#ladlylakebees

[thewriterofmanythings]

Abiding at the Fields

The Field siblings hosting a Christmas celebration with some visitors. Written for ladylakebees on Tumblr for the 2023 ZE Secret Santa. Read also on A03 here.

“Clover, don’t you think that’s enough tinsel?”

Clover’s bright pink hair popped up from the box of Christmas decorations she had buried herself in.

“Ugh, you’re such a Scrooge, Light. Tinsel is the best Christmas decoration. I want this tree to sparkle and shimmer!”

“To the contrary,” Light said. “I’m sure that’s an admirable goal to have but I can’t help but wonder if you might have been more successful in that endeavor had you not started decorating the tree with only an hour to go before the party.”

Clover let out a huff before silently sticking her tongue out at her brother.

“Keep that up and a bird is going to make a nest on it,” Light said, not even bothering to turn his head in her direction.

“Don’t you have a quiche or something to check on?!?” Clover asked, brushing glitter off of her sweater.

“Indeed. I suppose I shall leave you too it.” Light carefully excused himself from the rocking chair he had been sitting in and made his way to the kitchen of the little townhouse the Field siblings shared.

Even having been around him for years, Clover was amazed at how self-sufficient her brother was. She regularly burned herself on pots and pans and had the scars to prove it, yet he was a perfect natural.

Shaking her head, she turned back to the large Christmas tree in front of her. It was her first time decorating for the holiday as their parents didn’t really celebrate, but she was determined to make it a good time for all involved. She and Light had gone to a specialty store a week ago and bought two large boxes of tinsel, ornaments, lights, and customized stockings. This resulted in the apartment looking as if Santa himself had barfed all over it, but it didn’t matter to Clover.

As she continued to place tinsel and ribbon around the tree, Clover got lost in thought making sure everything looked good-so much so that when a knock sounded at the door she nearly jumped a foot off the ground.

“I’ll get it!” she yelled to her brother who was still tinkering around in the kitchen. She raced to the door and took a peak through the peephole. On the other side was the strange woman she and her companions had picked up on the side of the road in Nevada. Instead of the Egyptian costume she had once worn, here she appeared to be in a cozy grey keyhole sweater and a black skirt.

Clover flung the door open. “Alice! You made it!”

The dark-haired woman let out a soft giggle. “Why of course, I couldn’t miss the party of the year now, could I?”

“Come in, come in!” Clover stepped to the side so Alice could enter. After closing the door behind her, she wrapped her in a big hug.

“I hope I’m not too early,” Alice said. She set down what looked like a wax-sealed wine bottle down then hung her purse on the hook next to the door.

“Not at all!” Light called from the kitchen.

Alice picked up the wine bottle and moved in his direction.

“Bonjour ma chérie! Comment vas-tu?” Light was particularly fond of Alice, not only because he felt she might be a good influence on his little sister but also because it gave him a chance to practice his French.

“Je vais bien, et vous?” she responded, pressing her cheek to his and making a kiss sound.

“Je vais très bien,” Light said, reciprocating the gesture.

“This is a lovely place you two have. Seems you’ve done quite well for yourself,” Alice commented, making her way to the living room.

“Anything’s better than being followed around by those lame bodyguards. Such a nuisance. Pretty sure that one bald guy was a pervert too,” Clover huffed.

“Well I’m glad things have worked out well for the both of you.” Alice smiled warmly. “Do you need any help with your tree?”

“Yes! Help me decorate Alice!” Clover jumped up and ran over to the open box on the floor. “Take these!” She thrust a small box of pink and blue ornaments towards her friend excitedly.

The two continued to work on the tree and chat while Light busied himself in the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, another knock sounded on the door, this one much deeper and heftier than when Alice had arrived.

“Clover?” Light called.

“Got it!” The girl yelled and ran for the door, nearly tripping over a string of ribbon spiraling down from the tree.

As Clover glanced through the peephole, she saw a small cluster of people-a tall, broad man, a shorter, younger man about Clover’s age, a middle aged woman and two girls also around Clover’s age that looked similar to each other and also the older woman.

