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Little 12 year old Genya is looking out of the window. He’s getting hungry and he's hoping his parents got the right topping he likes on his pizzas. While staring down the street, he hears the crunching of snow. Looking to the other side, he sees a familiar dark haired man walking to his door's entrance.
“Brother?” Said Genya turning around looking at his group of siblings littered around the living room floor.
“Which one?” Said his sister, Teiko. She was hunched over an ipad with Sumi on her back looking over her shoulder.
He sees Sanemi asleep with Shuya on his lap in a chair. A plaid blanket thrown over them. It’s winter break and Sanemi has been watching them for the past two day until his Mother takes the next week off. Their Father owns his business so he won’t be free until Christmas eve.
“Nevermind.” Genya decides to get off of the couch and he steps over two more siblings and a dog before he is able to get to the front door.
He turns the knob and Giyuu is silently standing at the door. A facemask of a Christmas tree with cat whiskers that his Mother gave him is sitting on his face. For the past month he has been doing weekly visits.
“He’s asleep.” Genya says in lieu of a greeting.
He watches Giyuu nod. Then he goes into his pocket and hands an envelope to the young Shinazugawa.
Genya raises an eyebrow, but takes the envelope. He flips it over, but it is sealed shut and green. “Okay.” He is confused.
Giyuu just bows and turns around. He leaves a trail of footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Genya shakes his head and closes the door. He walks back into the living room. The envelope goes behind his brother’s sleeping form and he walks back to his spot on the couch.
The quest to wonder how long his parents take to get eight personal pizzas continues.
+++++++
It’s the following morning and Sanemi is shoveling the entrance. Genya got up early this morning, he had plans to go snowboarding with his idiot crew. The only tolerable one is Nezuko, but that’s because she always sends baked goods back with Genya for him.
Shuya is sitting on the front steps behind him drinking hot chocolate. He’s been like a shadow to him since winter break began. They're even matching fox hats that his Mother got them. He knows there is a picture of them on Facebook. She gleefully snapped some pictures of them before heading off to work.
He yawns, and goes back to shoveling more snow out of the way.
“Sanemi.” His brother calls from behind him.
He grunts as a reply. His head is down stabbing at the ice, trying to break it up. He can’t have another accident like last year. The twins were running late one morning and slid and bonked their heads together and got knocked out in the snow.
Luckily a neighbor saw them not moving and called their parents. One had a concussion and the other had a black eye.
He thinks he’ll text his Father to bring home s few bags of salt.
“Giyuu.” The little voice says.
Sanemi pauses. Footsteps are crunching through the snow getting closer to his body.
Then stops.
He stiffly turns his head. Those familiar lifeless eyes stare into his.
A blue face mask with Clifford the Big Red Dog covers his visitor's face. Teiko has a similar one.
They both say nothing. Sanemi is gripping the shovel’s handle tightly. Why does he stay so persistent? For the past month since their last season as high school football players ended. The man keeps coming around. They used to only talk in school or during captain’s meetings, but he didn’t have an interest in having a friendship outside of that.
But obviously Giyuu thinks differently.
He comes over. The first time he came over unannounced, he brought fresh muffins and apple cider. His Mother instantly fell in love with the silent boy. His siblings too. He luckily has Genya who hasn’t fallen for the boy’s charm, but he did see muffin crumbs on his bed spread when he did laundry the next morning.
He wants a friendship, maybe?
He doesn’t know. They don't really talk. He seems to like just being in Sanemi’s presence. Sanemi knows he isn’t the most pleasant person to be around even if his teammates say differently.
He remembers telling Gyomei about it and his friend just cried because he was so proud that Giyuu was coming out of his shell off of the field. They were talking in the lunchroom and at that same time he felt an ominous aura and when he turned around, Shinobu was at a table staring at him while drinking milk.
He ate in his coach’s office for the rest of the week.
“What do you want?”
