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Rei winced as his body was thrown to the side from Kazuki hitting a curve too fast. “Slow down” He groaned.
“I need to gun it if we’re gonna make it back in time for Miri’s performance.” Kazuki argued, eyes glued to the road.
Rei grumbled, but went back to bandaging his shoulder instead of continuing to criticize Kazuki’s driving. He was too tired to argue, especially since Kazuki was probably right.
Part of Rei thought their luck would finally run out and they wouldn’t make it in time, even with Kazuki driving like a lunatic. However, the universe threw them one last Christmas miracle: they didn’t hit any traffic whatsoever or a single red light on the drive back to Aozora Daycare. They managed to pull into the parking lot with 3 minutes to spare.
As soon as they parked, Kazuki tore off his bloodied shirt and replaced it with the Santa Jacket, only struggling once he had to pull the pants over his injured leg. Rei tried to put his jacket on, but his arm had gone completely numb. His knees were also noticeably wobbling, so there was no way he would be able to get the costume pants on over his suit.
Crap. I lost more blood than I thought I would. It wasn’t enough to threaten his life, but Rei was definitely lightheaded.
“Come here. I’ll help you.” Half in a daze, Rei followed Kazuki’s voice to the other side of the car and handed him the jacket. With Kazuki helping him, he was able to get his left arm through the sleeve.
”Ready to do this?” Kazuki grinned, draping the rest of the jacket over Rei’s right side and leaving his arm on top of Rei’s shoulders.
”Yeah.” Rei grinned back. He was more than ready.
Together they staggered through the halls of the daycare. Rei normally knew his way around the building, but right now the bright fluorescent lights in the hallway were making his head spin. Thankfully, Kazuki knew the way, and so Rei followed him without question or hesitation. Kazuki had never lead him astray, so Rei would follow him anywhere.
They shuffled in just as the first couple notes of Silent Night rang through the air. The familiar melody blew away all of Rei’s brainfog in an instant. It took Rei’s eyes a second to adjust to the sudden lighting change, but as soon as they did he spotted Miri.
Her eyes lit up when they met his, sparkling under the amber glow of the stage lights, and Rei smiled wider than he ever thought he was capable of. Kazuki waved at her, also smiling wide, and led them over to stand against the back wall. Rei’s eyes were glued to the stage, completely entranced by how beautiful she was, inside and out.
Rei wasn’t religious, after all, it was kind of hard to justify being an assassin if you answered to a higher power. He always thought it was pointless to hope that some kind of ‘Heaven’ existed, because even if it did, there was no way someone like him would ever find it.
However, Rei was wrong. Heaven was real, and it had found him. It had barreled into his life in the form of a man and a little girl, and brought a beautiful chaos to Rei’s dark and lonely existence. He still didn’t know what he did to deserve them.
About halfway through the song, Kazuki stepped away slightly in order to lean against the wall and take the weight off his injured leg. Instead of completely letting go of Rei, Kazuki slowly trailed his hand down until it rested on the small of Rei’s back. It was comforting, reminding Rei that Kazuki was still there, and that he wasn’t going anywhere.
As soon as the song ended, the auditorium broke out into thunderous applause.
“Yay Miri!” Kazuki called, cupping both hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. Rei whistled for her as loud as he could since he couldn’t clap.
Miri beamed at them, brighter than the sunrise after a long, lonely night.
I’m so proud of her…
As Miri left the stage Kazuki rested his hand on Rei’s waist again. “How are you holding up?” He asked quietly.
“Never better,” Rei answered honestly. He couldn’t feel his arm at all anymore, bruises were beginning to form all over his back, and it was possible that his knees would buckle from fatigue at any moment, but he didn’t care. He was just…happy.
“How about you?”
“I’ll live.” Kazuki laughed softly. From her seat close to the stage, Miri briefly turned around to give them a big smile and a little wave. Kazuki waved back to her for both of them.
“That’s our daughter…” Rei breathed. The reality of the fact that they were finally free to be a family was really hitting him now.
“Yep. That’s our little girl.” Kazuki whispered.
Miri turned back to her teacher, and Kazuki and Rei turned to each other. Kazuki looked completely exhausted, and Rei was sure he was excruciating pain, but the smile Rei had grown to depend on didn’t falter one bit. Rei could even see it in the half-lidded crimson eyes that looked back at him.
The hand on Rei’s back gently pressed forward, coaxing him closer until he was fully tucked under Kazuki’s arm. Rei sighed contently at the feeling of warm lips pressing against the side of his face. The feeling spread from the apple of his cheek throughout his entire body, soothing the pain of both old and new wounds and making a home in Rei’s heart.
It wasn’t a new feeling: Kazuki had always made him feel this way with every touch, every meal cooked, really anything he did. The difference was that now, there was nothing stopping Rei from exploring and embracing how Kazuki made him feel.
So, he leaned into the kiss, and once Kazuki slowly pulled away, Rei rested his head in the crook of Kazuki’s neck.
None of this would have been possible without Kazuki showing him that he was capable not only of love, but of being loved. Rei truly owed everything good in his life to him.
“I love you…” Rei murmured.
“I love you too.” Kazuki sighed, resting his cheek against the top of Rei’s head. Rei closed his eyes, cherishing the steady beat of Kazuki’s heart.
“So…how much do you want to bet the other moms are gossiping about us in their group chat right now?” Kazuki teased.
“Hm? They probably are.” Rei chuckled. “But I don’t care, I’m not moving.” He added, nuzzling deeper into his partner’s shoulder. Kazuki let out a little laugh and kissed his hair. For the first time in Rei’s life, every shred of tension and anxiety completely melted away.
They had survived, they had changed.
All was calm.
All was bright.