled on a cookie as the Hollanders were talking to the people in the room. He observed them until a tap on his shoulder distracted him. A teenage girl with little to no hair on her head had weakly smiled down at him.
"Haruka, right?" She asked. Haruka gave a nod. "Good good. Do you know if there are more chocolate chip cookies left?"
Haruka looked towards the cookie boxes and frowned. He already knew they were out of chocolate chip cookies– that was the first thing to go. He looked down at the bag in his lap, two cookies of that kind were in there. Haruka saved them earlier.
"You want them?" Haruka held up the bag, willing to let them go because he knew that Yuna can always make more later.
The girl shook her head softly. "No, no. Not for me." She got a confused look from Haruka and quickly explained. "There’s a boy in room thirty-one. He's been here for two days and is heading back to Japan the day after Christmas."
"Back to Japan?"
"Yeah, Hajime was here with his parents from Japan but there was a car accident. It must be awful... all alone in a foreign country. Will you deliver the cookies to him, he hasn't accepted anything from others? I heard you talking in Japanese to Akio earlier, so I thought..."
Haruka stared down at the cookies in the bag. He knew what it's like to be alone, of course he didn't know what it was like to lose your family but he knew what it felt like not having family. Haruka wonders if this Hajime didn't know English. He knows what it's like to not speak the language here.
"Room thirty-one?"
"Yeah. I can walk you there."
Haruka shook his head. He has to do this by himself.
The girl smiled then made her way over to a small family. Haruka saw her smile and hugged them.
He quickly left to find room thirty-one.
It wasn't hard to find. Quite easy actually, since every room was labeled. It was at the end of the hall and seemed alone compared to the other rooms. Only one person's name was on the patient board.
Hajime Umemiya.
Haruka knocked on the door softly to not spook Hajime. There was no response so Haruka cracked the door open and stuck his head in.
"Umemiya-san? Can I come in?" Haruka asked in Japanese, making sure to use Hajime's last name as per the Japanese traditions.
There was a gasp alongside the rustling of blankets. A voice that couldn't be a few years older than Haruka spoke up. "Y–yeah..."
Haruka stepped into the room and spotted the boy moving up to sit on the edge of the bed. He had messy black hair with bangs that nearly went over his eyes. The rims of his eyes were red from crying. His left arm was in a sling– something clearly was broken.
"Hi... I'm Haruka– er– Hollander Haruka... sorry I haven't said my name like that in a while..."
"Umemiya Hajime..."
The two were in silence as neither one knew what to say. Hajime seemed really sad to Haruka.
He clenched his pants and made his way over to the bed. Haruka held the bag of cookies out. "Umemiya-san... uh, take these."
Hajime shook his head softly. "But they're yours."
"No! Shane made these for kids here! Take it!" Haruka shoved the bag into Hajime's hand.
Hajime seemed startled by him. He stared down at the bag as tears formed in his eyes. He shook his head softly. "I don't... deserve these..."
Haruka frowned and tilted his head. "So? It's a gift. Shane said that gifts don't mean if you're worthy of them!"
Hajime hesitated but ultimately took the bag of cookies with his good hand. Haruka opened the bag for him to grab one of the cookies out. Haruka didn't comment about the tears falling from the boy's eyes nor about the sniffles from the boy.
"D–Do you wanna talk about it?" Haruka quietly asked. He stood next to the hospital bed, looking up at Hajime. "Shane says talking about problems is better. Healthier he says..."
Haruka twirled his thumbs around each other. He was extremely nervous. What if Hajime yells at him to leave, that he doesn't want to talk about it.
Hajime stared at Haruka with surprise. He spoke quietly. "Why? Why do you care?"
Haruka stared back at Hajime with a frown. "Because Shane says that being kind is better than being mean... I don't fully get it but being kind is like not punching someone because they made you upset! Shane also says that kids need love. And you're a kid so I'm giving you my cookies!"
"You look younger than me." Hajime pointed out.
"I'm seven!"
"Ha! I'm nine! I win!"
They laughed together but Haruka could tell that Hajime's was a bit forced. The silence that followed the laughter was quite loud compared to the noise of the large play area. Haruka noticed that Hajime closed his eyes in an attempt to calm down.
Haruka pulled himself up onto the bed next to the other boy. He talks quietly about how before he moved to Canada he never was happy. That only after meeting Shane, who took him in despite not knowing him, that he became happier. About how difficult it is to learn English in such a short time but the people around him were very supportive and was the only reason why he wanted to learn.
"Mama's sister lives here in Canada so we came to visit for the holidays... I–" Hajime hesitated after Haruka finished talking, his voice cracking a bit. Haruka wrapped his arms around him. "I–I wanted ice cream... so we walked to a shop and on the way back a driver ran a red light. Mama pushed me out of the way..." Hajime let out a sob when he remembered the events from a few days ago.
