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Giyuu Tomioka didn't do parties. He preferred the emptiness of his apartment, cuddles with his cat, and the simplicity of rewatching the same movies. Never has he ever thought of participating in a party. Most people would say they don't like something after doing it, but Giyuu knew he wouldn't enjoy the busy, drunk company, so he felt no need to put himself in any significant social situations.
However, his friend, or whatever Tengen called himself, had invited Giyuu for his annual New Year's Eve bash. Giyuu refused after Tengen got the words out. There was not a worse way to spend his night, Giyuu thought. Despite the stoic man's refusal, Tengen continued to ask him every chance he could get. Days turned into weeks; eventually, it had been two months of constant pestering. Although Giyuu was very firm in his decisions, he was getting sick of the flashy man's presence, so he said yes. It also didn't hurt that Tengen had just confirmed that Sanemi Shinazugawa would be there, and Giyuu couldn't refuse after hearing that.
Giyuu didn't know then that Tengen was planning something that should change the raven-haired man's life. Tengen had been practically forced to watch the pathetic back and forth between Giyuu and Sanemi for three years. It was unbearable. Those two had the power to make Tengen feel like a third wheel which he thought was possible since he had an overwhelming amount of confidence.
Most people would want to set their friends up as a good deed, but not Tengen. He was sick and tired of watching those idiots crush on one another. The number of times he had to make excuses to leave hangouts early because he couldn't stand to see Sanemi shamelessly flirt with a clueless Giyuu who had literal hearts in his eyes. Tengen was over it. He had to do something about it if they wouldn't get together on their own.
Truthfully, there was going to be a New Year's party. However, Tengen and his wives had the idea to put the two men in the area of his house that no one was allowed in. It was the perfect place for Giyuu and Sanemi to finally confess their feelings to one another. After a few months of planning and a couple more begging both Giyuu and Sanemi to go to his party, everything looked like things could actually work.
Before Tengen knew it, tonight was the night he wouldn't have to deal with his friend's obvious feelings for one another. He secretly hoped that once they spoke of their feelings, Tengen wouldn't have to deal with Sanemi ranting about how Giyuu would never love him as much as he did. He also wouldn't have to hear about how sweet and kind Sanemi was or how Giyuu couldn't get enough of the white-haired man's face. All in all, he had enough. So this was a killing two birds with one stone sort of moment.
Giyuu had arrived an hour later than he was supposed to. The unbothered man was secretly hoping the party would be over if he were late enough, but he was surprised to find out that most parties started later than earlier. An hour before midnight was all Tengen had before his operation, "losers in love" would be ruined. Spotting Giyuu, he practically forced him to the other side of the Tengen mansion, where Sanemi had been a hostage for two hours. After shoving the blue-eyed man in, Tengen locked the door and left the two stupid men to their own devices.
Sanemi jumped at the sound of the door slamming, but after making eye contact with Giyuu, his sudden wave of anger turned into a pink embarrassment. When Sanemi set foot into the Tengen mansion, Suma dragged him throughout the house to lock him up in the guest room without a single word. After banging and a lot of yelling, he gave up and wondered what the reason behind this annoying situation was. Making eye contact with Giyuu made all those thoughts disappear. He didn't know what to say; for the first time, Sanemi was speechless, and all he could do was stare at how cute Giyuu was.
"Hi," Sanemi said.
"Hi," Giyuu replied.
"I thought you wouldn't come," Sanemi said.
"I wasn't, but Tengen said you would be here."
"That's funny; I only came because you were coming."
There was always a pull between the two of them. It felt so incredibly right the first time they two hung out individually. One moment, the two men sat across from one another at their favorite coffee shop, and before you knew it, Sanemi had moved to sit right next to Giyuu. Physical contact wasn't a love language that Giyuu or Sanemi enjoyed. Giyuu had never felt the need to be close to someone, especially physically. Meanwhile, Sanemi's previous partners were always the ones to initiate contact first; it wasn't that he hated it; he just didn't feel the desire to act first.
Growing up, Sanemi would hear about love and magic whenever his mom read fairy tales to his younger siblings. True love is undeniable; everything feels right when you find the one, almost as if you were always meant to find that one person. To Sanemi, he always thought that love would be simple and that there wasn't any need to overthink it once the feeling happened. He had always struggled when his partners would tell him they loved him because he could never say it back. Sanemi didn't know why, but he never felt the love his mother talked about, and it upset him. Maybe something was wrong with him? Perhaps he just was never meant to find his person?
Until one day, Tengen wanted to introduce him to someone. At the time, Sanemi was beyond annoyed; he hated meeting new people, and knowing Tengen, this person would be overwhelming. What came through those restaurant doors wasn't a loud, eccentric person but a strikingly beautiful man with raven hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. The busy restaurant stilled for what felt like hours; the chatter of the customers went silent, and all Sanemi could see was Giyuu. Ah, so that's what those stories meant, Sanemi thought to himself.
Three years later, Sanemi still felt that same way. But he didn't know that Giyuu was just as madly in love. Sanemi didn't realize that Tengen set up the first meeting between the two with the intention of Giyuu finally meeting the white-haired man that had caught his interest long ago. At the time, Tengen had thrown a massive party that Giyuu was very against attending, so they met the day after for Giyuu to listen to all the festivities. While Tengen showed his stoic friend all his pictures, one caught Giyuu's eye immediately. It was a photo of Sanemi petting a dog with a gentle smile and a sparkle in his eyes. Giyuu never asked questions, and he never showed interest in others, but for the first time, he wanted to know all about the scarred-covered man.
