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Damn you, Kanon!
Rhadamanthys was internally swearing while making his way through the crowd. The Christmas market was packed with people tonight, all there to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones. It was cold outside which was why the stalls selling food or alcohol were very popular. The blond avoided them, the smell was more repulsive than the gathering in front. This was not where he would find the perfect gift anyway so he continued his errand.
"I'm coming back, pick me up tomorrow." He was reminded of his boyfriend's text and the frown increased. That fucker doing as he pleased, like always.
Who thought going to Greece to visit his twin brother would be a good idea again? Rhadamanthys wished he could say "I told you so" upon his arrival but then Kanon could counter it with a different question. Where his present was, or even the whole decoration within their apartment.
"Why bother?" would not be an acceptable answer for him.
He was right, what was the point of all this bother only for a day like any other? Rhadamanthys could sort of understand the interest in the New Year party –this one he did wish to have it free to celebrate with his lover. But Christmas? Yeah, no reason to see it as a special day. Kanon, on the other hand, did wish to return to his hometown to meet with his remaining family, his twin brother Saga.
Their relationship was tense and somehow worsened since he moved in with Rhadamanthys. Hence he had advised him against that trip. It would only bring more conflicts. The less the siblings talked, the better their brotherhood. Nonetheless, he did not want to forbid Kanon to go –not that he could change his mind anyway. The Greek had been so vehement about it going well since his last chat with Saga went well beforehand that he could almost sway the blond's pessimism. He found himself hoping for a miracle.
Yet, they both agreed it was for the best that he did not join the trip for it to maximize his chance of success. It was no bother at all. Rhadamanthys had work that could not be delayed. His team would need him, they were all in this mess that always piled up in the last month of the year. Kanon would be more successful without his presence so it was a win-win arrangement.
And still, judging by the sudden message he received earlier, the trip did not go well. Shocker. They managed to survive three days, an improvement that he ought to attribute to Saga's lover. Knowing both siblings, no way they could survive this long together without external help. But even that had run out and that left Rhadamanthys less than a day to try to pick an actual Christmas present and then decorate their apartment.
Kanon had originally planned to return right before New Year so he did not bother about these things. However, with that text alone, panic arose deep within his heart. He could tell that his boyfriend would need all the spoiling to get into a better mood. He alone would not be enough. Rhadamanthys was already preparing himself mentally to hear about everything Saga did and said.
So yeah, he preferred going through the hell of drunk crowds and freezing temperatures to shorten those long annoying coming rantings.
Rhadamanthys had bags full of decorations in his hands, all that was left was a present. The most important thing that would lift Kanon's mood and he had no idea what to get because his boyfriend was not into uttering what he desired. No, that idiot would buy it for himself before he could. It was something he had to suffer from every 30th May for Kanon's birthday and Valentine's Day too. Last Christmas had been a lot 'easier'.
Well, not like he was going to smash Kanon's phone to buy him a new one.
–Not that he was responsible for dropping it the past year.
Deep in his thoughts, the blond did not realize he was heading into someone until it was too late. Why stop in the middle of the path?!
"Wa–" Ahead of 'apologizing' in frustration to the person he bumped, he realized he recognized that face. "…Ikki?"
"…Rhadamanthys?"
They stared at one another in awkward silence for quite a while searching for something to say.
Well, they were not particularly close personally. They had mutual acquaintances though. Each worked with the other's lover. Ikki was an apprentice under Kanon while he had to deal with Pandora, Ikki's girlfriend, as his boss. While Rhadamanthys was confident his boyfriend and that guy were on friendly terms, not that it bothered him at all, he could not say this was the case for them too.
"You're looking for a last-minute gift too?" He pointed at the bags in his hands.
It appeared to be the only explanation for finding that guy in here without Pandora around.
"Yeah. Isn't Kanon in Greece?" Ikki replied, raising an eyebrow.
So he did know about that bit…
"He's coming back tomorrow."
"Saga, right."
That part was not top-secret to guess.
Despite his saying, Kanon was very much caring about his older brother and talking about him a bit too much for supposedly the twin he wished he did not have. Their complicated relationship was common knowledge to anyone who had the "honor" of meeting the siblings.
There was another moment of silence between them before both sighed at the same time.
"You have no idea what to get either?" Ikki wondered, apparently surprised by that fact. Did he give the impression from their few previous meetings that he was always prepared? Or perhaps it was Pandora talking about him to her boyfr–
No, no way she would praise him.
"I can help you." Rhadamanthys countered, avoiding the talk of his failure. An idea emerged in his head and judging by the other's surprised face, he looked like he was interested. "I know Pandora mentioned something she wanted but in exchange, if you have ideas for Kanon…"
"I could think of a couple of things, yeah."
Both men assessed one another staring until they nodded. It seemed to be a fair deal at first. However, the blond quickly realized that all the ideas from Ikki were either already bought or Kanon had changed his mind. It was not rare and as his boyfriend, it could be annoying but Rhadamanthys did enjoy this variety over monotony. On the other hand, his idea for Pandora turned out to be something Ikki did not think of beforehand.
"She loves your niece, Nat– Natacha?" Rhadamanthys asked for confirmation as they stood in front of a stall.
"Natassia, yes. She's my younger brother's daughter. They are fond of each other." It was one of the first times that the blond noticed a smile on Ikki's face. Those were rare occurrences but guess he did have a small spot for his niece as well. "We did search for a gift together for her. We picked something else though. I did not realize Pandora enjoyed what we first thought about." Ikki mentioned.
They both stared at the various displayed snow globes containing all kinds of animals and landscapes within them. Rhadamanthys gave him the general gist of how Pandora mentioned once about those to decorate their offices. In the end, the traditional tinsel and other fake snowflakes were preferred because it was what the majority of people enjoyed. Nonetheless, Ikki could buy her one of those so she could use it on her desk.