Giyuu shakes a bag that he is holding. “I’ve brought cake.” He says calmly.
“Enough for my family?”
He sees Giyuu shift his eyes in the direction of his little brother before looking at the ground and shaking his head.
“No. Just for us.”
Sanemi tsk. “Those kids are like a pack of hounds. Sugar doesn’t get far without them noticing.”
Giyuu’s face doesn’t change. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” Sanemi says. Ready for this conversation to be over.
“Want to come to my house then?”
Sanemi’s eyes widened. He feels an odd feeling arising in his chest. “Why Giyuu?”
Giyuu brings the bag up to eye level. “Cake. I am the only child. It is quiet as well.” Then pauses. “We have three cats. Are you allergic to cats?” He drops his arm.
Sanemi turns around and his little brother is still sitting there. Smiling. Being adorable. He turns back and cocks his thumb toward his brother. “Can I bring him?”
“Is he allergic?”
Sanemi rolls his eyes. “None of us are allergic to cats.” His brother is three. The little boy could actually be allergic.
“Then that is fine.” He sees Giyuu’s eyes squinting. Is he smiling?
“Cool, cool. I’ll have to wait until my mom gets home. She’s working half a day today. So text me your address and I’ll drive over.”
“I do not have your number.”
They’ve been having odd hang out sessions for the past month and no numbers have been exchanged. Well Giyuu did just pop up randomly one day. He still doesn’t know how he got his address.
He suspects Kyojuro. That man is a people pleaser with a soft spot for Giyuu.
He refuses to ask. He’s in too deep now.
Giyuu gets his phone out of his pocket, and Sanemi says his number then hears a chime in his pocket.
“I want a reply when you come over.” Then promptly walks away.
Sanemi watches him walk away and his face twists in confusion. He wants a reply?
To what?
+++++++
He is an hour late because his siblings needed to be fed and his Mother had to stay an hour at work. He washed Shuya and now they are in matching Gap hoodies. Dinosaurs because that's what Shuya wanted.
Shuya wanted to match with his burly, scarred, scary looking sibling while he sits cheerfully on his brother’s hip. They are waiting for the door to open after he lets Shuya press the doorbell.
A woman with dark hair opens the door. She has a soft smile with a red hair tie in her hair. “Well hello there, Giyuu said he was having company. Please come in.”
“Hello Ma’am.” Then gossels his brother a bit. “Say hello.”
“Hello!” The toddler says cheerfully.
He watches the woman coo over his brother as they walk inside and she closes the door behind them.
The home is so clean and calm. It’s like a culture shock in a way. Imagine not having to be woken up by screaming, whining or a dog pile of love. He bits his lip thinking about buying twizzlers for his sisters on his way home.
“Just follow the stairs and Giyuu should be in his room. I know he was getting the kotatsu heated up.” She says. “It is the first room on the right. Tell him to call for Father if he needs anything. I’m heading out.” She smiles as she leaves the room.
Sanemi follows as directed and puts Shuya down and pushes the little boy inside the room. Giyuu is sitting in his kotatsu. The cake is in the center with three plates spread about. “Hello.” He greets.
Giyuu nods at him and puts his hand out for his brother. The little boys happily trots over and trips into Giyuu’s lap. “Well hello there.” He says and puts his arms around the boy.
Sanemi sits down on the opposite side, watching Shuya give slobbering kisses to Giyuu’s cheek. He leans his elbows on the kotatsu and jumps when a fluffy black cat with blue eyes hops into his lap.
It just stares. Sanemi stares.
“That’s Sabito.” He says petting Shuya’s head.
“Ah.” He says but doesn’t pet the cat.
He’s a dog person.
“Did my sister let you in?”
So what he heard earlier was correct. “I thought you were an old child?”
Giyuu nods. “I am. I am under 18 and she is engaged to be married. She'll move in with her fiance after they get married.” He puts a slice of cake onto a plate, cuts it into pieces, and places it in front of Shuya. He pulls the toddler’s sleeves back before allowing him to eat.
