Work Text:
The snow was falling heavily, fresh fluff creaking under the three pairs of boots. Suguru held Mimiko’s hand on one side and Nanako’s on the other and tried not to crush presents swaying in his shoulder bag.
He looked perfectly calm on the outside but the nervous tingle kept on creeping up his stomach. It was their first shared Christmas with Satoru and his two kids, after all.
The other man kept on reassuring him that it wouldn’t be anything grand, just a shared family meeting, so he had nothing to worry about, yet Suguru kept overthinking.
Will they like his presents? Will his girls be comfortable with spending Christmas differently than usual? It’s true that his girls had already met Tsumiki and Megumi but will they enjoy spending this evening together?
“Hey, dad, can we build the snowman after dinner? There’s so much snow we could build one even as tall as you!”
Mimiko questioned, pulling on his hand as she excitedly hopped a few steps. This made his overthinking stop in its tracks and a warm smile stretched his lips.
“If Satoru allows us to occupy his backyard, of course.”
***
“Tsumikiiii, could you please go get Megumi and you two start decorating cookies? I have to watch over the eggnog, so I'll join you in a little bit.”
Satoru was standing in front of the stove in his light-blue Cinnamonroll apron (one that Tsumiki gave to him on his birthday) with one hand on his hip and the other stirring in the pot.
That sight made Tsumiki’s lips stretch in a light smile as she peeked her head into the kitchen.
“Sure! Be right back.”
She lightly hopped up the stairs and to Megumi's room. The girl knocked lightly on his door then out of habit entered before she could hear a reply. It was met with the boy's surprised “Wait!” and a rushed attempt at covering a pile that looked like a half-packaged gift.
Yet, when Megumi saw it was Tsumiki he sighed in relief.
“I thought it was Gojo. I'm trying to wrap up his present but… I kinda suck.”
The little boy kept sitting crossed legged on the floor and pouting at the crumpled gift paper, as if it offended him and at least ten generations onward. The girl chuckled a bit then sat down next to Megumi.
“Here, let me help you.”
She took the box and gift paper from him and began to wrap it up neatly, asking the boy to help her by putting the sticky tape where needed. The girl wasn’t satisfied with simply wrapping it in paper, so she ran quickly to her room to get a deeply blue ribbon, which contrasted nicely with the white gift paper adorned with gold Christmas patterns.
Now it looked perfect.
***
The three of them were putting some of the last cold dishes and utensils on the large table decorated with a bright red tablecloth when the doorbell rang through the house.
“They’re here!”
Tsumiki yelled excitedly, then sprinted to open the door, followed more calmly by a laughing Satoru.
“Wait, kiddo. I should be the one to greet guests at our house.”
However, she already made it to the entrance and waved animatedly at the three of their guests, going straight for a hug with the two young girls right after. Satoru looked at that image with a warm smile, then his gaze went up to see the exact same expression mirrored on Suguru’s face.
The other man also looked up and it seemed as if his eyes flickered a bit. Suguru carefully sidestepped the three girls and went for a hug of his own, leaving a gentle peck on Satoru’s temple.
“Merry Christmas, Satoru. Thank you for inviting us over.”
Satoru held the man’s face in his hands and caressed his cheeks with his thumbs, looking in Suguru’s eyes with so much affection that the man would get red all over, if not for his cheeks already being rosy from the freezing cold outside.
“Thank you for coming over, Suguru. The more the merrier, as they say.”
Just then, Megumi appeared in the hallway, a little bit hesitant and overwhelmed by the sudden influx of people in his house. He still gave a small wave to the girls and a polite head nod to Suguru.
Sometimes Suguru wondered if the little boy secretly hated him, but he never had enough evidence to support that thesis of his. Additionally, he knew how important Megumi was to Satoru, so he always tried his best to somehow win the boy over. He also really liked the kid, despite that surprisingly large attitude hidden in his disproportionately small body.
“Alright, take your jackets off and come in. Kids, can you take the bag from Suguru and put presents under the tree? You know, Santa can’t always know in which house kids spent their Christmas.”
He added with a wink and Megumi rolled his eyes as if to say ‘Sure, I’ll let you believe that we still believe in Santa,’ but he still obediently approached Suguru to take his bag and went to the living room with Tsumiki.
Soon after, they all sat together at the table, warm dishes already steaming from their plates, the sound of clinking utensils and melodious laughter echoing off the walls.
It sounded like happiness. Sounded like home.
Both of the adults exchanged looks across the table and somehow both of them knew without words what the other was thinking at that moment.
***
After all the presents were distributed by a suspiciously tall and slim Santa (all while Satoru was taking questionably long in the bathroom; they all let him have his fun and put on the show of being surprised by the gifts left for him by “Santa”), they all agreed to go built a snowman in the backyard just as Mimiko and Nanako suggested.
All six of them entered Satoru’s garden as large flakes of snow were still falling from the sky.
The snow was thick and soft, almost up to the adults' knees. Scanning the backyard with his blue eyes, Satoru was struck with an idea.
He sneakily approached Megumi, grabbed under the puffy armpits of his jacket, and threw the boy into a particularly high pile of snow.
The boy's surprised yelp was accompanied by the man's melodious giggle, together with all three girl's suppressed chuckles. They didn't laugh too loud for fear of being submerged in that cold white sea next.
Megumi on the other hand emerged from the white puff with a death glare directed at his guardian. Yet the multitude of snowflakes in his dark hair contrasting with his rosy cheeks completely took away any air of intimidation that the kid was able to muster.
"I'm sorry, Gumi, the urge was stronger than me."
Satoru's words were still airy with laughter and Suguru only shook his head, with a soft smile that betrayed his amusement at the other man's childlike playfulness.
The laughter was cut off suddenly when a single snowball crashed on Satoru's white locks. Meanwhile, Megumi got up and shook off the rest of the snow off himself with a smirk of his own.
"Oh no."
Muttered Suguru, because he knew what was about to unfold.
The girls squealed as they scattered across the backyard to look for cover.
Snowballs started flying everywhere, accompanied by high-pitched screams and laughter.
Apart from Megumi, there was only one casualty in this serious battle - Suguru who was thrown on the soft white ground by three inconspicuous young ladies (his girls roped Tsumiki in) and he was forced to raise his hands in defeat.
With all six of them now panting in exhaustion and frozen to the bone, plans of building a snowman already forgotten, they all concurred with Satoru’s proposal to get inside and drink some hot cocoa.
Now, settled cosy and warm on the couch with steaming mugs in hands, this special family of theirs was watching idly one of those Christmas comedies that repeatedly appear on TV each year.
After their cups were empty, the kids started dozing off on the couch, with Mimiko and Nanako on Suguru’s side, Tsumiki nested against Satoru’s shoulder and, surprisingly enough, Megumi squeezed in between Satoru and Suguru. Maybe the kid liked him a little bit after all, huh?