all wrapped up in a nice little bow

Iris placed another ornament on the tree, struggling to keep her balance standing on the ladder. This was the first year that they’d had an actual full tree in years, and it was quite the exciting addition to the flat. Iris had taken to watering and taking care of it, as neither Sherlock nor Kazuma had the time to tend to the large pine. But she didn’t mind that. Botany was one of her many hobbies, after all, and Sherlock would have probably killed it within a week of them having it.

Iris climbed down a few steps, before grabbing another ornament. She could see the bottom of the box now. The tree was looking beautiful, and Iris was proud of her work so far. She couldn’t wait for everyone to see it!

And by everyone, she didn’t just mean her papa and Kazumie. No, she meant the entirety of the little 221B family, plus the friend Susie was bringing. That was the exciting part, Iris had the splendid idea of inviting Papa Mikotoba, Susie, and Ryuu to London for the Holidays! It had took months of planning, and she did have to hide it from Holmesie, but she knew he and Kazumie would love the surprise.

Iris heard the familiar creek of the front door. She scrambled down the steps, running to greet whoever was there.

Sherlock and Kazuma were home, which was a nice surprise, since they never got home at the same time. Iris grinned, taking them both by the hand to show them her progress on the tree.

“The tree looks splendid, Iris,” Sherlock said. He looked vaguely tired, and Iris wondered what type of wild case he solved today.

“Thank you!” Iris replied, bouncing on her toes, “It’s very important to have a nice balance of ornaments in every spot, and I think I did a good job of that.”

“I didn’t even know you owned this many ornaments,” Kazuma said with a chuckle, crossing his arms.

“Well, I‘ve made a lot of my own over the years, and Papa has all sorts of weird stuff packed away, so we just have a lot of random ones,” said Iris. She thought for a moment. Would now be a good time to tell them? The boat would be arriving any day now, and she didn’t want it to be too much of a surprise. She knew Kazumie wasn’t all that great with surprises.

“The tree aside, I have a very exciting announcement.” Iris spoke with vigor, moving to stand directly in front of the tree.

“Oho, and what does this announcement entail?” Sherlock cocked an eyebrow, taking a seat on the worn couch. Kazuma sat down next to him, listening closely.

“We’re going to have some very special guests this holiday season,” Iris could barely contain her excitement. “A few months ago, I sent a telegram to Papa Mikotoba, asking him and Susie and Ryuu to visit during the winter! And even better, Susie’s bringing along her friend, Haori!” She grinned, looking at Sherlock and Kazuma, awaiting their reactions.

Sherlock’s jaw dropped, and Kazuma looked panicky, like he was going to be sick. Iris frowned. Those were not the reactions she was expecting.

“I... isn’t it great?” Iris’ voice was shaky. Was Papa mad at her for inviting them without his permission? Was Kazumie okay?

“When will they arrive?” Sherlock finally responded, concern coated in his voice.

“Tomorrow? I believe?” Iris said.

“Tomorrow.” Kazuma mumbled, “Of course it’d be tomorrow.”

“I’m really really sorry, I know I should have told you earlier, or asked before I planned it all or, or-“ Iris felt like she was going to cry. She didn’t mean to hurt either of them. She just wanted to do something nice for the people she cared so much about.

“Iris, it’s okay,” Sherlock rose from his seat to console his daughter, his tone soft, “I love that you did all of this for us, I just wish you would have told me before you invited them,” he got down to Iris’ level, gently stroking her cheek, “I’m really, really glad they’re coming though. It will be nice to see them all again.” He smiled, wiping away Iris’ tears.

“Yeah, and we’re meeting someone new.” Iris said, sniffling. Her papa always knew how to make her feel better, and it was a relief that he wasn’t upset with her.

Kazuma, on the other hand...

She looked over at him, sitting on the couch with his head pressed against the back cushion, lost in thought.

“You might want to talk to him, though,” Sherlock gestured to Kazuma. Iris nodded, moving to sit beside him.

