Chapter Text
After Mikado put his laptop away again, Mukae decided it was time for cards. They played eight rounds of Old Maid, in which Mikado lost seven while Mukae took pity on him for the final round and purposefully lost. Then it was Go Fish until Erika started to yawn. By that time it was three thirty in the morning.
“We should move the furniture and put the futons out,” Mukae suggested. “I don't think it'll matter that much if we catch the first sunrise.”
Erika shook her head, rubbing at an eye drowsily. “No, I want to stay up and see it. It's important...” She yawned again, her head already starting to bob as she struggled to keep her eyes open. “Why aren't you and Sakaki tired yet? You guys were drinking...”
“We only had a couple'a cups.” Sakaki glanced over at Mikado and nodded toward the couch he and Hiyakawa were sitting on before glancing over at Mukae. “That ain't enough to get us drunk.”
Mikado quietly got up from the couch and motioned for Hiyakawa to do the same before taking hold of one end of the couch. Mukae joined him on the other side to get it flipped around facing the windows. Sakaki carefully picked up Erika and moved out of the way so Mikado and Mukae could get the other couch in position as well.
“...What're you doing?” she asked, peeking up at him.
“Nothin', Miss. Just gettin' everything moved around. You're the one that wanted the couches facin' the window, remember? So even if one of us fell asleep we could still catch it?”
Erika nodded slowly before nestling her head against Sakaki's shoulder, her eyes already closing again. Sakaki sighed softly. It had been years since Erika fell asleep in his arms like that. When she was still a young child, she tried to run away a few times after having a fight with her parents and Sakaki would have to pick her up, kicking and screaming, to take her back home. She'd often exhaust herself before he got her to her room and fell asleep with a crease in her brow and tears drying on her face. Now, her expression was peaceful as she took slow, even breaths.
“Want us to put out the futons?” Mikado asked softly. “She might be a little upset in the morning, but it's been a long day. Even if she woke up for the sunrise, she'd go right back to sleep and probably wouldn't remember it.”
Sakaki took a moment before nodding. Having the futons out didn't mean they needed to sleep. If he could help it, he'd make sure Erika got to see the sunrise like she wanted... even if it meant he needed to be the one remembering it for her. Mikado and Mukae went about setting up the futons with Erika's closest to the wall followed by Sakaki's, Mukae's, and the one Mikado had brought with him. Once they were done, the four of them moved back to sit on the couches again. Sakaki started to put Erika down first, but she momentarily stirred and wrapped her arms around his neck. Not wanting to disturb her further, he sat down with her resting in his lap.
“She was pretty excitable all day, it's no wonder she's exhausted,” Mukae commented. “While we were taking the decorations down she said she got up early this morning, too.” He dug out his phone and turned the flash off to take a quick picture. “Days like this really do remind me how young she still is.”
“Yeah, well, you won't be gettin' much older if you keep takin' pictures like that,” Sakaki challenged, his voice gruff even in a whisper. He glared when Mukae grinned at him, but didn't bother saying anything further.
They ended up sitting in a comfortable silence for another hour before Mukae nodded off. Even though he wasn't sitting that close to Sakaki, he ended up sliding down the couch until his head hit the younger man's shoulder. Thankfully for him, Sakaki was already barely staying conscious himself. He rested his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. By that point, Erika was using Sakaki's arm as a pillow rather than his chest.
Mikado smiled at the trio before carefully getting up to take a picture of them. It wasn't particularly in his nature to do so, but if Mukae was going to take pictures of them whenever he wanted it seemed only fair. 'Besides', he thought as he gazed at the picture, 'this will be a nice reminder of the New Year.'
When Mikado sat back down, he startled as Hiyakawa's head hit his shoulder. “Rihito-sa--” he started, but stopped as he took in the older man's sleeping face. He never showed it, but it seemed all the excitement and stress of the day had finally gotten to him. Mikado gently brushed his knuckles against Hiyakawa's cheek and smiled when he nuzzled his face against the touch. Usually Mikado fell asleep first, so it was nice being the last one awake now. He carefully took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes as he stifled a yawn. There was only another half hour before the sun would rise and he was determined to stay awake so he could get the others up.
