Chapter Text
Chishiya flopped on the floor of his living room, glaring at Niragi like he’d personally wronged him.
Kuina only laughed.
“What do you mean you already know Arisu?” Yesterday’s meeting between Arisu and his friends had not gone as he’d assumed when the two immediately recognized each other. It meant that they spent a significant amount of that afternoon together. Not that it bothered Chishiya, or anything.
“We work in the same company? I knew his wife too, but we hated each other so never talked,” The pierced man shrugged like it was no big deal that he’d known Chishiya’s (not) crush for years. To him, it probably didn’t matter.
“This is hilarious,” Kuina pressed a hand to her mouth in an attempt to muffle her laughter. She was absolutely no help in all this, and he had to wonder why he even put up with her.
“It’s not my fault you’re a hopeless romantic,”
“I am no such thing,” Chishiya defended himself, glaring at his friend.
“Yeah, he’s just a dad,”
“Kuina!”
They both laughed at him, and he sunk into his hoodie as his face warmed. It was embarrassing enough that he’d gone and caught feelings, as he was normally very controlled in his emotions and didn’t care about people. Arisu, however, was different. He was kind in a way no one else ever was, and he made Chishiya think about his own choices in life. As for Akemi? Well, he didn’t even know he could care for another human being until he held that little girl, and he was fully aware that he’d do anything for her.
It wasn’t his fault that he’d been living next to the world's most influential duo in existence.
“I’m happy for you, though,” Kuina said, this time with a lot more care. She sat on the floor beside him, running her fingers through his hair gently. She was the only person allowed to do so, the person who’d been the closest thing to family he ever had. Sure, she teased the hell out of him when possible, but he appreciated her presence.
“He’s my friend, don’t be weird,”
“Even I could see those stupid doe-eyes, and I ain’t even know you knew each other until yesterday,” Niragi chirped, ever blunt and uncaring as always.
“Oh, just admit you’re smitten for the entire family,” Kuina swatted him lightly, and he turned that glare into her.
“Fine, but he doesn’t want anything more than what we have.” Chishiya was not a fool, and even after realizing that Arisu’s wife wasn’t actually in the picture, he knew that the wounds were still fresh. It was already jarring to know he wasn’t a potential homewrecker, and it was best not to get his hopes up so soon.
“That might change, that might not, but it’s clear you’re both important to each other, Akemi and Sayo get along so well, too, I’m glad to have him around.” She collapsed over his back, but it didn’t make him feel trapped like it might’ve been with anyone else. It was safe, and he relaxed fully on the ground. “Ragi, come cuddle with us,”
“Not a chance,” Niragi rolled his eyes, and remained firmly on the couch, but his lips quirked fondly. Kuina whined and complained loudly, but it did little to actually sway him. The man didn’t like to be touched on the best of days, outside his boyfriend, Tatta. Chishiya didn’t particularly mind it, since he only wanted her touching him. “But she’s right. ‘Sides, I have to deal with you both no matter what, so at least make it pleasurable.”
“Maybe,” Chishiya still didn’t understand his own feelings and romantic gestures scared him a lot. He’d never dated someone, and his inexperience made him unsure, since Arisu had previously been married and had more experience than him in everything. Would he even be a good boyfriend?
_________
Arisu woke to Akemi bouncing up and down on his chest, her bright, excited grin right in his half-asleep face.
"Christmas! Papa, Christmas!" she cheered, clapping her hands. He smiled softly as he sat up, moving her to sit on his lap. Ever since she got her new bed, she realized that she could climb into bed with him and wake him whenever she pleased, like now.
"Mornin’, bunny," he muttered, kissing the top of her head. God, she'd really grown a lot. Already, his baby girl was big enough for her head to reach just under his chin as she sat on his lap.
"Gift?" Akemi asked with a glee only a child could have, more than thrilled to have her first Christmas not spent in her parents' arms. Arisu chuckled and ruffled her messy hair, to which she squealed and pushed his hand away, "no, papa!"
"We have to wait until we open the presents, okay?"
"Why?" a look of confusion overcame her features, and she tilted her head slightly as she asked.
"Well, don't you want your uncles and auntie's to be around when you open their gifts?"
"Hmm," she crossed her arms and pursed her lips as she thought long and hard about the choice, which just made him shake his head fondly. Eventually, she decided that yes, she did want to have everyone around so that they could play, and nodded seriously.
