Work Text:
When Asaba got off of work on the evening of Christmas day—yes, he couldn’t believe himself that he’d had to work on Christmas—he was exhausted, and all day, he had been looking forward to going home. But a few messages from Phaethon stopped him in his tracks.
—
Wise: Hey, you just got off work, right?
Belle: We’re throwing a Christmas party! You should come!
Wise: There’s free food.
—
Asaba just wanted to go to sleep, but he found himself changing directions and trailing towards Random Play without much thought. He hadn’t spent Christmas with anyone in a while, at least on purpose, much less get invited to a Christmas party. His chest tightened as he walked, eyes locked onto his phone screen, reading and rereading the messages. Of course, he knew he wasn’t special, and the twins had probably invited a lot of people—it could’ve even been a marketing tactic for their store or their “other job,” but Asaba couldn’t find it in himself to care about that.
Either way, he wouldn’t turn down free food.
—
Asaba Harumasa: omw :)
Belle: Yay!!
—
It didn’t take long for him to get there, bell chiming to announce his presence as he swung open the door. Instantly, his senses were attacked, enveloped by the warmth of the room and the smell of cinnamon and eggnog and the comforting sound of people chatting amiably with one another. His eyes scanned the room, taking in the different faces, some new and some familiar, as well as the way the furniture had been rearranged. Some of the shelves housing movie discs had been pushed aside, making space for a foldable table that housed different treats and snacks, as well as cups of eggnog. He wondered amusedly if it had gotten spiked yet. He noticed the candle burning on the counter that held the cash register and decided that that must’ve been what was filling the air with the homely scent of cinnamon. He breathed in deeply, easing his nerves as he took a step inside and let the door fall shut behind him.
Most of the people who had turned to look at who had arrived were already back to their conversations, and Asaba couldn’t help feeling glad for that, the fear of negative attention a constant threat whenever someone so much as glanced at him. He caught Belle’s eye, who waved at him excitedly before turning and saying something to the guy her and Wise had been talking to, and all of a sudden, they were walking towards him. He made eye contact with the person they were leaving behind—or at least, he thought he did. It was hard to tell when his eyes were hiding behind a pair of sunglasses (and really, who wears sunglasses indoors?), but he was sure the man was checking him out to see who exactly was stealing his conversation partners away. He must have been staring too long because Sunglasses Guy gave him a nod of acknowledgement, and Asaba returned it with a smaller, more hesitant downturn of his head.
The moment was over just as fast as it began, the man turning to make his way to the assorted foods and drinks table and Wise and Belle finally reaching where he was standing still right next to the entrance.
“Harumasa, you made it!” Belle cheered with a grin, and Wise matched it with a smile of his own.
“We’re glad you came,” he added onto his sister’s words. Asaba’s lips twitched up.
“How could I miss something like this? I mean, you were so kind to invite me after all.”
“Well, we were a bit hesitant because we weren’t sure if you already had plans, and we felt kinda bad bothering you right after work,” Wise admitted, laughing softly to himself. Belle lightly shoved at him.
“Wise!”
Asaba shook his head. “No, it’s no problem! I don’t usually have Christmas plans, so I was just gonna go home and take an early night. This is a nice change of pace. Thank you guys for inviting me. Really.” Belle loosened her not-so-serious glare, leveling Asaba with a soft smile. Wise had a similar expression on his face.
“Of course. It’s nice to see you, Haru,” Belle said, reaching over and squeezing Asaba’s arm affectionately.
“Phaethon!” a feminine voice across the room called, and the three of them turned to see who it was. A woman with pink hair—Nicole, Asaba thought he remembered her name being—was waving the twins over energetically, and the two let out a sigh in unison. Wise returned to looking at Asaba, gaze apologetic.
“Sorry, we should probably go see what she wants. If you need anything, let us know, okay?” Wise offered, giving Asaba one last smile and a “merry Christmas” before starting to walk towards where Nicole was stationed at the opposite end from where they currently were standing.