Huh.
That was cute.
Also,
“Your word play is annoying.” He grumbles out. Reminding himself why he doesn’t know why he is here. What he wants from him. He has to be alert. Not falling for a scheme.
The cat moves further into his lap. It meows at him.
I won’t pet you.
“Please eat some cake.” Says Giyuu.
Sanemi almost forgot about the desert, but he nodded. Putting a slice onto his own place and beginning to eat.
He looks at Giyuu and doesn’t see him eating. “Want me to take him from you so you can eat?”
GIyuu shakes his head then kisses Shuya’s head. “It is fine. I baked this, so you guys can eat all you want.”
Sanemi stops mid-bite. He feels that this is really domestic. He’s still in high school and he’s going to college at a D-1 school, so he knows it will be a long time before he is actually domestic, but the more he sits here in this warmth with Giyuu and his brother’s happy face. The more he feels like he could use more Giyuu in his life. They are a good team on the field. So maybe what they needed was more one-on-one time so a friendship could blossom.
He continues chewing. “I like your cake.”
Giyuu nods. A small smile on his face.
“So.” Sanemi begins. “Why did you start showing up at my house? We’ve never hung out before.”
An orange cat hopes off of the bed behind Giyuu and walks to it’s scratching post. It makes an ugly meowing sound which causes Sanemi to unconsciously grimace.
“That is Makomo. I think she wants to be a dog. We got her after her owner died. She was the only cat in a house of five dogs.” He says with a bit of disgust.
Sanemi puts more cake into his mouth. “Don’t like dogs?”
“No. The living conditions were not the best. We had to nurse her back to health.” He goes into his pocket. “I have pictures from when she was weak, want to see?”
He takes the phone from Giyuu and swipes through the pictures. The cat was weak, and very small. He sees the progress of the Makomo. Small on Giyuu’s chest to his hand, a pumpkin hat on her head and Giyuu kissing her head.
He’s annoyed at how precious all is. He hands the phone back to him. “Cute. You’re a good nurse.”
“Yes, I studied a lot to do it. My Father helped.” He coughs.
“Walking through the snow will do that if you’re getting sick.” He smirks after taking his last bite. He debates grabbing more cake. His brother clearly did since he didn’t notice another whole slice being put in front of him. He has frosting in his eyebrows.
“It is worth it.” He clears his throat. “I wanted to get to know you better.” He says. Sanemi notices a red tint on Giyuu's face.
Sanemi feels his own face feeling warm. “Um-like, why?”
“I know Tanjirou who is dating Genya.”
“What?!” The redness coming from fury now. Fury, like when he is playing against their rival, Kizuki of P.S 112. Genya has a boyfriend? Did he really go snowboarding with the idiot crew or was that an excuse to kiss on that twerpe’s face. Oh! Words will be had.
Giyuu continues to appear calm and collect while Sanemi is plotting murder. “Yes, my Father teaches fencing and I sometimes go to his school and mentor. Tanjirou was telling me about his boyfriend and said he was dating Genya, which I know is your brother.” He sneezes. “Excuse me. He was explaining his joy and I was surprised that Shinazugawas can be happy.”
Sanemi glares hard.
Giyuu doesn’t see anything wrong with his assessment. “So, I know you, a Shinazugawa, and I wanted to see if you can be happy. I only know anger from you.”
“And I only know silence from you.” He states frankly. He picks another slice.
“I do not deny that.” He gets his own slice, finally.
With a mouth full. “So after a month of stalking our household and charming my mother, what is your assessment?” He thinks the sugar is damping his anger. Shit, this is good.
Giyuu pauses midway from putting the cake in his mouth. He looks like he’s thinking and rests his wrist on the table with the fork in his hand. “I like what I’m seeing. I like that you don’t kick me out when I silently sit next to you while you play games, I like the smiles you give your siblings. I like knowing more about you. I admire you Sanemi.”
