Work Text:
“Hey, are you free this Saturday?”
“Hmmm…yes. Do you want to set up band practice?”
“Not quite. No guitars. And no Kaji-san or Haruki-san.
Just meet me at Hibiya station at 8 pm.”
“Oh…okay. Where are we going?”
“It's a surprise. Make sure you bring a scarf. And maybe gloves.”
---
Uenoyama is stepping from side to side nervously, looking up and around the station, then checking his phone once again.
He made sure to pick a station entrance that was easy to find. Did Mafuyu still get lost?
Just when he is about to message him, he sees familiar streaks of ginger flying in the air, moving towards him.
"Uenoyama-kun" Mafuyu breathes, his words accompanied by little clouds of cold air, forming in front of his mouth. His cheeks are reddened, indicating that he must have hurried to make it to their date on time.
"Hey, slow down, we have time," Uenoyama says, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"I didn’t want to be late. I want to spend as much time with you as possible." Mafuyu states, his breathing slowly calming down, excitement swinging in his voice as he asks "So what is the surprise? Where are we going?"
It is a mystery to Uenoyama how Mafuyu is able to say things like these to his face so matter-of-factly, but half a year ago, he didn't even think he was able to express himself well enough to join a band.
“You’ll see in a minute. Let's go."
As they walk down the street and the lights of the Christmas market slowly come into view, Uenoyama can feel the excitement spilling over from Mafuyu, a little bit more with every second they come closer to the entrance.
“Tokyo Christmas Market! I’ve always wanted to come here!” Mafuyu exclaims, looking at Uenoyama with eyes as big as Christmas baubles.
“How did you know?”
“I didn’t” Uenoyama laughs, Mafuyu’s reaction making him giddy with happiness over his successful surprise.
“I just thought you would like this. And I wanted to go for a while as well. So let’s go!”
Mafuyu nods and follows Uenoyama into the park, not knowing where to look first.
He never knew winter could be like this.
He was used to freezing fingers and warming breaths, whirlwinds of snow and melting moments, a constant mix of hot and cold.
This feels different.
It is calm.
The thought makes Mafuyu’s heart flutter and he can feel warmth starting to rise in his chest, so intense he is certain Uenoyama-kun must feel it as well.
He looks at the hand that holds a mug with a hat of whipped cream right in front of his face.
“Here. Try mine. If you like this one better, we can switch.”
As Mafuyu’s eyes travel upwards, so does the warm feeling within him. As his eyes meet Uenoyama's, blue and clear and honest, he has to drown that feeling in the hot cocoa he's being offered, so he takes the mug, grazing Uenoyama's fingers ever so slightly in the process. He quickly closes his lips around the rim, before his mind can even think about letting this feeling out and his lips ending up elsewhere. There are way too many people around.
He tastes the sweetness of the cocoa, followed by something fresh, almost a little bit...toothpaste-y? It's unusual, but not in an unpleasant way.
“What is this?”
Uenoyama turns back and tries to read the list at the stall they just got their hot drinks from, once again.
“They said it's called...after eight? It's supposed to be some kind of mint chocolate. I haven't tried it yet. Is it not good?”
“No no, I like it... it's different. But I kinda want more.”
Just like the feeling I get whenever I am around you Uenoyama-kun, Mafuyu thinks.
“Can I - have another sip?” he asks.
“Sure, we can just switch halfway.” Uenoyama smiles at him.
“I like yours too. It's cinnamon, right?”
“Close, it’s gingerbread.” Mafuyu replies, looking at Uenoyama once again and immediately
getting distracted by the small drop of milk foam that decided to settle on Uenoyama’s upper lip.
He chuckles and reaches up to swipe it away.
Right when Mafuyu’s left thumb brushes over the bow of Uenoyama’s lip to catch the fugitive, Uenoyama startles.
“Oi, what - are you...”
Uenoyama’s eyes widen, as Mafuyu brings his thumb to his own lips, swiftly flicking over it with his tongue to taste the foam.
“Hmmm, you're right, it's good,” He's shooting a glance at a rapidly blushing Uenoyama from under his eyelashes, which could have been interpreted as innocent, but Uenoyama knows better.
He has been deceived by this look before.
Unable to reply, Uenoyama can feel himself freezing and melting at the same time.
How did he end up with someone so cheeky?
With his heart still ringing in his ears, he takes Mafuyu's hand as they resume their walk around the market.