"Good, now how about we get dressed and start cooking. I think Chishiya is coming over soon to help,"
"Chiya?" The mere mention of his name had her automatically straightening up, and she was right back to smiling gleefully.
"Yeah, baby, Chishiya," He scooped her up into his arms and kissed her forehead once more. If Arisu was honest with himself, just thinking about the blond next to them as they cooked made getting out of bed that much easier, whereas he might've lingered for half an hour more in thought.
Funny, it was, how he ruminated less and less on what was missing and appreciated more and more on what was there.
As he padded out into the main area, he paused only briefly to look over the colorful. They'd gotten a beautiful white tree to decorate, and atop it stood a white rabbit in place of a star or angel. The floor beneath them was brimming with gifts from and for all of their friends, the printed wrapping paper contrasted with the artificial pine needles.
He felt himself grinning at it all, proud and excited for what was to come. Despite the emotional turmoil of the past year, he finally felt like he was in a good place. A yawn escaped him as he set Akemi onto the floor. She took full advantage of her newfound freedom and zipped away into the living room, clamoring onto the couch with relative ease. Arisu chuckled at her glee and walked over to turn on the television to her favorite channel.
A knock at the door drew his attention, and with a large grin, Arisu swung it open to find Chishiya. His blond hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail, and he was dressed down in a soft looking green sweater. Although small, that fond smile was more than enough to fill his chest with a near overwhelming warmth, and he was positive his cheeks must’ve been pink.
“Merry Christmas, Chishiya!” He said, stepping back, so the other could enter and attempting to sooth the flush in his face. If he noticed, he didn’t comment on it.
“Merry Christmas,” Chishiya hummed in return. He toed off his sneaks and traded them for the softer indoor slippers before traveling further into the apartment. As expected, Akemi was all squeals as soon as she saw him, and was off the couch and barreling into his legs in no time. With a gentle huff, he scooped her up into the air, letting her fly for a moment and filling the space with her laughter. “Hi, mi-mi, did you miss me?”
“Yea, Chiya!” she gasped out between bouts of giggles, a steady redness on her cheeks and nose. Chishiya gently tossed her into the air once more before setting her back on her feet, ruffling her long black hair until she ran away. It had grown to brush against her shoulders, just like Chishiya, and he’d been pestered over and over to let her have blond hair as well. He doubted the other realized just how much Akemi looked up to him, just like he didn’t realize what her nickname meant.
“I’m starting to worry you might be her favorite,” he snorted, but he long since stopped caring about things like that. If he was honest, Chishiya was his favorite too. The blond looked up curiously, and although a little startled at the comment, it no longer caused him to retract.
“I’ve been told that once or twice,” Chishiya smirked, sitting comfortably on the couch and accepting Akemi into his lap. Fuck, it was all so domestic, the man who made his life so much better and his daughter sitting so comfortably together. With a dramatic roll of his eyes, he explained that he was going to change into more presentable clothes and left the room, face unbelievably warm.
He never thought he’d go through the painful experience of a crush after being with Usagi, since he had no intention of being with another. Yet, here he was, Thirty–fucking–two years-old and hiding in his room to escape how his stomach curled. It wasn’t even just the fact that he got along amazingly with his daughter; Chishiya was kind despite his aloof and sometimes asshole nature, an amazing doctor and scarily intelligent. He was beautiful, long bleached hair and smooth skin with only a mole to break up the near-perfect surface.
“Come on, Ryo, get it together,” he muttered, pulling a tee-shirt over his head and ruffling his hair messily. He didn’t bother to fix it, and just left back into the kitchen. Kuina and Ann were bringing fried chicken with them, so he’d just be in charge of making sides. They all agreed to make their own biscuits instead of eating the doughy ones KFC provided, so that’s what he set off to do.
He didn’t mind working alone, the apartment filled with sounds of laughter and Chishiya’s quiet murmurs as the two watched cartoons. It brought his work to a halt as he was overcome with memories.
________
“Ryouhei, our little bunny is too cute,” Usagi cooed, laughing to herself from her seat in the recliner. In her arms was Akemi, letting out unintelligible mewls as she cuddled up to her mother. The fireplace crackled at her feet, warming their normally cold house. It meant that their Christmas tree was fake for once, but the arrival of their little darling erased most of their worries. Usagi brought Akemi up into the air, so she could blow into her stomach, drawing shrill, heart stopping giggles from the girl. Arisu poked his head over the couch, heart melting at the sight. She was so small, only a few months old, and even though he knew babies were usually small, it was just mind-boggling. He couldn’t help but lean down to kiss her cheeks, then Akemi’s forehead. Usagi snorted, leaning back and stretching her sore limbs. “Go finish our food, silly,”
“Sorry, had to come say hi,” Arisu snuck one more kiss, this time on the lips. Even in her weakened state, she was amazing, so strong and unbeatable. There was no one he wanted to raise a child with than her.