Now they were in one of Tengen's many guest rooms, alone, and in love. Before the few words were exchanged, they were on opposite sides of the room, but they had found themselves sitting next to each other on the bed, with a giant window showing them the city. The only light in the room came from the moon and the dim lights Tengen had set up for his backyard bar. Sanemi had laid down on his back with his hands behind his head, giving him the slightest leverage to see Giyuu's face in the moonlight.
Even though they were close enough to where their thighs were practically on top of one another, it wasn't enough for either of them. Giyuu laid down on his back and slightly turned, making eye contact with the scars around the right side of his face. So pretty, Giyuu thought. Almost like Sanemi understood what Giyuu wanted, he turned around so that they were facing one another so close that if one of them leaned slightly, it would have been a moment to remember.
They had this habit of having conversations that seemed to last forever. One minute Giyuu spoke of his love for Pride and Prejudice, and the next minute, Sanemi was complaining about his favorite bakery changing their recipe without saying anything. Comfortable wasn't enough to describe the atmosphere at this moment. It felt like sunlight personified; it was your favorite song playing on the radio right after wishing to hear it; it was receiving flowers from your favorite person. Everything was right; all around Giyuu and Sanemi was warmth; pure love surrounded the two in that giant room. The two men loved each other so innocently, and being beside each other was just how it was always meant to be.
Giyuu thought this was the perfect time to tell Sanemi he was in love with him. He felt the words bubble in his stomach, threatening to spill out of his mouth. He was nervous, but his excitement outweighed all of that. It wasn't promised that Sanemi would feel the same way, but Giyuu had no regrets. Like when the sun rises every morning, falling in love with Sanemi was always a given; how could Giyuu regret something so beautiful?
"I want to tell you something," Giyuu said.
Sanemi sat up, thinking that this was something severe.
"Sure, anything."
Giyuu sat up, not looking at Sanemi this time. He felt so nervous at this moment, playing with his fingers. Anxiety started to find its way into Giyuu's entire body, but he was determined to tell Sanemi how he felt.
"We've known each other for a long time, right?" Giyuu asked.
Sanemi was starting to worry, he knew he wasn't dating Giyuu, but the fierce man still felt like Giyuu was about to break up with him. He could see how nervous the man next to him looked; Giyuu's eyebrows were furrowed, and his eyes looked glossy; Sanemi was scared, but whatever happened wouldn't change his feelings for Giyuu; nothing ever could.
"Yes, almost four years soon," Sanemi said.
"We've gotten very close, right?" Giyuu asked.
"Yes, we have."
"You could say we're friends, right?"
"Yes," Sanemi said. He didn't mean it, though; he never thought for one second he could only be friends with Giyuu Tomioka. Falling in love with him would always happen, like fall turning into winter; his feelings for Giyuu were as natural and inevitable as nature itself. If Giyuu only wanted to be friends, then Sanemi would be the one to change that, but for now, he would listen to what the love of his life had to say.
"But, what would you say if I didn't want to just be friends?" Giyuu asked. The raven-haired man only knew about confessions of love from movies or novels, but trying to say it in real life was complicated. Even though he said he wouldn't regret confessing, that didn't mean he wasn't scared out of his damn mind. He wanted to be loved by only one person for the rest of his life; if Sanemi rejected him, Giyuu wasn't sure what he would do after that. But all that thinking was for the future; now, they only had a few minutes before the year ended, and Giyuu would make sure every second counted.
"What if I wanted more?"
Sanemi was sure his heart stopped for a second. He couldn't feel his body working or the sounds from the party outside anymore. The purple-eyed man sat there, looking at Giyuu with wide eyes, silently asking if this was real.
"What if I couldn't be friends with you anymore, and I wanted us to be more than that?"
Dark pink spread throughout Giyuu's face, making him look like the most beautiful rose in a field of millions. The moonlight and loud music outside made Giyuu stand out even more than he usually did. Sanemi was sure that tonight would change everything between them. All he had to do, was trust the man sitting before him, which was the easiest thing Sanemi could ever do.
"Sanemi, I love you more than you could ever know. Is there a chance for more?" Giyuu asked.
Everything was perfect at this moment. It felt like they were the only two people in the world. Giyuu could tell by Sanemi's flushed face and soft eyes that there was a chance for the two to be so much more. While waiting for Sanemi's answer, the cheers and yells from the crowd outside let the two know that there were ten seconds before the new year would arrive.
It only took one for Sanemi to grab Giyuu's face and press their lips together in an electrifying kiss. The kiss was somehow so gentle yet fiercely passionate; Giyuu thought to himself this is my Nemi. He couldn't have thought of a more perfect kiss at this exact moment. Everything that Sanemi wanted to tell Giyuu was translated into that display of love. As they pulled away, they heard the shouts from Tengen's party screaming, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Fireworks spread throughout the night sky, illuminating the loving faces between the two. Light blues and dark greens shone brightly in the night. Tengen had ensured that the colors representing his two good friends would be the main theme for his light show. As Giyuu watched the firework display, Sanemi watched Giyuu. The white-haired man couldn't understand how gorgeous one person could be. He had the privilege to fall in love with someone so genuinely good-natured and beautiful; it made Sanemi wonder if he saved the world in a past life.
"I love you, Giyuu. If you're okay with someone like me, I'll love you for the rest of our lives." Sanemi said.
Giyuu stopped watching the light show to look at Sanemi. Am I dreaming? That was all Giyuu could think of at that moment. The normally stoic man was all smiles and laughs. For the first time, he was glad to have come to a party.
"I'm looking forward to it."
The firework display ended, and the party continued. Tengen had sent a message to the both of them that he would unlock their door now. However, by the time he managed to make his way over, both Giyuu and Sanemi texted him, letting the flashy man know that there was no need to let them out, at least not until morning.
Giyuu started the year with his first lover, and he was confident that the two would stay together for more New Year's to come.