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Watching Pipi chase snowflakes has now become Tsuki's favorite pastime. Lately, she's been super energetic for the holidays--for a good reason. Benny had prepared some sort of gift event for the town, although the elusive tanuki had refused to tell them. Holding up his mug of hot chocolate, he takes a sip loudly. Pipi was now sliding on the ice to go faster.
He hears the sound of crunching snow behind him. "Enjoying the hot chocolate, I see?" Yori teases, eyes falling down on his cup.
Lately, Tsuki has been working on the perfect hot chocolate. Keyword: Working on. His attempts have been unsuccessful, leaving him to admit defeat and buy the instant packets from Yori's general store.
Rolling his eyes, he replies: "My brews are authentic. Made out of real milk and cocoa."
"Authentically bad," Pipi chimes in, quickly having grown bored of chasing snow. Rubbing her hands together, she stared at his mug menacingly. "Can I have some?"
Before he can answer, Yori puts a paw on her shoulder. "Pipi, no, what did I say about sharing spit?"
Pipi dramatically deflates, looking down with a sigh. "Salvia has germs which can get me sick."
Tsuki observes the two, amused. He mentally tells himself to give her a cup later--a new one, of course.
Just remembering what she was going to say, Pipi perks up, lighting up like a bulb. "Tsuki, do you want to come over for Christmas tomorrow?"
He really did want to come over, but his brain reminded him of their relationship status. He's just a friend, his presence would probably only intrude.
"Sorry Pipi, Christmas is going to be a rest day for me. Maybe next year?"
Now that he can get a good look at Pipi, Tsuki notices she looks... disappointed. Was it something he said? It would only be Christmas.
Pipi sniffs, nose tilting slightly in the air. "It's okay Tsuki, I understand. Actually, I just remembered I forgot something inside. See ya."
Before Tsuki can answer, the fox runs to the door of the general store, paws hobbling over in a rush. The last thing he sees of her is the rapid closing of the door. Strange.
Turning to Yori, Tsuki finds him looking strangely... off.
"Is Pipi alright?" Tsuki asks. Was it the hot chocolate?
Yori stares off at the entrance of the shop. "She'll be fine. She probably needs some space to cool down."
Tsuki let the situation go reluctantly. Feeling disturbed, he had a nagging sensation at the back of his brain--like he was missing something. But he'd already planted the carrots and fished by the lake. What could it be?
Lost in thought, Tsuki feels his mug of cooling hot chocolate slip out of his hand. It remains unbroken when it hits the snow but all liquid had already poured out.
"Oh fuck," he swore.
Yori picked up the cup for him while he processed the fall. Thanking him, he stares into the container. Empty.
"Be more careful Tsuki, you're giving this old fox hives," Yori said, almost scolding.
"You get hives?"
"Maybe you'll notice if you visited us for Christmas."
"Yori, Christmas time is for you and Pipi. I understand it's special for the two of you. I don't want to infringe."
Yori always closes the general store on Christmas. Pipi's his daughter, he knows how important that is to him. He's just a friend, it'll probably be weird for him to be there, Tsuki reasons.
Suddenly Yori's face turns somber. Confused, Tsuki shifts a bit. What was that he said?
"Tsuki. Listen to me, alright?" Yori starts. "You've obviously won Pipi's heart. Goodness, you're like an uncle to her. We both enjoy having you around."
"And... what do you mean?"
Yori buries his face in defeat. "I'm saying we both see you as family, Tsuki. You're like my second son, if I ever had one."
Oh. Oh.
This entire time Tsuki had been hobbling around the two in fear of overstepping boundaries. But Pipi must've misinterpreted this and assumed he didn't want to hang out with her. I'm such an idiot, he thought. Now he had to explain this to her.
"You're right. God, I should probably tell Pipi."
"So are you coming over?" Yori asks.
Tsuki has never agreed to anything as quickly in his life.
"Yes," he breathes, "I will."