________
“Arisu!” Chishiya’s voice snapped him back to the present, and he whipped his head around to meet that barely viable concern. With Akemi still in the living room, there was little need to put up a front for her sake. It was only when the blond hesitantly reached out to grab his hand that he realized that he’d accidentally sliced his palm open. The blood dripped out sluggishly, just barely missing the food, and he was quick to move it with his injured hand.
“Sorry, sorry,” Arisu, despite everything, laughed and waved him off. “Just got distracted thinking about things.”
Chishiya only frowned and brought him to the sink, flushing out the wound and gently washing the blood away with a rag. His touch was surprisingly gentle. The countless hours he spent at their apartment mean he was easily able to locate the first aid kit and wrap his palm in bandages.
“I… if it is not wrong of me to say, I assume that this is the first Christmas you’ve had without Arisu-sama,” Chishiya kept his eyes on his work as he spoke, so Arisu hummed weakly. “Ah, that must be stressful.”
“Not as much as you’d think,” Arisu smiled, even if his heart hurt, it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as he’d assumed it’d be. When Chishiya leveled him with a disbelieving glare, he only laughed. “I’m serious. Yes, I miss Yu, and I’ll miss her everyday, but I’ve made so many friends this past year… and you, I don’t think i could have done so much if i hadn’t met you, Shiya.”
“I highly doubt that,” Although he deflected the compliment, his cheeks were pink in hue and those cat-like eyes simply refused to meet his. Arisu knew the truth no matter what. Their attention quickly shifted when Akemi stumbled into the kitchen, looking concerned.
“Daddy?” She gasped loudly when she noticed his bandaged hand and rushed over, tugging on his pants until he picked her up. “Hurt?”
“Yeah, daddy got hurt because I wasn’t being careful with something sharp, but Dr. Chishiya took very good care of me,” Arisu cooed sweetly and gestured to the man before him, who briefly appeared startled before fixing his expression. He wiggled his fingers to show he was truly okay, and kissed her cheeks until she giggled. “I’m all better,”
“Oh, oh!” Akemi reached out to grab his hand, and with the innocence only a toddler could have, pressed a kiss to his open palm. “Kiss it better!”
“O-oh, thank you, Mi-mi,” Arisu smiled gently, his heart melting at it all. It was utterly adorable, and he hugged her closer.
“Chiya kiss it better?” Akemi looked eagerly at Chishiya and held up the injured hand. It made Arisu squeak in shock, mortified at it all. His friend wore a similar expression, but recovered quickly. He grinned, albeit a little awkward, and gently grabbed his wrist. While he couldn’t feel anything other than a brief spark of pain, just seeing those lips brush against his hand made his face flush.
“There, Dr.’s cure,” He smiled into his hand before pulling back, and Akemi nodded in approvable. She then decided she wanted to be held by the blond, and after a shared look, Chishiya took her into his arms and went back to the living room. Arisu went back to baking, figuring that cake alongside everything else would be perfect. He started on the batter, humming to himself as he measured the ingredients.
In that time, Niragi and Tatta arrived, arms full of a few gifts. Akemi squealed and ran over, jumping up and down as a greeting.
“Uncle ‘Ragi! Uncle Tatta!” She laughed, holding up her hands to be held.
Tatta brought their gifts to the living room and put them under the tree, while Niragi scooped her up and carried her to the couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed, clinging to him like a kola. Out of all of Chishiya’s friends, Niragi happened to be their only mutual one, and someone who already knew about Akemi. Even if Usagi disliked the man, she did admit he was rather sweet on their daughter. That applied to the present.
“You might want to reconsider who’s her favorite, Arisu,” Chishiya said smoothly, pulling himself into one of the barstools at the Island. He snorted, pouring the batter into a greased pan. Tatta soon joined them and sat next to Chishiya. “Niragi is surprisingly good with her,”
“He’s always been like that to her, especially when I brought her to work,” Arisu explained, and it was true. Niragi was very sweet with kids, even if he rarely expressed that with anyone else.
“Kuina says it’s similar with Sayo. You, too, Tatta.” Chishiya turned his attention to Tatta fully, chin on his palm with a smirk. “You two really spoil them both, don’t you?”
