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The day was already lost, in Akaza’s opinion.
It was dreary and cold, snow falling in thick tufts. This was meant to be one of the worst snowstorms the village had seen in over twenty years, so Kyojuro had run out to get supplies. Akaza hadn’t even been able to lure him back into bed with the promise of snuggles- or more, instead receiving a kiss as Kyojuro fastened his binder and threw on a shirt.
Senjuro had begged him to not go, but snow was not something that easily deterred his elder brother. He’d promised to be back soon though, which meant the two were left to their own devices. It gave Akaza an idea.
“Oi, Senjuro! Do you want to go make a snowman?”
Senjuro’s nervous body language shifted in a moment, his eyes perking up with delight, “Really? You’d go make one with me?”
Akaza grinned and nodded, going to their closet to see what snow clothes he had. Truthfully, he had a hard time connecting with Senjuro. The young teen was skittish about everything- rightfully so, with how his drunkard father used to treat him, so Akaza was trying harder to be a good ‘parental’ figure to him. His dedication to building a stable home was what made Kyojuro get up the courage to move them in with him, something Akaza had been eternally grateful for since.
Coming back into focus, Akaza pulled out two pairs of snow pants and two thick coats. He watched in amusement as Senjuro crept closer to investigate, plopping down on the floor to slide on one of the pairs of pants. They would be too big on the youngster, but they would keep him warm. Akaza pulled out their respective snow shoes- noticing Kyojuro had taken his own, thank the gods- before he looked at the time.
“Your brother should be home soon, we can put something in the crockpot then. Anything in particular sound good?”
Senjuro shook his head and slid the shoes on next, then his coat, “Ani will probably want some of the beef we have thawing, he was eyeing it this morning before he left.”
Ah, ever the observant child. Akaza knew that was a trauma response. For as much as he looked like Kyojuro, he was completely different. It made Akaza’s chest swell a bit, how could their father have given up the chance for fun memories like this? He’d never understand it, knowing the man was too far down in the bottle.
He hurried to dress himself in the winter clothes and he pulled out gloves and scarves, making sure Senjuro was swaddled up first before they headed outside. The wind was blowing but it wasn’t awful. School had been canceled in advance, so Senjuro would get a chance to enjoy a few days off thanks to the weather.
Senjuro shivered a bit before he looked at Akaza, “We could make a big cat snowman, Kyojuro would like that.”
“Kyojuro would absolutely love that, since we can’t have a cat in this house we’ll make him a replacement until we can get our own.”
Akaza wanted, truthfully, to have a cat too but their landlord was strict on no pets. Kyojuro had been crestfallen by not being able to bring home a cat, but he made up for it by taking Senjuro to volunteer at a few shelters so he could still pet them. It wasn’t worth the risk of getting them evicted.
The two of them got to work on rolling big snowballs, Senjuro giggling when Akaza’s fell apart when he tried to lift it, “Try squishing it in more! Like this!”
The younger of the two lifted his own snowball proudly and Akaza could feel his eyes crinkling in delight, “Yeah yeah, I hear you. Give me a minute-“
He stuck his tongue out and worked again, making a bigger and sturdier snowball. Once it was situated where they wanted it, Senjuro plopped his own down and beamed, “One more and then we can make it the ears!”
Akaza hummed and shook his head, pink hair swishing and the snow falling from his head. He should have looked for hats for them, his ears were aching. “Why don’t you make the last ball while I grab us some ear muffs, sound good?”
Senjuro nodded and began to work diligently, packing the snow for the last ball. The pinkette slipped back inside, stomping off the snow quickly to not track it all throughout the house, before making his way to the closet. He pulled out the earmuffs and shuffled back out to find that Senjuro had finished putting the smaller ball on top. He shuffled over and carefully put the muffs over the younger’s ears, hating how he’d flinched initially at the touch. Progress, not perfection.
“There we go, now your brother won’t scold me for you getting an ear ache. Why don’t we make the ears and a tail?”
Senjuro nodded but paused, nervously looking down, “You.. You know you didn’t have to do this with me, right?”
Akaza frowned as he slid his own muffs on, “Pardon? Didn’t have to what?”
The blonde motioned at the snowman, “Do this, dad would never..”
Akaza sucked in a cold breath and shook his head, “Kiddo, I didn’t do this with you because I had to, I did it because I wanted to. Because it seemed fun. You deserve to have fun.”
Senjuro hesitated again and Akaza’s chest tightened, “You’re really nice.. You make me and my brother feel safe. I didn’t think we’d ever be safe. Or that he’d.. find someone to love him for him.”
There were flashes in the younger’s eyes, seeing his brother hitting the floor after a bad hit from their father. The bruises, bloody lips and black eyes he’d had as he’d held Senjuro’s crying form to assure him things were okay. Those were hard memories to move on from, it would take time.
Akaza knew that, but he found himself kneeling down and pulling Senjuro to him for a hug, “I’m not your father, but I’d like to be someone you can look up to. I want you to feel safe, because you are. You both are. Okay? I’ll always make sure of it.”