“The fruit cake is really good, so make sure you try some. Oh, and merry Christmas!” Belle added, giving him a little wave before spinning around and jogging to catch up with her brother. Asaba watched them leave before beginning to make his way to the food table. They didn’t have to tell him twice.
Upon reaching it, he was instantly immersed in all the delicious looking things that had been laid out over the gingerbread man themed tablecloth, eyes skimming the pudding cups and Santa cookies and landing on the small paper plates of fruit cake slices just begging to be eaten. He took one of the plates without hesitation.
“Well, hello there, beautiful,” he murmured, itching to devour the cake whole. He went to grab one of the plastic forks, noting the cups of hot chocolate and eggnog and vowing to come back for them, before noticing Sunglasses Guy who had been standing at the table the whole time and was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Asaba opened his mouth to defend himself, but closed it when the man started chuckling and went back to his cup of cinnamon-sugar dusted popcorn, tossing a few in his mouth.
“For a second there, I thought you were talking to me,” Sunglasses Guy teased in between crunches, and Asaba’s stomach churned nervously.
“Oh, what? No! God, no. Wait, sorry, I don’t mean that you’re ugly or anything, just—saying something like that to a stranger would make them uncomfortable, right? Sorry.” Asaba internally yelled at himself to shut up, having to hold himself back from physically reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose in embarrassment. The man just chuckled some more, a deep and smooth thing that just made his stomach drop even more.
“I dunno. I mean, I wouldn’t have minded if you were.” The guy’s lips pulled up in a smirk. His hand slowly raised to his face, and Asaba’s stare zeroed in on the movement, watching closely as his tongue darted out to lick the cinnamon-sugar off of his fingers. Asaba swallowed thickly. Who the fuck was this guy?
Almost as if hearing his thoughts, Sunglasses Guy’s hand returned back down, rubbing his fingers roughly on his jeans to clean them off the rest of the way before being offered out between them.
“Names’ Lighter,” he said, and Asaba’s gaze flitted between him and his hand before breathing out the air that he had been holding in and taking it.
“Harumasa Asaba. Just Haru or Asaba is fine, though.” Ligher’s grip was solid, his hand rough and callused against Asaba’s own—Asaba had calluses too, namely from his bow, but nowhere near as many. Lighter squeezed his hand before dropping it, and Asaba slowly returned his own back to his side as well. “Your name is familiar, do I know you from somewhere?” Lighter tilted his head up, considering Asaba from behind his sunglasses.
“Maybe. Ever heard of the Sons of Calydon?”
Asaba hummed in thought. “Like, the Outer Ring biker gang? Yeah, they’re pretty infamous.” Lighter was silent, but his smirk had returned, flashing glistening teeth, and Asaba blinked up at him before it clicked. “Ohhh, right, yeah, you’re their Champion or something, right?”
“Bingo.” At Lighter’s response, his eyes trailed back down to his hands.
“That explains your hand, then,” he murmured to himself, thinking out loud.
“What?” Lighter asked with a surprised laugh. Asaba waved him off, embarrassment rising in his stomach again.
“So you’re good at hand-to-hand combat?” he asked instead of answering. Remembering that he had originally come to the table for fruit cake, he dug his fork into his slice before shoving it into his mouth, staring at his plate and beginning to chew before looking back up at Lighter. The man in question was examining him, seemingly trying to piece him together. At the renewed eye contact, he was spurred to respond.
“Ah, yeah. Pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. What about you?”
“Oh, god, not at all. I’m pretty weak, truth be told. I can use a bow and a sword, but I’m not that good at those either.” Asaba lowered his head, taking another bite and savoring the taste to avoid thinking about how much he was downplaying his own skill. He almost missed how Lighter’s confident smirk softened.
“I bet you’re way better than I ever could be. I’m only good with my fists.” His fingers curled into a fist, and he held it up as if preparing for combat before punching the air a few times as if demonstrating. Asaba laughed, and Lighter followed with a laugh of his own.
“From what I know, though, you’re the best.”