Sanemi is lost for words. He doesn’t think that is a confession, but he has to admit. He does like Giyuu’s silent presence.
“I-I haven’t kicked you out and I don’t ever plan to, so…” He scratches the back of his head. “So, just text me when you want to come over. I can feed you for once.” He’s trying.
Giyuu smiles.
Sanemi smiles back. He puts his hand back in his lap. The cat left him to join the other one. They continue talking for an hour longer until he looks down and he sees his brother is yawning. “I think I should take him home.” He crawls over to the other side and takes Shuya into his arms. He rested his little brother’s head on his shoulder.
A hand on his bicep stops him from standing up. “Yes?”
“Do you have an answer?”
He squints his eyes with a little shake of his head. “For what?” He says slowly.
“Oh.” Giyuu pulls his hand back. Looking sad.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, no, I just thought you’d look at it.” He shakes his head.
“At what?” Giyuu starts collecting the plates and stands up. Leaving his bedroom.
“Wait! Hold on!” He has to steady himself. The extra weight makes it hard to match Giyuu’s pace. Once up, he follows his friend.
Giyuu isn’t their team's fastest player for nothing. When he enters the hallway, he hears the clinking of plates. He goes down the stairs and follows the noise. In the kitchen, Giyuu is washing dishes.
He gets closer. He stands next to Giyuu as he washes. Giyuu refuses to look at him.
“Now,” Letting out a breath. “What was I supposed to look at?”
He sees Giyuu bite his lip. “A card.” He says softly.
“A card?” Not sure if he heard him correctly.
Giyuu nods. “A Christmas card? I don’t remember you giving me one.”
“I gave it to Genya. I stopped by yesterday, but he said you were asleep.”
Now he had another reason to tear into his brother. “He didn’t give it to me. I’ll look when I get home. We’ve been getting a lot of cards lately. My family is bigger than what lives in my house.”
Giyuu stops washing the dishes. He turns the water off and looks at Sanemi. “That sounds awful.” Emphasizing the word awful.
“It is at times, but fuck you.” He says with laughter. Trying to get one-on-one time with his grandparents is like winning the lottery. Even if he visits them by himself there will always be a cousin or an uncle or aunt there. His grandparents hate to have a quiet household.
He looks at Giyuu. His stoic aura. That fact that they have the house to themselves, minus the fact that he doesn’t know where the boy’s father is. If he's even in the house.
Giyuu chuckles with a small smile.
“Is there anything special on the envelope? My name perhaps.” Anything without a name in their household is basically like a sock in a dryer.
Giyuu pinches his face. “No. No name. Just an angry cat with a christmas hat on it. Shinobu helped me make the card and said that you would find it funny.”
“I don’t think Shinobu likes me.”
Giyuu shakes his head. “No, she doesn’t. I don’t know why.”
Oh god. He was scared to see the card now.
“She didn’t like me at first either.” He pats Sanemi’s bicep. “She views most people outside of her family as enemies. I think she only respects Kyojuro from the football team.”
“Ah.” Is all he can say. That doesn’t sound promising. Most people are drawn to Kyojuro’s light. He even has a little stalker from the Kizuki’s that wants to know what college he is going to next. Most kids at P.S 112 are from elite families and Kyojurou doesn’t like how Akaza thinks he can solve everything with money.
But Sanemi hasn’t told anyone yet, but he did catch them at a cafe in the town over. Kyojuro’s back was to the window of the cafe, but Akaza was looking like a love sick puppy.
Giyuu pulls his hand back with a frown. “Yes.”
Sanemi adjusts his hold on his brother. “I-um….” He looks at Giyuu. “I should be going.”
Giyuu nods and turns back to his dishes.
“I’ll look for the card.” He said earnestly. He sees now that it is important.
He nods again. “It is also green.”
“Green.” He says to himself. That should be easy to find.
