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In your opinion, this must be the perfect way to end a year.
Currently, you’re cuddled up in a blanket and a nice comforter in a dimly lit room, as content as can be. On the bedside table right next to you, there’s a tray of your favorite treats and a drink or two to keep you up and satisfied until you’re able to ring in the new year right at midnight. And there’s some New Year's Eve special playing on the TV across from the bed. Some of the most popular bands and singers and idols are performing for a live audience on this special. And right in the corner of the screen, there’s a little brightly animated countdown showing that there are only four more minutes until midnight. And to top it all off?
Your boyfriend is here too. Tucked neatly into your side with his arm slung around your waist and his head against your shoulder as he sleeps soundly right beside you.
You should mention, that this isn’t your bed. Nor is it Seishiro’s . In fact, you probably should have started with the fact that you’re currently at Reo’s apartment. And just outside the little guest bedroom you’re set up in are the dull sounds of Reo’s New Year's Eve party. A small get-together that he and a couple of people from his inner circle of rich kids had put on to celebrate the New Year from the prying eyes of their billionaire parents.
The two of you spent the first hour or so at the party, socializing and mingling the best you could. You tried to dress the part. You tried to walk the walk and talk the talk too . But you didn’t feel like you fit in there. And neither did Seishiro. He was more content with just hanging off your shoulder and burying his face in your hair anytime he decided he wanted to end the conversation earlier. Thankfully, Reo was a gracious enough host to predict this and carved out a space for you to bring him so he could recharge his social battery just enough to rejoin the party for the remainder of the time.
Only, you didn’t find yourself rejoining the party. And you found that nobody went looking for the two of you either.
That’s how you ended up here. That’s how you ended up with a tray of stolen treats and goodies on the bedside table and a small selection of fruity drinks and sodas within grabbing distance. That’s how you ended up under the covers of a bed that isn’t even yours in your fancy party wear, with your boyfriend coiled tightly around you in his sleep. That’s how you ended up listening to the quiet, melodic sounds of a live-streamed concert on the TV as you watch the clock turn from 11:56pm to 11:57pm on December 31st instead of laughing at jokes you can’t wrap your head around and coming up with excuses about why you don’t ski like every single other person at this party does, apparently. But that’s how you ended up here. That’s how you ended up in peace .
But then suddenly, a knock at the door sounds. It’s quiet. It’s faint. And the person on the other side doesn’t even try to reach for the door and open it. Instead, they just linger. And the silence that follows goes for so long that you can’t help but wonder if you had imagined it all along. But then comes another knock. As light and polite as before. And then finally , a voice.
“ W e’re getting ready to start the countdown , ” Reo says from the other side. Although his tone is quiet, you can hear the smile in his voice. You feel a small sense of relief now that you know that you didn’t ruin the party by stepping away for a good couple of hours to disappear off into your own corner of the universe with Seishiro. But then again, you have a funny feeling that not everyone was enjoying the company of your anti-social boyfriend and you, his constant caretaker. In fact, there’s a good chance the two of you weren’t missed by anybody by Reo judging by how he only came looking for you now. Not that either of you mind, of course. “ Just wanted to let you know…in case you two wanted to join us . ”
You open your mouth to respond, but then, you hesitate. There’s a part of you that knows you should be out there. There’s a part of you that knows you should be social. That you should be as good of a guest as Reo is a host for allowing you and Seishiro to camp here for longer than necessary. A response lingers on your tongue. A yes, threatens to bubble out. But at the same time, you’re comfortable here. You’re warm here. You know it will take a bit of time to untangle yourself from your boyfriend’s arms. And you know it will take even longer if you attempt to get him out of bed too. By then you probably would have missed seeing the countdown with everyone. But the whole reason Reo invited the two of you here was to join in the celebrations…
But just before you were finally able to vocalize a response to the boy on the other side of the door, another voice pipes up- speaking for you.