“Hey, now. Your words, not mine,” Lighter joked with a grin, and they laughed again. They eventually fell into a silence, Lighter returning to his popcorn and Asaba devoting himself to finishing off his fruit cake.
Once his plate was clear, he set it on a pile of other discarded paper plates. He eyed the eggnog which Lighter just so happened to be in the way of. He seemed to notice this, setting down his also now empty popcorn cup and taking two cups of eggnog. He handed one to Asaba, which the smaller man took gratefully but not without their fingers brushing. Although they had shaken hands not very long ago, something about the unintended contact made Asaba’s heart skip a beat or two.
“Thanks,” he said after quickly clearing his throat, and Lighter nodded. He took a sip, appreciating the festively spicy taste on his tongue and the thickly smooth texture that slipped down his throat as he glanced at all the people around them. Then, “So, how’d you meet Wise and Belle?”
The two proceeded to engage in conversation about how each of them met Phaethon, and the funny stories that came with it. That turned into talking about what they did for a living and how annoying one of Asaba’s coworkers was and this one huge guy that no one thought Lighter could beat but how he kept his undefeated title anyways, and it was somehow so comfortable and easy.
It was getting a little hard to hear, with the buzzing around them ramping up as more and more people had shown up. Lighter leaned down, so his mouth was closer to Asaba’s ear. “It’s getting kinda loud. Wanna find somewhere quieter?” he offered, and Asaba’s stiff shoulders untensed a little in relief.
“Yeah. Yeah, sure.” Lighter nodded towards a room near the counter.
“C’mon, then,” he said before walking off into the crowd. Asaba trailed behind him, and as he weaved between the people, eyes locked on Lighter’s back, he wondered how exactly he had gotten to this point. He had originally planned on sampling some food then leaving, but while talking to Lighter, he had completely forgotten he had ever even been tired at all.
Once they entered the room, Lighter veered towards the couch to the side, which was surprisingly empty, and fell onto it with a huff. Asaba joined him, and almost immediately, they fell back into their easy conversation from before.
The topic drifted around fighting before finally landing on the Hollow, and Asaba knew it was only a matter of time before Ethereals were brought up. And just as he had predicted—“Ethereals are pretty tough, but I like the challenge.” Asaba tensed up, teeth sinking into his lip to stop himself from saying anything stupid. Lighter caught on a little too quickly for Asaba’s comfort—and, to add onto it, the churning feeling in his stomach that Lighter’s concerned expression caused wasn’t exactly comforting either.
“You good?” Lighter asked, and Asaba released a shaky breath.
“Yeah, all good. Don’t worry about me. Ethereals and I just don’t get along, is all.”
“I don’t think Ethereals get along with anyone,” Lighter teased, and Asaba smiled.
“Yeah, I mean, you’re not wrong.” Lighter smiled back, and Asaba had to force himself to look away. Deciding to change the topic, he spoke up again, “I could really go for some hot chocolate right about now.”
“Yeah?” Asaba’s chest tightened. He really liked Lighter’s voice, he realized. “I’ve got you, I’ll go get us some.” He stood up, stretching a little (and Asaba noticed every little movement in the fabric of his clothes and imagined how the muscles pulled underneath, but really, who could blame him). Then he flashed a smile at Asaba as he took a few steps backwards towards the door. “Be right back.”
Asaba finally understood the phrase ‘hate to see them leave, love to see them go.’ He slapped a hand over his face and groaned into it.
A few minutes had passed, and Lighter still had yet to return. Asaba’s eyes had grown heavy, and he had trouble keeping them open. Each blink became a fight to stay awake, and in fear of falling asleep before Lighter got back, he forced himself to stand up. He’d go see what was taking the man so long.
He took a few drowsy steps to the doorway, eyes lowering to the floor in exhaustion as he was still coming back from almost falling asleep on the couch. All of a sudden, his view was being obscured by a large chest, and Asaba stumbled to avoid crashing into it. He raised his gaze and found himself staring back at himself through the reflective lenses of a pair of sunglasses. Lighter. He opened his mouth then closed it, a fish out of water.