“Haha, what can I say, they’re adorable,” Tatta chuckled sheepishly and adjusted his hat so he could avoid looking at them. From the living room, they could hear Niragi reading a book to an overjoyed Akemi, who took it upon herself to loudly help him. “I hope that’s not, like, annoying. He’ll tell you otherwise, but Suguru has always wanted kids. I never thought about it before, but yeah, I don't think I'd mind being a parent. It's just… nice, I guess.”
“I could see it,” Chishiya nodded.
“Have you considered adoption or fostering?”
“Of course, but that’s not easy,” Tatta scoffed, expression twisted in irritation. “We can’t legally marry in this country, and our entire relationship is a taboo, so it hasn’t been going well.” Arisu never really thought about it, but the realization that if he pursued a relationship with Chishiya, he wouldn't be allowed to marry him stung. A lot. Fuck, none of his friends would be allowed to experience that joy.
"That's bullshit." he frowned deeply.
"I know, right?" Tatta shook his head, and scrubbed his eyes tiredly. Still, he smiled through it. "but we're managing regardless. we don't need to be married because we know it's always going to be us together, and between you and Kuina, we'll be very good uncles. Who knows, maybe the law will change in the future."
"Yeah,"
“We can only hope, I suppose,” Chishiya shook his head, expression unreadable as it so often was. With a sigh, he got up to continue tending to the food, waiting until the others arrived.
________
"What would we do without you around?" Arisu joked as he came up beside Chishiya, leaning calmly against the doorway with a warm mug in his hand. The excitable sounds of children laughing filled the air as Akemi and Sayo played with their new toys on the carpet, smiles across the girls' faces. Sayo waved a stuffed frog in the air, and Akemi easily matched her with a crochet sheep.
He was glad she'd found a friend her age, glad he had another parent in his circle to go to, and just glad that his family had grown to the size it had. Kuina, Chota, and Karube were on the floor with the girls', though they put a pause on opening gifts for the moment. Ann sat beside Hajime and Tatta as they talked quietly, most likely about Tatta and Niragi's desire for kids of their own. Niragi himself was on the floor below them, listening but not adding anything.
"Care to elaborate on that?" Chishiya turned his attention from the kids' to Arisu, a curious glint in his cat-like eyes.
"If i hadn't met you, i wouldn't have so many friends, and this," he gestured to the living room full of people and Christmas decorations, "wouldn't be happening. I'm so lucky to have gotten to know you, Chishiya,"
"I could say the same," Chishiya said smoothly, even as his gaze quickly moved back to the main area and his smile grew soft. Soft. That always seemed to be the thing he thought of when it came to the blond, a soft, caring man hidden behind that apathetic front. To think, Arisu was the person he trusted so much to show his true self to. Oh, and he'd done the same so many times, admitting things he never thought he'd speak aloud.
"Then I guess we're both very lucky," Arisu said quietly. He didn’t dare imagine what his life would be like if Chishiya had never offered his help that night.
"Hey, might wanna look up," Karube chuckled and pointed to the arch way above their heads. Confused, Arisu's gaze moved up until it landed on a small green plant with white berries and a red bow; A mistletoe. Warmth rushed to fill his cheeks, and he squeaked at the sight of it, knowing he hadn't put something like that up.
"Karube!" he looked at his friend sternly, only to be met with amused chuckles and cheers for them to kiss. Sometimes he forgot how childish they could be. Arisu, flustered beyond belief, turned an apologetic look to Chishiya, who seemed equally unamused. That gentle flush ran up his ears as he affixed the plant with a scathing look.
"I'm so sorry about them," Arisu sighed, but couldn't help but notice the pink hue all that ran down his neck and the tips of his ears. Now that he thought about it, Chishiya was never an intimate, touchy person. He didn't want to make the man uncomfortable for any reason, especially because of their friend's silliness. Frankly, the fact he wasn't freaked out was something to be proud of.
"Our friends are insufferable together." Chishiya mumbled, staring upward.
"Don't worry, you don't have to," Arisu said calmly, which was enough to pull the blond's attention towards him. He nodded, a contemplative look on his face. When he seemingly came to his own choices, he smiled softly and in an instant, hands grabbed at his shirt and pulled him down into a firm and brief kiss. All he could do was stand there frozen in shock, and Chishiya pulled away before he could even think about responding. Cheers echoed loudly in the apartment.