“I’m sorry for the surprise,” Iris spoke quietly, “I thought you would be happy to see them again.” She stared at her feet, kicking her legs against the bottom of the couch.

“I am, but,” Kazuma sighed, “I’m not sure if I’m ready to see him again.”

“Him?” Iris asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Naruhodou,” he said, “I’m afraid he’s... disappointed in me, in the person I’ve become.” Kazuma looked Iris in the eyes, something he rarely did, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t talk about this with you.”

“No, I think I understand,” Iris said, “you’re afraid Ryuu doesn’t like who you are now, because of all the stuff that’s happened to you.”

He nodded. “I’ve been meaning to write to him, but I’m afraid to,” Kazuma shook his head, “it’s cowardly to be afraid of the truth, I know.”

“Well, maybe it’s good you’ll get to see him again, then!” Iris said a bit too loudly, “you’ll be able to talk to him about all this.”

Kazuma shrugged. “Or I could not.”

“Or you could,” Iris said, pouting.

“Anyway,” Kazuma sighed, “Seeing my sister will be nice, and I haven’t seen Haori in years.”

“It sure will.” Iris wanted to talk about the stuff with Ryuu more, but she didn’t want to upset Kazuma. She crawled off the couch and stood up again.

She checked on Sherlock, who was frantically tidying the attic (“if we’re going to fit four more people in here, we need to clear this up!”), and made sure that Kazuma was 100% okay (“yes, Iris, you don’t have to worry about me”), before returning to the tree. They’d be arriving tomorrow, and Iris had a lot to do! She had to bake like there was no tomorrow, dress the tree, and of course, the presents! Tomorrow was a big day, and Iris couldn’t be more excited. Everything was going to go perfectly, now that Papa and Kazumie knew and were just as excited. But, she felt like she was forgetting someone very important...

Gina!

She had forgotten to tell Ginebean! She’d have to stop by the yard extra early, to make sure she caught her as she came in. She’ll be so excited, knowing how much she liked a certain legal aide.

But... besides that, it would all go great. Iris knew it would.

“Oh, Ginebean! There you are!” Iris shouted immediately once she spotted her friend, bouncing up and down with excitement. “I have very exciting news.”

“Oh? Wot kind of news?” Gina asked, a familar form of playfulness in her voice. Ginebean was always so fun, that’s why Iris liked her.

“We’re having some very special guests for the holidays, and you’ll never guess who!” Iris exclaimed. Even though she had already told Sherlock and Kazuma about it, telling Gina about her plan was just as exciting as it was the first time around.

“Who?” Gina said. She looked kind of worried, which made Iris nervous. She did *not* want a repeat of last time.

“Susie, Ryuu, Papa Mikotoba, and one of Susie’s friends!” Iris said, taking a prideful stance.

“Susato?” said Gina, and Iris swore she blushed slightly, “Oh, okay,” she glanced away from Iris.

“Yep! And you’re coming too.”

“Dam-dang, I don’t even get a choice init, huh?”

Iris nodded, giggling. “And if you don’t come, I’ll cry!”

“Well, I certainly don’t want that,” Gina chuckled, “anyway, you should get goin’, things are busy this time of year,” she began to turn away, mumbling something under her breath that Iris didn’t catch.

“Oh, well, goodbye Ginebean!” Iris said with a wave. “See you tonight, 5 pm!”

“5 pm, got it.” said Gina.

Now everyone knew about the visit. Iris practically skipped her way back to the flat, because she was so happy about all of this. She’d get to see Papa Mikotoba, and Susie, who was practically her sister, and make a new friend. It would be perfect.

Only her papa was home when she returned, and he was in a cleaning frenzy. Highly unusual for his typical “organized chaos” approach to things.

“Hello Papa! What are you doing?” Iris asked. Sherlock was currently putting away all of the loose papers spread out of his desk, humming some tune she had probably heard him play on his violin at some point.