Just as his eyes were getting a bit too heavy to keep open, the first bit of morning light finally started to peek through the window and the sight of it was enough to give him a boost of energy. He gently shook Hiyakawa's shoulder.
“Rihito-san, the sun's coming up,” his voice was soft at first, but when Hiyakawa didn't stir Mikado took a deep breath. “Everyone wake up! The sun is coming up!” he yelled.
Hiyakawa grimaced from the noise while Mukae and Sakaki startled. Erika's eyes slowly blinked open and she drowsily shifted her head to look at the window. It took another couple of slow blinks before her eyes focused and she quickly sat up, nearly knocking her head into Sakaki's.
“The first sunrise!” she exclaimed, excitement back in full force. “The plan worked! We get to see it together! That means the New Year will only bring us closer together.” She beamed, then realized she was sitting on Sakaki's lap and quickly slid off to sit between him and Mukae instead.
“That was why you wanted to see it?” Mukae asked, yawning. “We rang in the New Year already, though. Wasn't that enough?”
Erika shook her head, eyes shinning as she pushed herself out of the couch and to the window. “This is really special. We might not get a chance to stay the night together and see the first sunrise next year. So we had to do everything right... just in case.” She placed her hands behind her back and smiled over her shoulder at them.
Sakaki scratched the back of his neck, looking away while Mukae and Mikado returned the soft smile. The struggle to stay awake to see the sunrise had been worth it after all. Erika stretched and let out a long sigh.
“Now we can try to get some proper sleep,” she somehow managed to get the words out around a yawn.
“Proper sleep sounds good,” Mukae agreed, getting off the couch. “G'night everyone. Hopefully I won't see you again until the late afternoon.”
Erika, Sakaki, and Mikado murmured their good nights as Erika and Mukae settled into their futons. Sakaki waited a few minutes before settling down himself. Mikado pressed the back of his hand against his mouth as another yawn escaped him. As he tried to get up, Hiyakawa wrapped his arms around the younger man's torso.
“Hey-- let go. You're sleeping on the futon,” Mikado pushed at his arms with little force, not wanting to jolt Hiyakawa if he had actually gone back to sleep.
Hiyakawa drowsily looked up at him with one eye. “...with you?”
“What? Of course not with me. I brought the futon for you. The couches are too small for you to sleep on and I knew you wouldn't bring your own. So I brought the old one from home. Now let go and--”
“...sleep like this,” he murmured into Mikado's shoulder as his eye slid closed again.
Mikado held back the urge to slap him awake. “Stop being so stubborn and just go. I'm tired too, you know. We can't sleep like this. I don't want a sore back in the morning.” He pushed a little harder at Hiyakawa's arms, but he didn't loosen his grip. Mikado sighed, leaning his head back against the couch.
“Just sleep on the futon with him, damn. It's not like we don't know you guys are together,” Mukae complained. “Don't forget to give 'em a good night kiss, too. Then go to sleep.” He pulled the covers up to cover part of his face and sighed.
Hiyakawa's eyes slowly slid back open and he finally let Mikado go as he sat up. He swayed to his feet and took hold of Mikado's wrist, giving it a gentle tug. “Let's do that, Kousuke-kun.”
“You were pretty okay with sleeping on the couch just a second ago.” Mikado gave him a disapproving frown, but his groggy heart had already started beating faster than he would have liked after the reminder of the King game. He hesitated before finally getting up and allowed Hiyakawa to lead him toward the futon. As they passed the coffee table, Mikado quickly took off his glasses and placed them on it for safe keeping.
'I'll humour him for now,' Mikado decided as the two of them settled onto the futon. 'Once he's asleep, I'll move to the couch.'