“Nah. We’re good here.” Seishiro’s deep and tired rumble appears right by your ear, signaling the fact that he had just stirred from his slumber. You couldn’t hold in your gasp in surprise the moment you realized that he was finally awake. But one look in his dark eyes told you that he was just barely holding on at the moment. He kept slowly blinking towards you, almost as if he didn’t believe he was awake himself. It was a cute look on him. Admittedly, you’ve always been a sucker for the moment when he’s sleepiest. Though, you suppose his laziness and You suppose that’s what you get for not packing something to keep his attention for a couple of hours. “Thanks…Reo”
At the sound of his best friend’s voice, Reo relented. He stayed long enough just enough for you to wish him a Happy New Year and for him to echo the sentiment back before someone further away shouted for him to come back to the sitting room. As Reo’s footsteps padded away, you felt your boyfriend shift around in the bed. It was a lot more movement from him than you were honestly used to. It’s always been in him to take things slow and to laze around whenever he could. So he was never much for adjusting his position. And certainly not a position he had been sleeping in so peacefully just a couple minutes prior.
But as you turn over to question him, you’re suddenly greeted with a surprise.
Or rather, a kiss on the forehead.
The second he pulls away, you find yourself blinking up in surprise at your boyfriend. He’s hovering over you now. The blankets and covers that you had once so carefully tucked around the two of you were now a mess as Seishiro all but climbed on top of you. But behind his curtain of messy, yet perfect bedhead, the only look on his face is one of disatisfiaction. Lines set in a thin line that begin to tug and tug and the corners. And a pair of furrowed eyebrows that begin to fold downward, narrowing his eyes in front of you. Though he doesn’t give you even a moment to open your mouth and question him. Because a second later, he’s leaning down into your space again and pressing his lips against your forehead once more. And then your nose. And then your right cheek. And then the left one. And underneath your eyelid. And then your forehead again. And then your chin. And then-
“S eishiro-! ” You call out his name, your voice a little breathless as you struggle to speak through a bout of laughter. His kisses, although soft and sweet and appreciated, tickle as he manages to get you pretty much everywhere except the lips. But even as you wiggle and squirm about on the bed , he still doesn’t let up . Instead, he continues his surprising and uncharacteristic onslaught of kisses against your skin. Finding new places to kiss and returning to old spots whenever and wherever he can. Though as much as you’d like to lay back and enjoy this moment where your normally ridiculously lazy boyfriend decides to initiate some affection this time, you can’t help but have questions for him and just what exactly his intentions are at the moment . “ Seishiro, what are you doing ? ”
“ N ew Year's Kiss . ” Comes his simple reply as he backs off of you long enough to speak before he dives back in to press another kiss to your jaw. He states it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world- even to him. And to that, you can’t help but laugh at his overeager but misguided attempt to indulge in this tradition with you.
“ T hat’s not how it works, Seishiro. ” You tell him lightly, guiding his face away from yours for a few seconds so you could look him in his eyes long enough to get your point across. The expression he gives you can only be described as childish and pouty, and you can’t help but adore him for it. But you still have his attention for the moment. And he’s not yet fighting to go back in for another kiss just yet. Now is the time to take advantage of the moment. Just long enough to get an explanation in. “ A New Years kiss is when you -”
If you had more time, you would have explained things. If you had more time you would have told him all he needed to know about a ‘New Year's Kiss.’ Hell, if you had even a few more seconds, you would have been able to finish your sentence, and that would have been just enough. But you don’t. You don’t have more time.
Because before you can even finish your sentence, a loud cheer comes from somewhere else in the apartment. And at that cheer, you can’t help but slide your eyes over to the TV screen, looking to see if that cheer meant exactly what you thought it did. And sure enough, somewhere in between Reo coming to the door and Seishiro starting to attack you with kisses, the clock struck midnight. The idols and musicians and live audience were replaced with pictures of a sky filled to the brim with fireworks raining down on a crowd that was jumping and celebrating and cheering on the New Year as they ushered it in. And, of course, there were a couple people in the crowd turning to each other and kissing too.
That was all you needed to see. And that was all he needed too . Because right as you turned your attention back to your boyfriend, he was right there, leaning in, and kissing you. Not on the nose or the forehead or the cheek or chin. But finally, finally on the lips.
For a proper New Year's Kiss.