“Hey guys! Merry Christmas!” Clover said as she threw the front door open.

“Clover!” One of the young girls squealed and threw her arms around Clover’s neck. Ennea had cut her hair into a short angled bob recently and was wearing a gray beanie, black leggings and a red and gray flannel, seemingly going for comfort over festivity.

“It’s so good to see you guys!” Clover said, moving on to the first girl’s twin and squeezing her tight. Nona had beautiful long black hair that was woven into an intricate braid with little red and green Christmas bells tied in to match her green silky dress and red sweater worn over the top of it, much more festive than her sister.

“My, Clover, life seems to be treating you well,” Lotus, or Hazuki as she was more commonly known, took her turn to give Clover a hug before stepping into the townhome. Hazuki was wearing a teal dress with a white coat and black strappy pumps. It wasn’t terribly cold outside but Clover couldn’t help but wonder if the lady was chilled at all.

“Even better now that you guys are here!”

Clover waved the big hulking man into the room. “Hey get in here ya big lug, you’re letting all the warm air out.”

Once it was free of his large orange blazer, Seven’s big hand landed on Clover’s head and tousled her hair, much to her chagrin. “Good to see ya too, brat.”

Finally all that was left outside was Junpei. He looked much more haggard than the last time Clover had seen him, with unkempt hair and dark circles under his eyes. It had taken a lot to get him to agree to come to the party, but seeing the dead look in his eyes she was more grateful than ever that Seven had basically threatened to kidnap him if he didn’t come on his own.

“Hey Junpei.”

“Hey Clover.”

After a moment of hesitation, she pulled him into a hug. It was a careful, delicate embrace. She was afraid if she squeezed too hard he would break into pieces in her hands. The smell of alcohol on his warm breath told her that he was doing even worse than she had thought. But then again, she couldn’t blame him. She knew exactly what losing someone that mattered so much to you felt like, and frankly drinking away your sorrows was a lot tamer than what she could imagine herself doing if things went too far.

“I’m really glad you could make it,” she said softly, receiving a faint squeeze from his arm in response.

As she led Junpei back into the heart of the house, Light was setting down the enormous fruit platter Hazuki and her daughters had brought. Alice was talking to Ennea and Nona while Seven and Hazuki settled into the couch.

“Junpei! What a delight to have you in our presence this fine Christmas Eve.” Light grinned at the dark haired man who had just arrived. If there was anything the Field siblings shared, it was their fondness for Junpei.

“Hey Sn-Light,” Junpei said.

Light’s face broke out into a lopsided grin that anyone who didn’t know him might assume meant he was being a smartass. “Please feel free to call me what feels comfortable to you.”

“Thanks, man,” Junpei nodded at him. He then settled down onto a love seat, wrapping his black leather jacket closer around him.

“Perfect timing everyone! Now that we’re all here, our food is ready. Please come eat your fill and enjoy a variety of cocktails and other drinks,” Light proudly announced to rest of the room.

“Light, could you please change the music??” Clover pleaded with her brother as their guests began to fill their plates in the kitchen.

“Why would that be? Do you not find Tchaikovsky a perfect accompaniment for a Christmas party?” Light asked with a quizzical expression on his face.

“Classical music is so lame for any party. Besides, I think some more classic Christmas spirit vibes would help cheer Junpei up.”

“Ah, I suppose you might be right. Fine, I will play something more cheerful.” Light disappeared into the other room before coming back with a new CD, which he promptly switched out in the player.

As more mainstream Christmas carols began to play in the background, the guests began to settle back into their seats in the living room with full glasses and plates. While they ate, they each recounted where life had taken them in the months since the event that had brought them altogether. Hazuki had scored a great programming job that she was proud of, while Ennea had followed in her mother’s footsteps and was studying computer science in college. Nona announced that she was taking courses in criminal psychology, which perked Alice’s ears up.

