Archive of Our Own ^beta

The Christmas season wasn’t so different in Japan than it was in Denmark, but it was Alice and Ryo’s first Christmas there. 

The Nakiri Mansion was very different from the one in Denmark. Ryo was still getting used to the sheer size. Since he was formally Alice’s aide and bodyguard, he took it upon himself to memorize the entire layout of the mansion, but that took forever. 

Ryo was lifting weights in his room when Alice walked in.

“Ryo! Let’s go shopping. I’m sick of staying inside.” Alice started picking through his wardrobe and throwing random pieces of clothing around.

“Miss, you spent a lot of money online already. Is shopping something you actually need to do?” Ryo asked. 

“That shouldn’t even be a question!” Alice huffed and sat down on Ryo’s bed. 

“Are you sure that’s the real problem, Miss?” Ryo set down his weights and started picking up his clothes.

Alice pouted and laid down on the bed. 

“Ah, I see. You shouldn’t worry so much, Miss. Miss Leonora and Sir Soe will be back by Christmas morning,” Ryo said.

“I’m not worried! But don’t you miss Denmark?”

“You’re the one who wanted to spend Christmas here, Miss. We could have gone back,” Ryo pointed out.

“That’s only because I thought Erina might finally want to hang out with me after exams. All that girl does is work. If I had known she was going to ignore me, I would have caught the first flight to Denmark,” Alice said.

Above everything else, Alice missed Erina the most when she moved away. They grew up like sisters and when Erina didn’t respond to the letters that she wanted Alice to send, Alice didn’t take it too well. 

“Don’t you ever miss the pub?”

“I guess,” Ryo said, blandly

“What do you mean, you guess? You grew up there! You’ve got to have some fond memories there.” 

“There’s no use in getting sentimental. It’s probably going to close down anyway. I left some recipes and instructions, but those idiots wouldn’t know salt from sugar,” Ryo said, in a slightly louder voice. 

Ah, that was the Ryo that Alice knew. 

“We used to have a lot of fun there. That’s where I beat you at a shokugeki for the first time,” Alice said.

“It’s also where I beat you for the first time, Miss.”

Alice threw a pillow at Ryo, who simply caught it. 

“How did you end up running a pub anyway? You didn’t even speak Danish when you first got there.”

Ryo stalled for a minute, taking his time hanging up a couple shirts. They rarely ever discussed his past. 

“I started on the pier,” Ryo said slowly. “Fishermen paid me to sort out fish and even gave the ones they couldn’t sell. You learn Danish pretty fast if you hang around the pier.”

Alice was surprised that he was willing to talk about it, and sat up to listen attentively. This might have been her only chance to find out. 

“Then I was walking in town, saw this dingy, run-down pub, and got curious. Insulted their terrible food and started coming back every day just to use their kitchen. I didn’t have any cooking utensils, so I had to start cooking somewhere.”

Alice was again reminded that Ryo was just a stowaway on some ship. She couldn’t bring herself to imagine what that was like. 

“Then customers got a whiff of my food and started asking for a taste. I figured I could make more money there than at the pier. From then on, I took over everything, and you know the rest,” Ryo said. 

“That’s such a great story! Why haven’t you ever told me?” Alice asked.

“You never asked, Miss. I’m going to take a shower, and then we can go shopping.” Ryo grabbed some clothes and a towel and headed to the bathroom. 

***

When Ryo got out, Alice was bundled up in her new winter coat and earmuffs. 

“No time to waste, Ryo! Let’s go!” Alice ushered Ryo out, barely letting him grab his coat and phone. 

The shopping district was beautiful this time of year. The snow lined streets made the light reflect everywhere, and the decorations were so festive and bright. 

“What should we get mom and dad, Ryo?” Alice asked. 

The “we” implied that it was from both of them, but Alice was the one paying for all of it. Although, the family did technically employ Ryo, so all the money came from the same source anyway. 

“Your dad will like anything you give him, Miss. I doubt your mom would be very critical either,” Ryo said.

“But that’s just the thing! I want them to like my gift because of what it is! Not because I’m their daughter,” Alice said.

“They like it either way. I don’t see the problem.”

In the end, they bought Leonora a set of kokeshi dolls to display in her office, and for Soe, a sharpening block for his knives. 

***

Soe and Leonora entered the Nakiri mansion quietly, as the rest of the house was probably asleep by them. They had meant to get there earlier, but there were some complications at the airport. 

They first left their luggage with the staff and then went to check on Alice. Her room was surprisingly empty, though, so they went to Ryo’s room next door. 

On Ryo’s couch, the two were passed out. They seemed to be just finished with wrapping gifts, as there was paper and tape all over the table in front of them. The TV was also on, lulling them to sleep with some old Christmas movie. 

Leonora giggled softly and turned off the TV. She ushered Soe out of the room and into their own bedroom. 

“It was a good thing they found each other, don’t you think so, Nassan?” Leonora said.

“Yes, my dear, but you don’t think they were-” Soe started. 

“Don’t ruin the moment, Nassan,” Leonora cut him off. 

“Right, of course. It is Christmas, after all.”

***

“Merry Christmas, Ryo,” Alice mumbled sleepily.

“Merry Christmas, Alice.”