Senjuro’s smaller form quaked as he sniffled, big tears welling up. Akaza carefully rubbed his back and he pursed his lip, “Why don’t we finish this snowman tomorrow, yeah? The snow is getting bad and we can have some hot chocolate.”
The smaller hiccuped and nodded, pulling away to try and wipe at his eyes, “That.. That sounds nice..”
Akaza gingerly led the other inside. They got their wet clothes off and he hung them up to dry before he swaddled Senjuro in blankets on the couch. The younger sniffled and sank back into the cushions, relaxing and warming up after their little adventure outside. Akaza got their fireplace going before he made his way to the kitchen. It was as he was putting the finishing touches on some hot chocolate- whipped cream and sprinkles, that he heard the front door slide open.
A familiar, loud voice rang out, “Honey! I’m home!”
He called out cheerfully, “Oi, Kyojuro! You’re just in time, we’re making hot chocolate!”
Kyojuro carefully toed off his wet boots and made his way to the kitchen, pausing to give Senjuro a kiss on his head before he made his way in. His arms were full of groceries. Akaza noticed a small pharmacy bag and he hummed, “The pharmacy have you wait long?”
Kyojuro leaned in for a quick kiss before he began setting down the bags, “I figured it was worth it to wait while they filled it this time, I didn’t want to go out again later. The roads and sidewalks are getting bad. I carried our neighbor’s bags in for her too so that took a minute, you know how she is.”
Their neighbor was a sweet lady that was always trying to give them sweets, much to Senjuro’s delight. The youngster had a major sweet tooth, which was why their house was always skint on cookies. If the older two wanted some, they needed to hide some away.
Kyojuro grabbed the tiny pharmacy bag before he hummed, “Do you mind if I go take a shower? Then we can cuddle and watch a movie?”
Akaza hummed at that and he reached out, tangling his fingers in Kyojuro’s blonde hair. It was damp from all the snow, which had Akaza grumbling and flicking the wetness away. “Go take your shot and take a shower. I’ll be out here with Senjuro.”
He watched as the other shuffled away with a booming laugh before he brought Senjuro out a cup. Kyojuro would likely only rinse off, his mane of hair too much of a pain to wash every shower. He smiled when the younger took it from inside his blanket burrito, then plopped down next to him. He grabbed for the remote and made a small throaty sound, “So, what are we watching?”
Senjuro grinned and he looked up hopefully, “Can we watch a disney movie?”
Akaza groaned a little bit, knowing they’d be watching Encanto for the fifth time, “Fine, but you know when the songs get stuck in your brother’s head we both have to listen to him singing it offkey.”
Senjuro giggled at that, “You like when his voice cracks though, it’s funny.”
It was indeed, Kyojuro’s voice had gotten incredibly deeper since Akaza had known him but hitting the higher notes left his voice still cracking. It was always a funny moment when Kyojuro sputtered off after a wrong note.
Both of them could hear the shower running and Akaza flipped through the movies available, “He’ll be mad if we start Mulan without him and I am not enduring Finding Nemo again.”
Senjuro shuddered at the thought, “He wouldn’t stop crying and hugging me, no thank you. Maybe we can turn on-“
“ENCANTO!” Boomed Kyojuro from down the hall, both of them having missed the shower turning off. He was fast, like Akaza had anticipated he would be. Akaza tutted and ruffled Senjuro’s hair, “Well.. We don’t talk about Bruno~”
“No no no!” Giggled the smaller blonde, which had both of them laughing.
They both looked up at Kyojuro when he bounded into the room, a sweater and shorts on. Akaza made room for Kyojuro to slide in the middle, noticing the red bandaid on his thigh. He carefully reached over to soothe the spot before he wrapped his arm around Kyojuro. It was always nice, having his partner melt into his side. It made him feel secure, made him feel like he was doing things right. That was all he wanted, was to do right by Kyojuro- and in extension, Senjuro too. With that thought on his mind, he pulled a blanket over the three of them and hit play on Encanto , letting the catchy tunes settle them in for the evening.
Senjuro didn’t last the full movie, dozing off about half way through. It had Akaza’s eyes softening. Kyojuro hummed softly, trying to not wake his little brother, “He really likes you, you know. He told me that he feels like he can breathe better here. I wouldn’t have been able to give him this on my own.”
Akaza pressed his lips to Kyojuro’s forehead and rubbed his arm, soothing his worries, “You both won’t ever have to worry about anything again, we’ll be okay.”
Kyojuro cupped Akaza’s cheek then and leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to his warm lips. This was it, where he was meant to be. Where they were meant to be. Akaza was home. He was the warmth inside the walls of the home, his laugh echoing the safety he provided. His eyes were gentle, softer than the snow as he looked at Kyojuro with fondness. He reached over and pet Senjuro’s head when he stirred, lulling the smaller flame back to sleep. Yes, this was home.
The snow continued falling outside, piling up higher and higher, but the trio couldn’t be bothered. They were content to be wrapped up together, sheltered from the cold in each other's embrace.