Now he only had to choose which one. This ought to be more of a personal issue. Ikki knew his girlfriend more than him -or at least he hoped so otherwise, that would be very weird.
"This one, please." Ikki pointed at one for the owner of the stall. Out of curiosity, he glanced at it. "She loves playing the harp."
At his explanation, Rhadamanthys could understand the choice of that particular one. It was a snowy landscape with birds and a harp on a hill. It was very beautiful, he could expect Pandora to enjoy it. Not that he would mention to her that he was the reason why she got it in the first place. Nonetheless, he could already feel a prideful smug grin on his face glancing at it coming next Monday.
"What about you, sir?" The woman questioned upon having wrapped Ikki's present.
"I'm fine, thanks." He shook his head, those kinds of presents would not be for Kanon. It ought to be something more 'useful' and a bit more personal too.
This was the reason why in the end Rhadamanthys was still in the same problem as before.
Nothing found favor with him to be good enough for his boyfriend.
"Thank you for your help," Ikki said, slowly raising the present bag in his hand. "Sorry that I could not do the same." Despite the awkwardness at first, he was sincerely feeling bad for not being able to reproduce this miracle.
Rhadamanthys shook his head as they were leaving the Christmas market. "Don't worry. He would need those a lot more than any gifts anyway." He raised the bag containing the bottles of alcohol he got from there.
It was not the best but it was something. Being there for Kanon whenever he needed him was what brought them closer, to begin with, opening up about their insecurities took time, yet the moment they did, it was over. Rhadamanthys did not think he would be able to move on from this man. His mind and body gravitated around Kanon.
"Good luck." Ikki wished him, aware apparently of the mess his boyfriend could be after meeting with his twin.
They parted as he headed toward his empty apartment. He would need to settle the decorations. Kanon's plane was arriving early too, it was not like Rhadamanthys would get lots of sleep either.
However, the cold and quiet place was not feeling right alone. There was no blue tornado wrecking everything in his organized life. The mess while decorating was making it a bit familiar, reminding him of how he did miss Kanon. No matter what he said when they parted in the airport a few days ago or in the texts they exchanged, Rhadamanthys was not fine.
He longed for that part of him that this annoying but endearing Greek took out of him.
"Fuck!" He groaned as he hit the corner of the table while setting tinsel above the screen there.
What he would do for this asshole!
"Welco–" Even before Rhadamanthys could finish, he was silenced by a kiss.
That guy did not care about the attention they were getting in the middle of the airport, no, he was solely doing as he pleased.
Not that he would complain either, having missed this particular affection from his boyfriend. If someone dared to interrupt them or make a displeasing remark, hell would fall on that asshole. Thankfully, people were too busy meeting with their loved ones as well to notice the pair.
"Mm– Back." Still, Rhadamanthys completed his sentence once they separated. The bunch of flowers he had bought along the way was handed to Kanon.
"Is this a proposal?" The Greek teased although he accepted the gift by exchanging it with his suitcase.
They did talk about getting engaged in an awkward conversation where Kanon mentioned he hoped to get a better proposal than just a sudden 'we should be official' out of nowhere. Since then, it appeared that his boyfriend was eager to mock any display of his affection.
"No, this is your Christmas gift. I have drinks at home too." Rhadamanthys explained pragmatically, aware that he was not the most romantic person in the universe anyway. This was the best he could offer and Kanon knew what he signed up with when accepting him.
The Greek chuckled and hugged his lover once more, pressing his forehead onto his shoulder.
"It's good to be home."
Those words took Rhadamanthys aback. Greece, Saga –those places were what 'home' meant to Kanon so for him to utter those words here, it was…
"I missed your grumpy ass too," Kanon added, feeling his free hand grabbing his butt.
Rhadamanthys sighed.
Why did he fall for his idiot already?
Omake:
"You met with Ikki?" Kanon asked suddenly. As Rhadamanthys was busy preparing dinner, he was sitting at the table, phone in his hand, to catch up with everything he missed. A half-empty glass of wine held in his other hand proved that he appreciated his boyfriend's gift.
"Yeah, why's that?" Rhadamanthys called out from the kitchen though he did not leave it. He was wondering how he got that piece of information since he did not think he mentioned it during the day.
"He sent me a text telling me to thank you for your help and that 'Pandora loved the gift'. What does he mean?" The accusatory tone was hidden behind false curiosity but Rhadamanthys could hear it from where he was.
He finished what he was cooking that needed his immediate attention before walking up to the living room to set the plates on it –mainly to show Kanon that he had nothing to worry about. "We met by chance yesterday while I was searching for your gift. He was doing the same for Pandora so I helped him find one for her."
At that explanation, Kanon stayed quiet, only nodding. He returned to his phone to type something, most likely for Ikki. "So, why did you not find me a gift like hers?"
The jealousy was unfounded since Pandora and he had never been close like that, nonetheless, the insecurities within Kanon were not just about that. This was up to him to make him realize there was nothing to worry about. He sat by his side, cupping his cheeks so those teal eyes would turn to look at him, catching his full attention.
There was no need to travel to Greece to witness its beautiful seas, it was right there within his palm.
"You would not need those materialistic gifts." Rhadamanthys started, a grin appearing on his face when he got Kanon speechless –a rare feature. "Besides, you already have something a lot more worthy in front of you."
Dinner could wait anyway, both realize as they moved closer to one another.
"You selfish haughty fucker be grateful you're hot." Kanon smirked, his hands already eager to unwrap his 'present' unaware that another gift awaited him in their bedroom.