“Ah, um…sorry.” He should’ve backed up, made space between them like a normal person would after almost running into someone, but his brain was still a little too tired and slow at processing.
“Couldn’t stay away, huh?” Lighter teased, and Asaba started to roll his eyes but caught a glimpse of something green and red above them. His mouth went dry, and he stared and stared and stared. Lighter raised an eyebrow before following Asaba’s gaze, and Asaba could see him tense up in his peripheral vision.
It was just a stupid tradition, Asaba tried to tell himself. They didn’t have to kiss under the mistletoe.
So why did he kind of want to?
“Um,” Asaba said intelligently.
“Yeah,” Lighter choked out in response with just as much grace as he looked back down at Asaba. From this distance, he could kind of see Lighter’s eyes from behind the sunglasses, and he wished more than ever that he could see them in their entirety.
It wouldn’t take much movement for him to reach up and pull off his glasses, and after a losing battle with his restraint, he did just that, gently sliding the accessory off Lighter’s face. Lighter made no move to stop him, and Asaba let the sunglasses dangle from his hand at his side as he took in the eyes staring right back at him. His breath caught in his throat, entranced by the uniqueness of them, the little rings of red causing Asaba to have a mini aneurysm.
“Hey,” Lighter spoke lowly, voice soft and wavering a little. Asaba felt more weird creatures crawling around in his stomach, trying to get out, and it somehow made him feel more confident knowing Lighter was nervous too. He adjusted his stance a little, the outside of his foot pressing into the inside of Lighter’s.
“Hi,” Asaba replied just as softly. “Should we…” he trailed off, and he wasn’t quite sure whether he was going to say something about kissing or something about not kissing, but he was faintly sure it would’ve probably been the former.
Lighter swallowed, causing his Adam’s apple to bob, and Asaba’s eyes followed the movement. “It’d be wrong to go against the tradition, right?” Lighter tested, and Asaba’s eyes flicked back up, working it around in his head before allowing his lips to pull into a small smile.
“Yeah, I think you’re right. That’d be really disrespectful, so we should just—”
Before he could finish, Lighter was swooping down and connecting their lips, and Asaba’s chest squeezed so tightly it felt like it was going to burst, and the kiss was so warm and good and right. Asaba closed his eyes and forgot that he’d only known Lighter for a few hours, and even if he thought about it, he wouldn’t have cared, not when Lighter’s mouth tasted sweeter than any fruit cake or Santa cookie on that table. He could feel two warm cups press against his back, and he realized Lighter was still holding the hot chocolate. He held back his chuckle, raising his free hand to grip Lighter’s waist before quickly letting go and bringing it up further, to his shoulder, then his neck, then his jaw, fingers tentatively caressing the skin there. Lighter leaned into his touch, and Asaba almost melted right then and there. Asaba pulled away slightly before pressing their lips together again, and this had definitely passed the terms of a normal mistletoe kiss, but Asaba never wanted it to end.
He knew it had to eventually, though, so he reluctantly pulled back, and Lighter followed suit. Neither of them knew what to say, and in fear of it turning awkward, Asaba lifted the sunglasses he was still holding and slipped them onto his face despite them not belonging there. He couldn’t hold back the grin that was spreading across his face, and Lighter’s expression mirrored him.
“Maybe they were onto something with that tradition,” Asaba said, and a laugh bubbled out of both of them.
“Oh, they definitely were,” Lighter agreed, voice almost a purr as his grin sharpened into a smirk. Asaba tapped his foot against Lighter’s with a smile at his returned confidence and teasingly shoved the sunglasses back over the eyes of its owner before stepping back and nodding towards the couch.
“The hot chocolate’s probably not so hot anymore, so we should drink it before it’s cold chocolate,” he joked, and Lighter chuckled as they returned to sitting on the couch together. They were sitting closer than before, and if either of them noticed, they didn’t mention it, and within seconds, the room was once again filled with soft chatter, loud laughs, and stolen glances.
And if they “accidentally” ended up under the mistletoe again before the end of the night, no one but them needed to know.