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Christmas was always busy at Sia La Luce. As one of the top-rated restaurants in the city, it was a popular spot for dates at any time, and Christmas was one of the biggest date nights of the year. Kojiro’s fun and inventive holiday specials also helped ensure that every table was booked well in advance.
This year was no exception. The wood and brick dining room was decked out with wreaths and pine garlands hung with red bows and twinkling white lights. The air inside was warm and filled with savory aromas of fresh bread, pasta sauce, and roast meat, with sweet, spicy undertones of holiday baking. Waiters bustled back and forth to the sounds of Christmas music, clinking glasses, and happy chatter and laughter. Kojiro basked in the festive atmosphere, pleased that he and his staff could help people have a joyful holiday.
Of course, the downside of a busy night was that it meant a long and tiring workday for everyone at the restaurant. It was late by the time the last couples had filtered out, the kitchen had been thoroughly cleaned, and Kojiro had sent his staff home with boxes of food to share with their friends and families. Once all that was done, he turned off most of the lights, leaving on one light behind the bar, plus the Christmas lights. He had set out two wine glasses and was just scanning the shelves behind the bar for a good bottle of red wine when he heard the front door open forcefully and felt a rush of cool air stream in from outside. He thought about calling out that the restaurant was closed, but he knew there was no point. And anyway, it was Christmas.
“The holiday season cannot end soon enough!” growled an irritable voice from the doorway.
Kojiro turned, wine bottle in hand, to see Kaoru letting the door slam shut behind him. He wore a red silk haori over his usual navy yukata. Kojiro supposed it was meant to be festive, presumably for a meeting or event with clients, since Kaoru wasn’t one to spread holiday cheer for its own sake. The bright red clashed with Kaoru’s delicate pink hair. Fitting, really, Kojiro thought. Like how Kaoru’s ferocious scowl clashed with the jolly décor in the restaurant.
“Merry Christmas to you, too, four-eyes,” Kojiro called back. “I didn’t know they made grinches in pink.”
Kaoru’s eyes flashed behind his glasses as he strode up to the bar, pulled out the high-backed chair at his favorite spot, and dropped into it in a flurry of pink hair and expensive cloth.
“The holidays are absolutely intolerable,” Kaoru groused. “I swear all the problem clients I’ve ever had crawl out of their miserable lairs every year in mid-December demanding elaborate commissions on unreasonable timelines.”
As Kaoru talked, Kojiro silently opened the wine and poured them each a glass. Kaoru paused his rant just long enough to clink glasses, then continued.
“And it doesn’t even end on Christmas. I got my last Christmas commissions delivered yesterday, then spent all day today on New Year’s commissions, plus a holiday event." Kaoru cast a disdainful glance down at his festive outfit. "And that’s how it’ll be all week.”
“I know,” Kojiro said tolerantly. “You complain about this every year. And it’s similar for me, too. We’re always fully booked on Christmas, then again on New Year’s Eve. I’m still figuring out next week’s special menu and I’m running out of time to order ingredients.”
“Well, you have every right to vent, too,” said Kaoru magnanimously. “After I do.”
“Thanks, princess. But honestly, I’m alright. It’s tiring, of course, but I love that my food makes people happy. You know,” He shot Kaoru a teasingly stern look, “it was downright cheery in here until you showed up.”
Kaoru gave a dismissive sniff. “If you wanted a cheery Christmas, you could’ve gone out with one of your bubbly fangirls, gigolo gorilla.”
“Or two!” Kojiro quipped, earning a renewed glare from Kaoru. “But nah, who has the energy for a big, elaborate date after a long day at work. Anyway, everything’s closed by the time I finish up here.”
“Hmph,” Kaoru huffed. “So you’re just hanging out with me because it’s easy and convenient, then.”
“I’m hanging out with you because you burst into my restaurant after closing with all the delicacy of a wrecking ball, precious.”
“Says the shady ogre who just happened to have a bottle of wine and two glasses out when I arrived.”
“What can I say? I know you pretty well after all these years, and I had an inkling you might show up. I’m sure you’ve got other options if you want them—”
“Of course,” Kaoru cut in haughtily.
“—but you’re too tired and grumpy to be nice to a date tonight, so here you are.”
“I’m polite to clients all day,” Kaoru grumbled. “Sometimes I need a break from acting pleasant.”
“And then you come bother me,” Kojiro agreed. “Since it’s so late, I assume you already had dinner, but want some dessert? I’ve got something I’m considering as a New Year’s special.”
“Sure, why not,” Kaoru replied. His tone was disinterested, but Kojiro was sure he saw a glint of excitement in his eyes. That would have to do. He ducked into the kitchen and emerged with a small plate.
The dessert was something Kojiro had been tinkering with for weeks. It featured layers of chocolate and caramel—dense chocolate cake on the bottom, then a thick layer of caramel that was rich and sticky but firm enough to hold its shape when sliced, then dark chocolate ganache topped with crumbled bits of hazelnut praline. The plate was drizzled with decorative swirls of chocolate and caramel sauce and flecked with bits of edible gold foil. It was flashier than usual for Sia La Luce, but Kojiro liked to go all-out with his holiday menus and wanted a dessert that looked as fancy as it tasted. He set the plate in front of Kaoru and watched his friend’s eyebrows rise.
“Unusually ostentatious,” Kaoru remarked. “Hope you’re not going for style over substance.”
“Just taste it, pinky,” Kojiro replied, watching from beside the bar.
Kaoru shrugged and took a bite. His whole expression instantly went soft.
Kojiro knew Kaoru would do almost anything rather than openly compliment his cooking, but sometimes he didn’t have to. Kaoru chewed slowly, his face relaxed and his eyes closed in quiet bliss. Kojiro recognized that look, and he fully appreciated what it meant when Kaoru immediately cut off a much bigger bite of cake and popped it in his mouth.
