Behind a strong man [Ushiwaka /Oc]

Chapter 24 - A Party

For the last few weeks until the holidays, Tamiko and Semi had been working together a lot. Planning the christmas party was a lot of work, especially since they were celebrating at Semi's home. At first, his mother wasn't very happy about leaving the house to her son and thirteen high schoolers but when Tamiko intervened, stating that she would be there as well, she allowed it. From then onwards, the two planned out games, food and all sorts to have the days planned out. Tobio would spent Christmas over at Hinata's and he was surprisingly easy to persuade.

"I'll look after your brother, Kageyama-san." he had grinned.

Tamiko did have a chat with Hinata's mother, to be absolutely sure that it was okay. After telling her of the situation, the woman was more than happy to take in Tobio for the holidays. Tamiko was glad that it was now all taken care of after having to be comforted by her brother a few nights before. It had been a while since she had felt so angry but this time she was devastated. Their mother had to cancel a flight because of her work. This was the first time they had to spend Christmas without her. She hadn't told the boys. None of them. She didn't want them to worry, especially Ushijima and Semi, who always seemed to worry. It would cause her more stress otherwise so she kept quiet. On that fated day, Tamiko drove her brother to the Hinata household, wishing the family a great Christmas.

"Behave." she told him, flicking his forehead. Then she smiled. "And have fun."

After a hug and a peck on the cheek she drove home. Leaving him felt hard somehow. But it had to be done. After gathering essential material from home, she then drove to Semi's house. He was already busy moving everything into place. He was a little out of breath when he opened the door for her and disappeared back into the living room, when she stepped into the house. She retreated into the kitchen and prepared everything. An hour passed and Tamiko was busy in the kitchen when the boys arrived. Since they all lived at the dormitory they all came together and it instantly became loud. She could already hear Tendou ask where she was but she didn't bother to pause her work at the moment. The ones that had brought the food came into the kitchen anyway.

"Hello, Tamiko." Soekawa smiled and placed a plastic bag of food onto the counter.

"Hey, Jin." she grinned.

He walked over to her, looked over her shoulder, made a comment about the good food, made a joke for her to laugh at and patted her shoulder. Soekawa Jin was a great vice-captain and friend. It would be interesting to see who would step into his and Ushijima's shoes once they had graduated. Tendou also popped his head into the kitchen. He was awed at the sight of her with an apron and casual clothes.

"Tamiko-chan looks like a proper housewife." he grinned.

She gave him a short side glance before continuing cutting the vegetables before her.

"Do you know why women live longer than men?" she asked him.

"No," he said, tilting his head a little to the side.

She made one last, rather aggressive, chop and then paused.

"Because the knives are in the kitchen," she smiled but the menacing aura behind her made him flinch back.

The knife in her hand added to the effect and Tendou searched for safety in the living room. Soekawa laughed and patted her shoulder before leaving himself. She smiled to herself and turned her attention back to her work. After she had finished with preparing everything to be cooked, she turned on the oven, set a timer and took a few things with her to the living room. Everyone had gathered in the warm and cozy living room. Semi's parents had put up a christmas tree a few weeks ago, since their daughter had sparked them with American traditions, and apart from the ceiling light, it was the only source of light in the living room. There were at least 5 fairy lights, red and silver decorative balls out of glass and a small round carpet at its base. The family cat was not allowed near it, that's what he had told everyone. The cat was already too old to protest and was resting on one of the sofas. Semi himself had pushed some sofas and couches around the kotatsu on the ground. Not everyone was there. Many of the first and second years were with their families with only Goshiki, Kawanishi and Shibaru present. Everyone from the third years were her though. Kawanishi and Shibaru were the first to have crawled into the kotatsu. The rest of the boys sat on the couches and sofas when Tamiko came with 8 mugs of hot chocolate and a bowl with homemade cookies.