Hiyakawa stared at Mikado expectantly, playing with the edge of the blanket. It would be the first time Mikado initiated a kiss and he couldn't help but be excited at the thought. Mikado swallowed as he caught Hiyakawa's gaze, pursing his lips as he looked away. He'd kiss him on the lips, wouldn't he? That was a good night kiss... wasn't it? Even with his excitement, it was hard for Hiyakawa to keep his eyes open. Mikado finally, slowly, inched his face closer to Hiyakawa's and he allowed his heavy lids to close.
Mikado paused as he neared Hiyakawa's face, his eyes darting from the older man's lips to his closed eyes. He really expected it, didn't he? Mikado swallowed again, his face colouring before quickly changing direction. He placed a soft his on Hiyakawa's forehead with just enough pressure that he'd feel it but not much else. Leaning back, he waited nervously for Hiyakawa's reaction.
After a few seconds, Hiyakawa's eyes opened and he tilted his head. “Kousuke-kun... you missed.” He reached up to caress the side of Mikado's face, slowly sliding his hand to the back of Mikado's neck as he urged him to lean forward.
“I-I didn't,” he whispered. “I get to choose the type of kiss-- Mukae said that in the rules.”
“...Terrible rules,” Hiyakawa murmured, sliding his other hand to Mikado's back. He leaned back in the futon, pulling Mikado down on top of him to initiate a slow kiss.
Mikado started to pull back to complain, but the second he opened his mouth, Hiyakawa caught his lips again to give him a more intimate kiss. It was still gentle and slow-- something Mikado could manage. When they broke apart, Mikado quickly sat up. To his surprise, Hiyakawa didn't fight to keep him close. Rather, he couldn't. His hands slid from Mikado onto the futon as his breathing evened out, already falling back to sleep.
With a sigh, Mikado brushed his fingers through Hiyakawa's bangs. “That's part of the reason I 'missed'...” he stated under his breath. Shifting his weight, he turned to get up, but hesitated. Even with Hiyakawa's request in the King game, they would only have one night in two weeks to spend together. He looked over his shoulder at the peaceful expression on Hiyakawa's face. Although he didn't want to admit it out loud, Mikado missed staying over too.
Ignoring his better judgement, Mikado settled down onto the futon rather than retiring to the couch. Hiyakawa was already asleep, anyway, so it would be fine. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
- -
Mukae groaned at the sound of his phone ringing. He had no idea what time it was, but it still seemed far too early for a wake up call. Slipping his hand out from under the covers, he felt around the floor above his head for where he'd placed the phone. Finally catching it, he didn't bother checking to see who it was before answering.
“...Hello?” his voice was groggy and he hoped it was enough to keep whoever was on the line from taking up too much of his time.
“Mukae?”
It took a second for Mukae to register the voice on the other end. “...Hanzawa-san?”
“Yeah, it's me. You kids drink too much last night or somethin'? You sound awful.”
“Nah, just stayed up super late 'cause Erika wanted to see the sunrise. Sakaki and I did drink a bit, though. You guys doin' alright? Something wrong?”
“Ah. Must be why I couldn't get a hold of Rihito or Mikado. Their phones were shut off.” There was a pause before Hanzawa sighed. “Technically there's nothin'... wrong. Saeko just remembered we're supposed to go out tomorrow so we were hopin' you kids could come over today. But it sounds like that won't work out, so--”
Mukae sat up, the covers slipping off his shoulder as he glanced to his left. Sakaki's futon was already empty and Erika was rubbing her eyes as she woke up. He looked over his shoulder and noticed the back of Sakaki's head peeking over the top of the couch. Then, he turned his attention to the left. Hiyakawa and Mikado were still fast asleep, the younger man snuggled into Hiyakawa's chest.
“...Well, we can still make it,” he replied, pulling the phone from his face momentarily to check the time. “It's only two o'clock so we can spend the rest of the afternoon with you guys. Oh-- but is it okay if Sakaki, Erika, and I head over first? I'll leave a note for Hiyakawa and Mikado.”