Before he could respond, Chishiya walked away and set himself down among their friends.
His lips tingled, and he forced himself to walk, so as not to appear strange or anything. It was strange, because he’d found himself imagining his first kiss with the blond more and more over the weeks, and yet it happened on a whim. Arisu let out a barely audible huff and sat down with the girls, refusing to look anywhere near Chishiya.
“Daddy, look!” Akemi crawled into his lap to show him her brand-new toy and beaming. She seemed more than happy with the amount of attention she was receiving and was drinking it in.
“I see, that’s amazing, bunny,” he smiled and kissed her nose, taking the toy to observe and, after nodding approvingly, handed it back. “Did you say thank you?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she nodded happily, and after which, crawled back to Sayo so they could continue to play. Every day was another reminder of how lucky he was to have such an adorable daughter in his life. Karube leaned against his shoulder and quietly teased him for the kiss, and he discreetly flipped him off.
“You, my friends, are the worst,” He mumbled, to which Karube snickered. Kuina whistled lowly, and her wink to Chishiya was met with an unamused glare.
“It’s cute, come on, you two need to get it together,” she rested her arm on his shoulder, voice soft and kind as she watched her daughter laugh freely. Sayo’s curly black hair had been pulled into two space puffs, little red bows in it. She looked just like her mother.
“Please,” Arisu shook his head, unable to deny how much that kiss affected him. He wanted more of that, another kiss, another look of pure affection. Chishiya was amazing.
“We’re keeping that thing up for sure,” Chota snickered, and narrowly avoided a plush block thrown at his head. It bounced off Niragi’s leg instead, who turned with a disapproving scowl.
“Oi, quit it,” he snapped, and Arisu could only shrug apologetically, a sheepish grin on his face. Niragi wouldn’t curse them out, not in front of the girls, but he wasn’t about to be subjected to his wrath at work. Chota smirked, unharmed and unable to be properly told off. Arisu shook his head, and dropped the issue. Enjoying himself with his daughter was far more important than arguing with his friends. Akemi and Sayo were more than enough to take up his attention as they worked through the rest of the gifts.
“Oh, i have my gift, i never did give it,” Chishiya blinked suddenly and reached into his messenger bag, pulling out a small white stuffed animal. It was only after a moment that Arisu realized what exactly he held. It was small and clearly second hand, a blue ribbon wrapped around its neck in a pretty bow and two button eyes. Soft gaps escaped Karube, Chota, and Hajime as they saw the plush rabbit. Their reaction only made everyone else grow tense and uneasy, looking between the two cautiously. As for Arisu himself, all he felt was, well, he didn’t even know.
“Where… where did you get this from?” he asked quietly, cringing as it came out far more demanding and cold than he’d intended. Chishiya frowned deeply and looked honestly a little concerned, that look in his eye he always got when he was overthinking his actions. Arisu accepted the gift into his hands and gently turned it over, inspecting it with misty eyes.
“A thrift store,” Chishiya said slowly, as if testing the words, anticipating a bad response. “Is… is something wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, no, no, this is perfect,” Arisu quickly looked up, aware he had tears gathered in his eyes. Still, he ran the pad of his thumb over barely visible stitching on the right paw. AA. Although he still looked pensive, Chishiya nodded. He met Hajime’s eye, and they shared a silent acknowledgement and a promise to talk later. With that, he knelt down to Akemi’s level and got her attention. “Akemi, look who Chiya found,”
Her eyes lit up, gasping softly and practically launching herself forward. The rabbit was ripped from his hands and quickly pulled into her chest as she hugged it very close, her smile infectious. He wasn’t even sure she’d remember it, but clearly it was important enough.
“Ban!” She cheered, and just like that, whatever unease that had been before disappeared entirely. With a new-found excitement, the little girl paraded around the living room to show off her long-lost friend to everyone.
“Is that…?” Hajime half asked, to which he nodded. This, of course, brought up more confusion.
“Her mother got her that rabbit for mi-mi when she was born, and it was her favorite toy. When we moved, it disappeared, so I never really knew what happened to it. Guess it ended up in a thrift store,” at the end, he chuckled.
“And it’s this exact one?” Ann asked as it became her turn to view Akemi’s toy as she all but shoved it into her face. The woman smiled softly and opened her hand, but quickly found out this was not a time for touching. It brought an amused smile to his face.