“Iris! We need to get busy, Yuujin comes today.” Sherlock said with a sigh, turning to Iris and slumping against the desk. She hoped he wasn’t entering one of his moods. It was Christmas, after all! “Everything needs to be perfect.”

Iris chuckled. She knew how much Papa Mikotoba meant to him, but this was ridiculous, even for Holmesie. Of course, she also really wanted to impress Yuujin, as despite him being her adoptive father, she really didn’t know all that much about him, aside from what little information she’s gotten from his writing and from Sherlock directly. It was weird, because she had little to no interest in learning about her biological parents. She assumed it was because well, Holmesie and Papa Mikotoba were what she had right now, and Barok, her only known living relative, had said a lot of mean things about people she cared about. She’d forgive him eventually, but today was not that day.

“Papa, I’m sure Papa Mikotoba will love it no matter what,” Iris began, “we’ve done a great job decorating, and he didn’t seem to care about the mess when he visited last, so I’m sure it will be fine.”

“It won’t be fine.” Sherlock groaned, “things have to be perfect.”

“But things are already perfect.” said Iris with a sigh, “you have me and Kazumie, and we’ll have everyone together in one place for once.”

Sherlock placed his index finger on his forehead, clearly engrossed in his thoughts. Iris patiently awaited his response.

“You’re right about that.” He finally replied, a gentle smile forming on his face. “I guess there is more important things to focus on right now.”

Iris giggled. “You’re right about that.”

As the morning turned to afternoon, and the afternoon turned to early evening, Kazuma returned home, and after a brief update on their plans for the night, he and Sherlock headed out to greet their visitors as soon as the boat reached port.

So that left Iris, who was still frantically baking every cookie recipe she knew and had the ingredients for, and Gina, who had arrived with Kazuma, grumbling about today’s complicated case. Iris listened intently, as she loved hearing about all the different cases the people in her life covered.

But, as Iris listened to Gina talk, there was a certain question that tugged at her, one she’s had for a while. She’s never had the opportunity to ask Gina about it, since it was such a harsh question and certainly not one she would ask in front of other people, but since it somewhat had to do with tonight, she decided now would be the best possible time to ask.

But should she? She didn’t want to hurt Gina, but she really really wanted to know.

In the end, she decided it couldn’t hurt asking. It wasn’t mean or amazingly invasive, so she went with it. She waited for Gina to end her story, and then launched her dire question.

“Hey, Ginebean? I have a question.”

“Yeh?”

“Do you like Susie?”

Gina was silent for a moment, a panicked look on her face.

“Well, uh,” she eventually stammered, looking away from Iris. “I don’t hate ‘er, I guess.”

“Not that type of like,” Iris added, chuckling.

“Oh, um...” Gina hid her face with her hat, clearly flustered. “I... I don’t know. She’s too good for a person like me.”

“Ginebean,” Iris crossed her arms, frowning. She hated when Gina talked so negatively about herself. She knew she was trying to work on it, but it hurt Iris to hear Gina talk herself down.

“Wot? It’s true, y’know.” Gina grumbled. “Besides, she’s prob’ly got ‘er eyes set on some pretty bloke.”

Iris shook her head. “Nope. I don’t think she’s into those types.” Iris giggled.

“Wot do you mean?” Gina said with a furrowed brow.

“You’ll see.”

All of a sudden, Iris heard the muted sounds of people laughing and talking outside the flat. She heard the click of the front door, and the formally toned down voices became very loud and rung in her ears. She leaped off the couch and ran towards the door. They had arrived.

Immediately upon seeing who was there, Iris flung herself at Yuujin, yelling a loud “Hello!” to everyone. Yuujin ruffled her hair as they all exchanged their hellos, and Iris noticed Susato wave to Gina, who was still sitting on the couch quite awkwardly. They all came inside, closing out the harsh London winter outside

Susato introduced them all to Haori, the short, shy girl practically glued to her side.