Giyuu wipes and rinses.
“I would hug you, but, uh- I know we haven’t before, well not outside of a huddle, but.” He stops himself. He’s rambling. Tengen would make fun of him if he were here.
“Find the card. Give me a reply and maybe we can hug.”
“Can I have a hint?” Said Sanemi, but Giyuu throws suds on him.
A no then.
“Alright.” He backs up out of the kitchen. “I’m going now. I’ll text you when I’m home.”
“Good.”
He shifts his brother onto one arm and waves goodbye.
Giyuu gives him a suddies wave as a reply.
+++++++++++
He got twizzlers for his sisters, filled up the gas, put Shuya to bed and now he is frantically searching his home for a green card.
His parents don’t know what he is talking about. Genya is out for the night and says he’s sorry for not telling him, but he forgot where he put the card. He was so hungry yesterday and didn’t think too hard about anything else.
He told him it was probably time for him to do his own laundry now since he could handle a boyfriend. He hung up when brother began to defend himself.
The only one in the living room with him was HIroshi. He was curled up with a book in a chair with a bag of doritos in his chest. If it wasn’t for the fact that his brother was a gymnast, he’d worry about his posture.
He is going to give up for the night and flings himself onto the couch. A rare opportunity to have it to himself. A movie is playing in the background and he starts to absentmindedly scroll through an app.
He sees a picture of Tengen with three of the cheerleaders.
Genya uploaded a picture of him and Zenitsu covered in snow with Inosuke laughing in the background. At least his brother didn’t lie.
Kyojuro uploaded a well edited picture of food with him holding someone’s hand. He likes it.
Muchiro uploaded a Tiktok of him doing his twin’s makeup.
He then gets a text of a wedding invitation for Misturi and Obani’s wedding that is apparently going to happen in the summer after graduation. He shakes his head. He doesn’t understand why people would ever get married that young, but those two are people he doesn’t doubt would last the testament of time.
He jumps and drops his phone when his brother lets out a loud sneeze.
“Hiroshi, take some medicine before going to bed.” He says as he leans over toward the floor. While touching the carpet in search of his phone, he sees something green. He blinks, wishing he had left his contacts in, but commits and rolls onto the floor.
He crawls over to the seat his brother is occupying and looks closer.
A green envelope.
He sighs. Feeling dumb.
Sticking out of a green chair.
He tugs that envelope free and lo’ and behold. An angry white cat with a Christmas hat. It even has scars on its face. If he wasn’t so afraid of Shinobu, he’d curse her when they returned to school in the following weeks.
Takes a dorito from his brother and decides to go into his bedroom. “Remember what I said, Hiroshi.” He calls out over his shoulder.
He hears his brother say huh.
He goes into his room, and locks the door. He tears open the envelope on his way over his bed. He tosses the envelope to the floor and his bed bounces when he sits down. He scoots backwards toward the headboard and examines the card.
He doesn’t see anything special about it. He flips it back and forth. It does have his name printed on it which is cool. It is in a fancy holiday font. He blows a raspberry and opens the card.
And it’s blank.
What?
He grabs his black light and still nothing is there. He flicks a lighter under it and nothing. .
He texts Giyuu.
Is there invisible ink on the card?-S
No.-G
I don’t see anything.-S
A phone call comes in.
“You don’t see anything?” A monotone voice says over the phone.
Sanemi shakes his head. “No.”
“It should be there. Maybe it fell in the envelope. Go check that.”
Sanemi looks at the floor and sees the green envelope laying lamley. “Hold on.” He locks his ankle around the bars on his headboard and lies on his stomach to get a better reach when he stretches out to pick it up.
He got it and took a few moments to correct his position again. “Alright I’m back.”
“Hmm.”
He opens up the envelope and two tickets are inside. He pulls the tickets out and it has their school’s name on it.
“Is our school having a concert?”
“That day, yes.” Sounds amused.