“It’s got her initials sewn into the paw. That’s the one,”
“Daa–ng, what are the odds,” Kuina whistled, and turned to Chishiya. “You’ve got some skillful picking, man,”
“I’m glad it was a good choice, then,” Chishiya hummed, a bit overwhelmed by the situation and attention, although he did his best to hide it. Arisu smiled, even more so when, after exhausting herself once more, Akemi chose to crawl onto the couch so she could lay on the blond. Even if she didn’t verbalize it, the gift and who it came from meant the world to her.
“You have no idea,”
After that, they changed subjects and let the night wind down fully. By late early evening, both girls were down for the count, and they were wrapping up. Quickly hugging and exchanging goodbyes, Arisu saw them out, wishing them all the best. Chishiya was still on the couch with his daughter curled up against his chest, the stuffed bunny clutched in her arms, and Karube was helping by cleaning the dishes in the kitchen.
“Plans for tonight, or are you staying for a bit longer?” he asked as he sat down beside him. Chishiya snorted, like, actually snorted. While he bit his lit and averted his eyes quickly, all Arisu cared about was how damn adorable it was and how much he wanted to hear it more.
“Depends,” Chishiya smirked, eyes filled with mirth.
“Well, let me put this little one in her bed,” Arisu scooped Akemi into his arms, kissing her temple at the slightest whine she had. He pretended like that fond look that fell on the two of them didn’t make his heart rub laps in his chest. It was all he could do to retreat deeper into the apartment.
He laid her down on her bed, and took a moment to just sit beside her, watching her sleep. Despite the pain, they made it through it. “It’s us against the world,” he whispered, kissing her forehead one last time before returning to the living room.
“See ya’ Arisu, happy holidays,” Karube waved as he left the apartment. Chishiya had an odd look on his face, looking towards the door before dropping his eyes. With a little concern, he grabbed the two of them a drink and dropped himself down next to the man, this time closer than necessary.
“He didn’t say anything, did he? I know he can be a bit, ah, aggressive?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that,” Chishiya looked up and waved him off, and while unconvinced, Arisu let it drop. Instead, he handed him his cup and relaxed into the couch.
“Thanks for all the help, tonight was amazing!” he sighed, head tilted towards the ceiling as he let his eyes slip shut, a soft smile on his face.
“I hardly did much,”
“Oh come on, you helped plenty,” Arisu shook his head. “‘Sides, that gift meant the world to me and mi-mi. You have no idea what you’ve given us, tonight. Its… It’s like she got a gift from both of you,”
“I… Well, I’m glad to have helped,” Chishiya hummed.
“And hey, just being here is plenty help. I don’t need to tell you how much mi-mi loves you.” Opening his eyes, he was shocked to find Chishiya already staring at him. Still, he grinned and shifted to face him, face warm and red. “You’re amazing, and you can’t even see it,”
“I could say the same about you,” the earnest in his voice made him squeak, words getting tangled in his throat. “You’re raising a daughter by yourself, and work hard to give her an amazing life. I think any kid would be lucky to have a parent like you. You’re also unbelievably kind, and I’ve never met someone who’s able to smile so genuinely.”
“I… jeez, Shiya, you really know how to butter a guy up,” he chuckled, running a hand through his hair and attempted to calm his racing heart. God, just hearing the man speak so openly about him, words so sweet and honest, it was all too much. It wasn’t fair to be so cute and kind, to be so close and, if he wanted to, he could reach out and take his hand.
“It’s just the truth. I don’t know how I became so involved with you and Akemi, but i can’t say i regret it. As you said, I’m very grateful to be here,” Chishiya ducked his head as he spoke, pink covered his cheeks and nose, even bleeding up to his ears. Breathtaking.
“I’m grateful to have you here,” Taking a chance, he let his hand fall to the couch, fingers brushing against the other’s in warning before gently sliding them together. Beside him, Chishiya tensed, eyes focused only on where they were connected. “Is this okay?”
“Y-yeah,” after a moment of hesitation, he squeezed back, the slightest hint of a smile hidden by his hair, which fell like a curtain over his face. “This is nice.”
“Good. I’d like to hold your hand more,”
“Is that all?” That look of reserved hopefulness, an affection filled glee in those cat like eyes, it did things to his poor heart. He knew he must’ve looked the same, that he must be the cause of that pretty blush.
“No, but for now this is enough. Being with you is more than enough,” Arisu decided that they were fine like this, curled on the couch with their fingers intertwined, the sparkling lights of the tree illuminating the space. They’d talk later, have an actual conversation about what they were and where to go from there.
For the time being, however, he was content.