“She assists my father in his lab, and we have been friends since...” she looked at Haori, “we were seven, I believe?” Haori nodded. “Her english isn’t great yet, so she might not talk much.”

“Well, Kazumie’s taught me a little Japanese, so maybe we can talk like that?” said Iris. She was looking forward to getting to know Haori, and she didn’t want the language barrier to stop them from communicating with her.

“I know some, I’m just bad at talking.” Haori said in a quiet voice, chuckling softly.

They all laughed at that. Iris glanced over at Gina.

“She’s Gina, but I call her Ginebean.” Iris said, pointing to Gina.

“Hi, Gina.” said Susato, Gina waved a small wave at her.

“I think it’s time we get this little party started,” Holmes loudly announced, a big grin on his face. Iris was glad to see him so cheerful, and she knew exactly who was making him feel like this.

As everyone began to settle in, they all dispersed into groups of two, and Iris moved in between those groups. She wanted to spend an equal amount of time with everyone, she hadn’t seen Ryuu or Susie or Papa Mikotoba in so long, but she also didn’t want to abandon Papa, Kazumie, and Ginebean.

But currently, she sat talking to Susato (and Haori, but she mostly stayed quiet) about her cases as Ryuutarou. Apparently, whenever Ryuunosuke couldn’t cover a case, whether he was sick or when two cases overlapped, Susato would take on that case under this persona. And according to Haori, she was very handsome. It was dumb that she had to disguise herself like that, but it was really cool that she wanted to be an attorney, just like Ryuu!

“I should make you another outfit, then!” Iris offered, “maybe I’ll make one for Hao, too!”

“That would be nice, yes,” Susato replied.

“That’ll be your Christmas gift,” said Iris, “but you have to pretend that you’re surprised when you open it, okay?”

“I will,” Susato chuckled.

As they talk, Iris noticed that Gina was sitting in the corner, alone. She swore she was hanging out with Kazumie and Ryuu a few minutes ago, maybe she just needed some alone time? She knew how Gina was.

Maybe she wanted to hang out with the girls, but she just didn’t know how to ask! Iris ran over to her.

“Hey, Ginebean!” Iris exclaimed, “how’s the party?”

Gina just shrugged. “It’s whatever. They’re talkin’ about some deep life sh-rubbish o’er there, so I left.”

“Oh,” said Iris, “well, would you like to join us?”

“Uh, sure, I guess.” Iris grabbed Gina by the arm and dragged her over to where Susato and Haori were sitting.

They all sat awkwardly for a moment. Gina attempted to avoid eye contact with both Iris and Susato.

“Hi, Gina.” Susato said, flashing a gentle smile at the detective.

“Hey,” Gina quietly replied, her face tinted red.

“How have things been? I’ve heard you’ve been working alongside my brother.”

“It’s been nice, I guess.”

This hurt to watch, Iris thought. She knew how much they meant to eachother, Susato being the only reason Gina accepted Ryuunosuke’s defense a few years back, and hearing how frequently Susato brought her up during her and Iris’ many discussions over tea. So why were they being so awkward? It made no sense.

“I’m going to go see what Holmesie and Papa Mikotoba are up to,” Iris said. Maybe leaving them alone would coax them along, she assumed. It couldn’t hurt to try.

As the night progressed, Iris continued to hop around from group to group until it was time for dinner. Iris had spent practically the whole day cooking, and with a little help from the Mikotobas, things were looking great.

Iris sat herself in between Papa Mikotoba and Kazumie, bouncing in her seat as she listened to the current conversation.

“Susato’s actually pretty good as a defense attorney,” Ryuunosuke said in between bites, “she might even be better at it than me.”

Susato shook her head. “I do not have as much trial experience as you do, though.”

“I’m sure you’re amazing as a lawyer, Susie!” Iris shouted, “your deductive skills almost rival the great detective himself!”

“I mean, she is the daughter of this great detective’s partner,” Sherlock added, giving Yuujin a playful look. Yuujin rolled his eyes.

“She’s very gallant,” murmured Haori. Susato gave her a nudge.