The music that fills the market mainly consists of generic Christmas songs, interspersed with the occasional idol pop, nothing out of the ordinary. But when seeing all these people smiling and chatting, tasting various kinds of food while looking at the small snowflakes falling silently upon them and at the fairy lights climbing up the trees, framing the front side of the stalls and illuminating the pathways, Uenoyama has to admit, the music simply adds to the atmosphere.
He can feel Mafuyu squeezing his hand, can feel his happiness, can feel his warmth and he can't stop smiling. Mafuyu's eyes seem to be brighter than all the lights around them, as they scan all of the stalls and decorations excitedly. It's like he became a walking Christmas tree.
A Christmas tree that changes its bright and warm lights to red - only for him. The thought causes a grin to appear on Uenoyama’s face and he quickly takes another sip of his, and Mafuyu’s, cocoa.
As he tastes the foam, he remembers Mafuyu's thumb caressing his lips ever so gently and his insides start to hiccup.
It happened so quickly, he didn't even have time to react properly.
He stops.
How would he have reacted? If they weren't surrounded by a sea of people, what would he have done?
It wasn't like this was the first time he thought about ...this side of their relationship and what he would like to do. With him.
And it wasn't like they don’t...
But sometimes Uenoyama wonders when they should talk about...more?
He can feel his ears prickling from a sudden heat and he has a pretty good idea of what his face must look like when he suddenly hears Mafuyu’s soft voice.
"Uenoyama-kun?"
He realizes he just stopped in the middle of the way and he can feel his face heat up even more if that was at all possible.
"Is everything alright? You just suddenly stopped walking.”
Mafuyu takes a step towards Uenoyama to take a closer look at him.
“And your face got so red so suddenly," he continues to observe.
When he sees Mafuyu’s hand reaching up to his face once again, Uenoyama quickly shakes the remnants of his mental detour out of his head.
"Sorry, I just got lost in thought for a second. I –“
His stomach suddenly surprises them with a little rumbling sound and he realizes they've been walking around the Christmas market for the better part of an hour, simply talking and taking in the atmosphere. The combination of a happy Mafuyu and the mellow Christmas atmosphere makes Uenoyama feel content in a way he hadn't felt in a while. They barely had any time to hang out outside of school and band practice recently. It was part of the reason he invited Mafuyu out today.
He missed this. Just them and their little moments.
"Are you hungry?"
As Mafuyu nods, Uenoyama scans their surroundings.
"Shall we switch mugs and head over to that stall over there? It looks like they have some sort of festive foods we could try?”
Uenoyama holds his mug out for Mafuyu, refocusing on his boyfriend and their date.
Mafuyu looks at him for a moment longer and then seems to relax as he grabs Uenoyama's mug by the handle and hands his own mug to him.
They queue for a while, studying the menu and deciding on a big plate of something being advertised as a classical German Christmas dish.
Sitting down at the edge of the fountain right in the middle of the Christmas market, they put the plate between them and watch the hot steam drift into the night sky.
"Soo, what exactly is it?" Mafuyu asks, cocking his head to the side a little while inspecting the oblong-shaped pieces of steamed dough.
"It says they’re German potato dumplings. But they call them noodles?"
Uenoyama looks at the plate "And the rest is sauerkraut and bacon."
They allow themselves to be intrigued by this new dish for a moment longer, before hunger wins and they start poking the first dumplings with their forks.
"Oh, it's good!" Mafuyu exclaims, looking up at Uenoyama who seems to be equally surprised.
He nods. “And chewy.”
Having devoured the last of the dumplings in record time, Mafuyu leans back, his gaze falling on his boyfriend once more. He can feel the warm feeling from the beginning making its way back to his chest and this time, he decides to let it win.
After they’ve been looking at the lights and the people, talking about the food and the snow and school and music for a while, he grabs Uenoyama’s hand and jumps up, quickly walking towards a quieter corner, right next to one of the many Christmas trees.
“I am glad we got to come here together. Thank you Uenoyama-kun.” Mafuyu smiles, stepping closer towards Uenoyama-kun.
Slowly intertwining their fingers, Mafuyu leans closer and leaves a kiss as light as a feather on Uenoyama’s lips.
Uenoyama’s eyelids flutter shut, only to open again seconds later and he looks at Mafuyu, slightly incredulous. “I completely forgot where we are right now.”
Mafuyu chuckles and leans closer once again, his voice suddenly deeper and almost a hum next to Uenoyama’s ear. “Let’s head home, Uenoyama-kun.”
Walking towards the exit, not giving the startled Uenoyama any time to gather his thoughts, he smiles “Maybe we can forget a little more when we’re at your place?”