“That good, huh?”
Kaoru looked up at Kojiro with a sharp expression, clearly planning some cutting retort, but when he tried to speak, all that came out was, “Mmf.” Apparently, the huge bite of caramel had his mouth stuck shut. Kaoru’s eyes went wide, then his face morphed into an expression of impotent rage.
Kojiro burst out laughing.
Kaoru let out another unintelligible noise that was definitely meant to be a curse. He was glaring at Kojiro ferociously, but any intimidating effect was completely neutralized by the fact that his cheeks were so full he looked like a chipmunk in a pink wig. To top it off, he had a small smear of chocolate on one corner of his mouth. He looked so cute Kojiro could hardly stand it.
“God, I love you, Kaoru.”
The sudden declaration sounded loud in the almost-empty restaurant. The noise startled Kojiro a little. He was all the more startled when he realized he was the one who’d made it.
Kojiro winced. He’d resolved never to mention his feelings to Kaoru, since he was sure they wouldn’t be requited and he didn’t want to make their relationship any more fraught than it already was. But the Christmas rush must have taken more out of him than he realized, because exhaustion, half a glass of wine, and Kaoru’s ridiculously adorable chipmunk glare under the dim twinkle of Christmas lights had obliterated all the defenses he’d maintained for over a decade.
“Whoops,” he added, sheepishly.
“Mm!” Kaoru looked like he was going to explode, but he was still rendered speechless by the sticky caramel.
“Sorry, prec—uh, Kaoru,” Kojiro said. He was so used to calling Kaoru by silly nicknames that it was hard to stop, but it didn’t feel appropriate at the moment. Maybe it would be easier to try to play off what he’d said as another stupid joke, but he just didn’t have the heart to lie like that. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but since I let it slip, you should know I mean it. Can’t believe I carefully kept it quiet since high school—”
“Mmf mrr?!?”
“—and then just blurted it out because you looked so cute eating cake.” Kojiro sighed. “Sorry to spring that on you on Christmas when you’re already tired and stressed out. Anyway, looks like you could use some water. I’ll go get you some.”
He turned towards the kitchen, but as soon as he did he heard a low rumble of rage, followed by a loud clatter. The next moment, he felt a flurry of blows against his back. He turned around to see Kaoru with fists raised. His chair lay on the ground nearby, clearly toppled when Kaoru had leapt to his feet. The pink-haired man’s expression was positively incandescent as he finally managed to swallow his huge bite of cake and open his mouth to yell in Kojiro’s face.
“Idiot!” he shouted, pounding a fist against Kojiro’s chest as if he was trying to break down a door. “You absolute moss-headed menace!” he cried as the other fist fell. “Springing that on me out of nowhere while I was eating. I almost choked to death!”
“I’m really sorry,” Kojiro said, trying to look contrite while also grabbing his friend’s wrists to prevent further blows to his torso.
“I won’t forgive you that easily!” Kaoru grumbled, struggling against Kojiro’s grip on him. “You nearly killed me and came close to ruining one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever tasted.”
Kojiro froze in astonishment, his hands pinning Kaoru’s fists against his chest. Kaoru had admitted to liking his cooking! He almost smiled before another attempt by Kaoru to wriggle free brought him back to the situation at hand.
But Kaoru wasn’t done. Fixing Kojiro with a look of pure annoyance, he muttered, “Oh, and I love you too. You should have said something sooner.”
“Wait, what?!” Kojiro was so stunned he loosed his hold on Kaoru’s wrists. Kaoru immediately turned away from Kojiro and crossed his arms in an exaggerated sulk.
“I’m not repeating it,” he said grumpily. “And I’m not translating it into ape for you.”
“Ornery nerd,” Kojiro said. “You return my feelings but you’re angry at me for confessing?”
“It was a terrible confession,” Kaoru retorted over his shoulder. “You know I hate being interrupted while I’m eating. And I don’t like surprises.”
Kojiro gazed at the man in front of him. Kaoru still stood with his back to him, rigidly upright, arms crossed. Kojiro hesitated a moment, then set a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder.
“You’re impossible, princess,” he murmured. “Can I kiss you?”
“I’ll allow it,” Kaoru said tartly.
He didn’t turn around or even look at Kojiro, so Kojiro ended up walking around him so they were face-to-face. He rested one hand on the side of Kaoru’s face, then, very slowly, leaned in to kiss him.
Kaoru still had his arms crossed as Kojiro bent towards him. His expression looked irritable and wary up until Kojiro got too close to see him well and closed his eyes. Kojiro briefly wondered if he was making a mistake—if Kaoru would look disgusted with him or push him away. Then their lips met, and Kaoru let out a low sigh and kissed back softly, uncrossing his arms and winding them around Kojiro’s neck.
When Kojiro pulled back, Kaoru was looking at him intently. His expression was serious—not angry or annoyed, but intense. His golden eyes were shining in the low light of the restaurant. He looked as beautiful as Kojiro had ever seen him.
“I love you, Kaoru,” Kojiro said.
“I know,” Kaoru replied, the hint of a smile flickering on his face.
“And you love me,” Kojiro supplied hopefully.
“Maybe.” Kaoru’s eyes darted away briefly, but the smile didn’t fade.
“Me and my cooking,” Kojiro ventured, feeling bold.
“Don’t push it, gorilla,” Kaoru muttered. His brow wrinkled with annoyance for a moment, then his face relaxed back into a serious, sincere expression. After looking at Kojiro thoughtfully for a few seconds, he tightened his embrace around Kojiro’s neck and buried his face against his shoulder.
“Merry Christmas, Kojiro,” he whispered.