“What for?” Sounds confused.
“Prom, Sanemi.” He states plainly.
Oh
Oh
OH!
“Prom.” He gasps out.
“Prom, yes. Reply?” He can hear the urgency in his voice. This is his third time asking. So Sanemi doesn’t blame him.
But he has to drop the ticket to rub his blushing face. Oh my goodness!
“How did you even get this? It-It’s winter break.”
“Shinobu. She’s on the student council.”
His mind is feeling dizzy. “Do-do you like me?”
“I do.”
“FUCK! Stop being so honest. You’re such a creep.” He wails out. This was a lot. He knew Giyuu was handsome and kind and honest, but he didn’t think he would like him in such a way. Sanemi knows he isn’t the most emotional avaible person to people outside of his family.
Most aren’t so bold with their affection toward him. He was very goal focused and just assumed he might marry someone later in life.
Wait, wait. He takes a deep breath. It’s just prom.
“Is that a no? Have I offended you?” His voice sounded stoic.
He rapidly shakes his head. Then remembers, Giyuu cannot see him. “No, no. Not a no.”
“A yes?”
“Yes.” He says before even processing his words. Prom was six months away. Would Giyuu even still feel the same by that time. To want to be seen as a couple together. They would be immortalized in each other’s high school history for the rest of their lives.
“Good, I’ll tell Shinobu we are dating now. She may like you more now.”
“You want to date me as well?” Sounding surprised. If that was even possible at this point.
“Isn’t that included in asking someone to prom?”
“No, Giyuu.” He said, remember his mother went to prom with her best friend
“Oh.”
“But…..”
“But?”
“I’d like to keep it included as well.” He said. Worried he may not sleep tonight. His emotions were all over the place. His body felt tight. He want to see Giyuu again.
“I would like that as well. I hope to hold your hand when I see you again.”
“Me too.” He whispers into the phone.
“Well,” He coughs. “It is getting late and I don’t want–”
“Have you taken any medicine?” Sanemi interrupts.
He sneezes. “No, do you recommend anything?”
“I have a homemade recipe that our household makes wherever someone is sick.” He thinks of his grandma on his Father’s side. “It works wonders.”
“I would appreciate that. Whenever you are free.”
“I-I..” He holds the phone close to his ear. “I can bring it to you tonight.”
There is a pause. It makes Sanemi feel anxious. Maybe it’s too soon. They did just see each other a few hours ago.
“There is a lyft driver named Shukizu on his way to your house. He is in a green Honda Accord. He is 15 minutes out.”
“What?!” He hops off the bed. Holding the phone in one hand. He quickly looks around for a fresh pair of sweats and hoodies. He stuffs his bag with hygiene products and unlocks his door.
“Is that too soon?” Giyuu says calmly.
Sanemi writes a note and slides it under his parent’s door. “No,no. I am ready.” He walks downstairs and sees that Hiroshi is knocked out.
“Okay. My Father knows you are coming. He said you can have pancakes in the morning as a thank you.”
“Are we allowed to sleep together?” Then catches his words. “Just to cuddle. Unless there is a guest room.” He walks over to the couch to look out of the window. To wait for the green car.
“We do, but I would prefer you next to me. I like you being near.”
Sanemi had to bite his lip to hold in a squeal. All this honestly may kill him before prom. He’s thankful that Giyuu’s classes are in another part of their high school. This guy would be unknowlendly distracting him.
“Okay.” He says softly.
“Okay. Do you want to get off now to wait for the lyft?”
He shakes his head. His bag is secured to his back and he leans into the window to draw designs into the condensation on the glass. He draws a cat.
“I like your voice. Tell me a story while I wait.” Sanemi asks. Feeling he needs a distraction from the new emotions rattling in his blood.
Giyuu chuckles. Sanemi likes that sound.
“Remember when your play made us lose the game…….” He starts.
Sanemi quickly erases the cat he drew.