The two of them continued a private conversation as Seven informed the rest of the group that he and Junpei had been investigating “some freaky cult” that had ties to Hongou, and therefore the Kurashikis. Seven seemed optimistic about their chances of not only crushing the potentially dangerous group but also finding the perpetrators of the second Nonary Game. Clover could tell though that Junpei was uncomfortable with this line of discussion, his knuckles turning white around the beer he was nursing.

Apparently Light could tell as well without Clover needing to nudge him, because as soon as Seven was finished talking he stepped right in.

“Speaking of Mr. Hongou, I took the liberty of planning an extra activity for the night. I thought it could bring some catharsis to our particular cast of characters. If you’ll follow me.” With that, Light stood up and began making his way to the back door.

“What did you do??” Clover whispered, following close behind him.

“Oh you will see,” Light dismissed her.

As the group made their way into the small backyard that came with the town home, Light made his way over to a strange contraption that was facing the back wall. It was a vertical wooden square supported by two planks, one on each side connecting to another horizontal piece of wood attached to wheels at the ground. Light pulled it away from the wall and turned it to face the guests before opening the top piece of wood to reveal a dart board underneath-except this board was covered by something. As Light stepped out of the way, darts in hand, Clover let out a giggle.

“Oh you didn’t.” Hazuki let out a shocked gasp but the look in her eyes was one of glee.

“How did you even get that?” Nona asked.

“It’s public record, just like all mug shots are,” Light smirked. Plastered on top of the dart board was the mug shot of Gentarou Hongou, taken just hours after the second Nonary Game participants made their way back to civilization and explained their story.

“Now who would like to go first?” Light asked, extending his hand with the darts to the crowd.

“Shit, don’t mind if I do,” Seven said. He grabbed a dart from Light’s hand, squinted his right eye, stuck out his tongue and let the dart fly. It was a decent throw but still only hit the edge of the paper.

“Nice shot,” Alice said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Hey lady, I’m just gettin’ warmed up. Think you could do better?”

Without a word, Alice exchanged her eggnog for a dart and pushed the mountain of a man out of the way as best as she could. Clover watched as she straightened her posture and adjusted her arm. No one let out a breath for a few silent seconds, then Alice let the dart fly. It hit Hongou square in his mouth.

“Lucky shot,” Seven muttered under his breath, walking away and downing the rest of his beer.

“Damn Alice, didn’t know you were a darts champion,” Hazuki said.

“What can I say, my line of work has some unexpected benefits. Never hurts to be a well-rounded person,” Alice smiled.

“Who wants to go next?” Light asked, pulling the darts from the board.

Ennea and Nona both began clamoring for the next dart, but Clover wasn’t paying them any mind. She took a glance at Junpei, who had cracked the first smile she had seen all evening.

“Hey,” Clover said, sidling up to him and taking the available seat on the concrete bench he had perched himself on.

“Hey,” he said, not really looking at her.

“Are you doing okay, Junpei?”

A sigh. “Is that a trick question?”

“You know what I mean, you jerk.”

“Well, I’m not trapped in a sinking boat, or being axe-murdered or something so I guess in the grand scheme of things it could be worse.” Junpei took a swig of his beer as Ennea landed a dart on Hongou’s hair.

“You’re telling me,” Clover forced a chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood. It landed flat.

“Thanks for the concern though.”

“Hey.” It came out more forceful than intended, but it worked-he turned to face her. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll find her. And in the meantime, you have us. That’s worth something, right?” She could feel tears starting to well up but she forced her face to remain determined.

Junpei’s face softened. “Yeah. That’s worth a lot of somethings.” She felt his hand find hers along the bench and give her a reassuring squeeze.

The two of them spent the rest of the night watching the others play darts, with Junpei eventually drifting off to sleep. He had rested his head on her shoulder, and she was scared to move lest she disturb the peaceful look that had finally found its way to his face. At some point Seven found a blanket and laid it over their shoulders, and Clover began to drift off to sleep too, her heart happy being surrounded by the ones she loved and the Christmas spirit.