“To be quite honest, all I do is imitate Naruhodou and Asougi,” Susato chuckled, “it really isn’t anything special.”

“But Su, you saved me!” Haori crossed her arms, “and all the other people you’ve... helped? protected? What’s the word...” she awkwardly giggled, hiding her face with her sleeve, “Ah! Defended, yeah.”

“I guess,” Susato said, staring at the floor.

“Are we embarrassing you?” asked Kazuma in a slightly teasing voice. This came as a surprise, as Iris had never really seen Susie and Kazumie interact like siblings.

“A little,” Susato answered.

The conversation went on like that for a while. Yuujin, Ryuunosuke, Susato, and Haori talked about life in Japan, and Sherlock, Kazuma, Gina, and Iris added details about life in London. It was so interesting to hear about everything going on in Japan, and Iris loved hearing about it.

Dinner eventually turned into desert, and soon after, they dispersed into groups again. It was getting late, so Iris was starting to consider going to bed.

But, she knew she had to help someone.

Gina hadn’t really said much at dinner, and had returned to her spot in the corner of the room when it was over. She hated seeing Ginebean so alone, when she knew how much she probably wanted to be around Susato.

So, she approached her once again.

“Ginebean,” Iris began, “you know I hate seeing you so upset.”

“I’m not upset,” Gina snapped, “I’m just... readin’ the room, y’know?”

Iris pouted. “Why don’t you want to talk to Susie?” Gina shrugged.

“Easy. She and that pretty lil thing are dating. It’ll be rude of me to.”

Iris glanced over at Susato and Haori, who were talking with Ryuunosuke and Kazuma. She looked back at Gina and shook her head.

“When Susie introduced Hao, she called her a friend, Ginebean,” Iris countered, “if they were dating, I think she would have brought it up, don’t you think?”

Gina gave her a look.

“How about we go ask, then?” Iris offered, grabbing Gina by the arm once again.

“Ginebean was wondering if you two were dating,” Iris abruptly asked them, arms still linked with Gina’s.

“That’s not-“ Gina stammered, covering her blushing face with her hand.

“Um, no, no we aren’t,” Susato awkwardly chuckled, face red. Haori nodded.

“See, Ginebean?” Iris said with a giggle. Gina sighed.

“I’m so sorry,” said Gina, “I didn’t mean for-“

“It’s alright! I understand,” Susato reassured, “we’re just... really good friends, it would be awkward if it was like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get that,” Gina replied, “‘m just sorry that *someone* had to ask ya a personal question like that.” She nudged Iris slightly.

“No, it’s alright!” Susato said, taking Gina’s hand. “Really, it’s fine.”

“Yeah...” Gina looked away. “Um, do you wanna like, sit down and talk and... yeh?” Gina was a total mess, and Iris felt bad for putting her in this spot. But at least she and Susato were talking.

“Sure!” Susato responded, before turning to Haori, “would you like to join us?” Haori shook her head.

The two of them walked away and sat on the couch, clearly lost in a very awkward discussion. Iris grinned.

“That was the most embarrassing conversation I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life,” added Ryuunosuke, who was clearly trying not to laugh. “Iris, why did you do that?”

“Well, someone has to get things moving around here.” Iris dramatically threw her hands up into the air. “My next goal is those two,” she pointed at her papas, Sherlock and Yuujin, as Sherlock was quite embarrassingly attempting to flirt with Yuujin, who seemed completely unaware of this. “Anyway, I’m off to bed. Goodnight Ryuu! Goodnight Kazumie! Goodnight Hao!”

Iris said her goodnights to her papas, and Susie and Ginebean, whose conversation had fortunately become less awkward.

She hated to be the first to abandon the party, but knew it was probably time for her to go to bed. Christmas was tomorrow, after all! But to be quite honest, she already had the one thing she’s always wanted (or, atleast the only thing she’s wanted since she learned about Yuujin), and that’s her entire family all in one place.