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“I'm hoooome.” Shinano muttered as he closed the door behind him
“Welcome baaaack,” came a collective, sleepy response from further inside the house. Shinano yawned and took off his shoes, placing his house key and wallet on the side table as he hung up his coat, hat and scarf. He shivered as he picked his belongings back up, wandering off to deposit them in his room.
“Shi-na-no!” Houchou called form the living room.
“What's up?” Shinano said, entering the room and deciding to drop his stuff off here. He was too tired from work to bother going all the way upstairs, anyways.
“Ichi-nii did a fireplace for us!” Houchou excitedly exclaimed, Mouri nodding in agreement and pointing to the lit fireplace for emphasis. Shinano's eyes glittered as he saw the warm, welcoming flames, another shiver going up his body as he realized just how cold he was. All of his brothers, save for a few, were asleep or half asleep by this point, piled on the two tiny couches and in front of the tiled flooring, covered with blankets. He noticed immediately that Atsushi wasn't one of them.
“I'm gonna get my blanket, then.” Shinano smiled and patted Houchou as he walked past. He was too tired to drop his stuff off in his room, sure, but going for a big, fluffy blanket? Totally different story. He entered his and Atsushi's shared room and looked around, surprisingly still finding no sign of his boyfriend. He made a face. Too tired to wonder too much. He grabbed his blanket off his bed and went back downstairs.
“Has anyone seen Atsushi?” He asked as he flopped down in a small couch cushion space by Midare, eyeing him as he gave him a mischievous smile. Shinano frowned at him.
“Okay, what's the big secret this time?” Shinano whispered, trying not to draw the attention of the other more nosy siblings. Midare was nosy enough, thank you very much.
“Oh, you don't remember then?” Midare tilted his head, eyes sparkling (with what was, in Shinano's opinion, malicious intent.)
“Did I forget somebody's birthday?” He asked, knowing full well his meticulously dated calendar would not ha ve let that happen.
“Hmmm...If you don't know, I guess just wait for him to come back.”
“You mean Atsushi?” Shinano inquired, earning no response as Midare snuggled up close to him, giving him some much needed warmth. Bribery. Blackmail, even! Ah well, he'd take it anyways. His thoughts drifted to Atsushi as he stared at the flames licking against the wood logs. Ah, now that he thought about it there was that one thing but...Doubtful Atsushi even remembers. He's...a bit dense for that sort of thing. Not really the most romantic one of them. He smiled as he remembered their awkward confession.
“A whole year already...huh?” He muttered as the warmth of his brother and the fire slowly enticed him to close his eyes.
–
Shinano first woke up from the feeling of movement beside him. He remembered looking over long enough to see Midare leaving, most of the light in the room having been dimmed or turned off. He drifted back asleep. The second time he woke up was from a similar feeling, and a comfortable heat replacing where Midare had been some time ago. He hadn't bothered opening his eyes this time, instead choosing to fall back asleep again in the warm embrace. The third time he woke up the fire was nothing but smoldering embers and all the lights were out, excluding the nightlight in the hallway. He attempted to stay awake this time, bringing his senses to attention and trying to regain the feeling in his arm from sleeping on it. Shinano felt the weight underneath him shift as he readjusted himself. He smiled and laid his hands down over Atsushi's, resting on his stomach.
“You awake?” Atsushi asked softly, rotating his hands to entwine their fingers together. Shinano sighed heavily in response, hoping that was enough of a response. He could feel his boyfriend laugh slightly, noiselessly, as his chest moved up and down. He smiled again, staring at the remains of the fireplace as he struggled to stay awake.
“I...have something for you.” Atsushi hesitated after a moment of silence, rubbing his thumb across the back of Shinano's hand.
“Hmm?” He mustered up as much willpower as he could to respond, but that was still the best he could do. Oh well. Atsushi retracted one of his hands and reached off to the side of the couch, somewhere Shinano couldn't see from here, nor really cared to at this point. Atsushi pulled his hand back and revealed a small, black box, the look reminding Shinano vaguely of a couple of Midare's boxes lying sprawled out on his dresser. He blinked at the box, tired mind trying to comprehend the contents. He could feel Atsushi's heartbeat steadily increase, and he could imagine his face was at least a little red at this point as he spoke.
“I...uhhh...Today was...is...our...um...”
“Anniversary?” Shinano finally managed a word. Hurray. Wait, he did remember? Oh, is that...Oh.
“Y-yeah. It is. So I...got you something. It's not really...super fancy or anything but...I thought you would like it...I think you'd look good in it, too.” He muttered the last part of his sentence. Shinano's face heated up as he stared at the box, his tired thoughts being shoved to the back of his mind. Atsushi placed the box in Shinano's hands, gently pulling the top off and finally unveiling the contents. Inside was a pair of rose gold-plated earrings, a circular ruby-red jewel seated in the center of the round stud, surrounded by tiny black crystals. The dangle hung down only a couple centimeters, the metal forming a small drop shape with a similarly shaped red gem inlaid in it. Shinano shifted the box to one hand, using his free hand to run his fingers over the jewelry. He sat up suddenly, putting the box back on the side table and flipping himself over to straddle a very confused Atsushi.
“Shina-” He was cut off as his boyfriend kissed him. His surprise didn't last long and he reached up to stroke his fingers through Shinano's hair, moving his hand down across his jawline and caressing his cheek. Shinano let his weight fall back down against Atsushi, propping himself up with his elbows, arms planted on either side of the other's head. They pulled away a moment later, slightly out of breath and a blissful smile mirrored on each other's lips.
“You romantic dork.” Shinano smiled fondly at him, resting their foreheads together. Atsushi bumped their noses together, keeping his hand rested against Shinano's cheek.
“You fell for me, though.” He grinned back.
“I sure did.” He leaned down to nuzzle into Atsushi's neck, content to lie here for just a while more.
-End-