Haruka simply held the slightly older boy, he wasn't like Shane who somehow knew how to comfort people. Haruka was awkward about that because he never was comforted before Shane came to his life. Comfort wasn't something Haruka could afford when he barely ate enough in the past.
"Your mama loved you a lot. She protected you. Your papa loved you a lot too. They wouldn't have gone to get ice cream with you if they didn't. Only Shane has gotten me ice cream, so your mama and papa loved you." Haruka states like he was certain that people only care about you if they got you ice cream.
Hajime stayed quiet as he tightly hugged Haruka. Sniffles filled the room.
"You're a weird one... you know that?" Hajime pulls away from Haruka. He had looked at Haruka with that same sad look in his eyes but Hajime at least had a small smile. "But... that's okay... being weird is cool. At least that's what papa said."
"Has your mama's sister visited?" Haruka took the silence as a 'no' and quickly changed the topic. "Do... you wanna be friends?"
Hajime's eyes lit up with surprise and joy "Yeah! You seem cool... but what about when I leave the hospital and go back to Japan?"
Haruka looked around the room. He spotted what he wanted and quickly made his way to the desk in the room. He grabbed a pin and a piece of paper and began to write his number down alongside his name.
"My number! Take it! For us to talk on WhatsApp!" Haruka practically shoved the piece of paper in Hajime's hand. “Make sure to use WhatsApp so no money is paid!”
Haruka used this app to talk to Lily when she was in Russia. Something about texting internationally costs money while the app was free.
"But I don't have a phone..."
"When you get one! I promise I won't change my number!"
"Okay..." Hajime muttered, seemingly uncertain but wanting to believe Haruka. He then questioned, "Who is Shane? You mentioned him multiple times."
Haruka shrugged softly. "He's my guardian. He took me in when I came to Canada... he's been really nice. I don't wanna leave."
Hajime stared at Haruka for a few seconds before giggling a little. "So he's your dad?"
Haruka's face flushed a bright red. "N–No! He just takes care of me!"
Hajime gave Haruka a look. "He takes care of you when he doesn't and you don't wanna leave. He clearly cares for you. That's what my papa always did for me. Think about it, Haruka."
So Haruka thought about Shane being his dad. He thought about how Shane and David were. David did things for Shane without Shane asking, just like how Shabe did things for him.
Haruka thought about it for a long while even after the conversation changed topics.
The Next Day
December 25th, 2014
Haruka had to be woken up by Shane. He didn't want to get up. Not in the slightest.
"Haruka, it's already eleven! It's time to get up!" Shane shook him awake.
"Don't wanna..." Haruka muttered out, not bothering to open his eyes.
Haruka didn't care about Christmas gifts in the past. He never got anything and he knew that Santa was just an adult. Haruka knew that Christmas with the Hollanders is different from the past Christmas but he just couldn't seem care.
Shane seemed to give up and Haruka quietly cheered in his head about winning and getting to sleep more. Unfortunately, Haruka cheered too early as Shane picked him up and carried him like a sack of potatoes.
Haruka squirmed and tried to get out but Shane was much stronger than him. Shane only placed Haruka down in the family room.
A small gasp escaped Haruka's lips as he saw the presents under the tree. Haruka wanted to deny the tears from his eyes but he knew that he couldn't. There were at least thirty presents.
Yuna sat on the couch drinking a cup of coffee while watching the TV. David was reading the newspaper, a cup of coffee sat on the table next to him. A ginger ale was on the coffee table alongside a still steaming cup of hot chocolate.
Haruka looked up at Shane. He quietly spoke. "This is... all for me?"
"Yeah. It is."
It took nearly two hours to go through and open everything. Haruka took his time looking at every gift, not caring if it was clothes, games, or even the nerf guns. Every single gift was looked over for at least a minute.
Shane said the name of who gave the gift every time due to Haruka's instances. Haruka wanted to know who to thank. Most of the gifts were from Shane, Yuna, and David. Most of the nerf guns and supplies were from Lily. Jackie and Hayden got Haruka different things that made loud noises– Haruka knew that this was a way of revenge for Shane getting the twins noisy baby toys that they liked.
What surprised Haruka the most was that Scott and Carter sent lots of candies, a surprising amount of gift cards saying that they weren't sure what Haruka liked but wanted to have somethings, and an Admiral's Hunter sweater.
Yuna and Shane sighed with defeat when Haruka opened the sweater and declared that he loved it. Haruka was never going to tell them about the deal with Carter Vaughn. This was far too hilarious.
The day went by quickly. David and Yuna cooked a small but nice meal for them four while Shane helped to open packages for Haruka.
Haruka paused and looked over at Shane. He studied Shane's face until the man began to look at him with concern. Haruka suddenly stood up and hugged Shane with all his might. "Thank you... dad..."
Shane gasped and tightly hugged Haruka back. He definitely was crying and there was no denying that– after all this was the first time Haruka called him dad. "You're welcome, always. You know I'll do anything for you Haruka."
This was a Christmas that Haruka would never forget.