“They still asleep, then?” he questioned. Mukae could hear a rustle on the other end, followed by muffled voices. “Guess it's fine if you don't wanna wake 'em. Saeko says you kids are welcome to come over whenever. We're gonna make dinner and we have some snacks, so bring your appetites.”
“Sounds good. We'll bring the extra sake and juice over, too. See you in a bit.” Mukae ended the call and then opened his camera to take a quick picture of Hiyakawa and Mikado. After placing his phone down onto the futon, he stretched.
“Going to Hanzawa-san's?” Erika asked as she sat up. “You sure we shouldn't wake them?”
He shook his head. “Mikado'd get embarrassed so we better leave 'em for now. I'll send them both texts and leave a note just to be safe.”
- -
Mikado was slow to wake. He was warm and far too comfortable to want to move. But then he felt Hiyakawa's warm breath on the top of his head. The slow rise and fall of the other man's chest against his cheek and the arm wrapped around his back. Mikado's eyes snapped open at the realization of the position he was in. He knew it would happen. He knew, but he still decided to sleep on the futon. He could only imagine what the others would say...
Somehow the room sounded quiet, though. Too quiet, almost. Mikado shifted so he could look over his shoulder, surprised to see that not only were the others not there... the futons were gone, too. Weren't they supposed to eat together before going home? How late was it...? He reached for his phone and turned it on to check the time. It was almost four o'clock.
Hiyakawa stirred from all the movement. “...Kousuke-kun?”
“Sorry,” Mikado murmured as he read the text from Mukae. “We should get up. Everyone went over to Hanzawa-san's and they want us to get over there when we wake up. It's already pretty late, I hope they're not mad...”
“Hanzawa-san's...?”
“Yeah, some things got changed around so today's the only time they have for us to go over.” Mikado slid out from under Hiyakawa's arm and got up. “We can leave things the way they are and clean up after.”
Hiyakawa stared up at him for a moment before easing himself out of the futon. “We're leaving right now...?”
“Yes, right now.” Mikado paused as his phone dinged. Glancing at the screen, he nearly yelped. Mukae sent him a picture of him and Hiyakawa sleeping. His brows furrowed and he sent the picture of Erika, Sakaki, and Mukae sleeping from the night before and then muted his phone.
- -
“Got me this time,” Mukae chuckled as the picture popped onto his screen. He saved it to his phone and showed it to everyone sitting in the livingroom. “See? We were exhausted waiting for the sun to rise. We didn't get drunk.”
“Coulda had me fooled,” Hanzawa teased.
Saeko smiled. “It sounds like you're all doing well. Even though you look a little worse for wear right now. We'll have to get together again sometime when you haven't been up half the night.”
“We'd be happy to. Right, Sakaki?” Erika gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow and the older man grunted in response. “It's nice... getting to spend time with the two of you.”
“I'm happy to hear it.”
It took about forty five minutes before Hiyakawa and Mikado finally showed up at the door. Hanzawa chastised their tardiness, but Saeko quickly cut in to drag Mikado into the house.
“Congratulations on your engagement, dear.” She beamed at him as she patted his shoulder.
Mikado stared at her for a second. “En...? What?! Wh-who told you we got engaged? That's not--!”
“Calm down, it's fine. Rihito told us about the bracelets.”
“Yeah, but that's not--!”
“Saeko, we should finish getting the food ready so we can eat,” Hanzawa interrupted. “Leave the kid alone for a bit. He just got here.”
Mikado's face was practically steaming from embarrassment. Mukae and Erika's sly grins helped absolutely nothing. But then Hiyakawa walked over to his side, leaning forward slightly to catch his eye. He seemed concerned, or confused, but when Mikado made eye contact, Hiyakawa gave him a light smile. It was embarrassing, but... for a moment, he didn't mind the idea of being engaged to the other man. They planned to stay by each other's side, after all, and each new year together would be filled with possibilities.